Heart
Heart attack presentation, intervention and prevention
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You might think you know a lot about heart attack warning signs and symptoms – crushing chest pain, left arm numbness, a family history of heart disease. “Most people have the basic understanding of these things,” explained Matthews resident Dr. James Roberts of Mid Carolina Cardiology Monroe. “Probably the most confusing thing is pain that may not be that altogether-crushing kind of fatalistic chest pain everyone assumes is a heart attack. Most people think the pain is like an elephant sitting on their chest and it can be very different.
“It doesn’t even have to be in the anterior part of the chest. It can be in the back, the side or even jaw or neck pain. Educating people about those things is very useful.”
Roberts attested that avoidance is, however, a common occurrence. “People will go on for four, five, six hours trying home remedies like Goody’s powder or TUMS that don’t seem to work and not pursuing medical attention,” he said. “The second most common error is people deciding to drive themselves to the hospital once they finally go. It’s not the best idea – you can endanger your life and someone else’s if something happens on the way there.
After a point, more omega-3s don’t help the heart
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Memo to adults with heart disease: If you’re already eating a fair amount of fish and taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, the extra boost may not be doing much to help your heart.
New research suggests that only patients with very low daily intake of certain omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and some plants and nuts, are likely to reduce their risk of heart attacks or death if they take more supplements rich in these fatty acids.
The study supports research which has shown that, after a certain point, omega-3 supplements may not do much for the heart. It also comes as a new U.S. Government Accountability Office urged more authority for the Food and Drug Administration to inspect the quality and safety of supplements, whose manufacturers often make claims not supported by data.
MRI research highlights high-risk atherosclerotic plaque hidden in the vessel wall
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Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an animal model can non-invasively identify dangerous plaques. The findings, which appear in the May issue of Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging, offer possible applications in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis.
Rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, which often occurs without prior symptoms, is responsible for a substantial number of deaths and disabilities worldwide. The untimely death of television journalist Tim Russert was caused by the sudden rupture of a vulnerable plaque in a critical location in a coronary artery. Identification of atherosclerotic plaques with a high risk for disruption and thrombosis would allow preventive therapy to be initiated before thrombi begin to clog arteries and cause stroke or heart attack.
The BUSM researchers examined diagnostic protocols in an animal (rabbit) model of human disease with procedures that never could have been applied to humans. Plaque disruption was stimulated at a precise time to allow MRI imaging before and after the rupture.
Bad Boost in Blood Pressure? Log On and Chill Out
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Folks with out-of-control blood pressure take note : all you need to get things back on track may just be a keyboard and a cable modem.
A new study shows a pharmacist-led blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) program supported by the American Heart Association’s “Heart 360” website improved blood pressure control for patients with uncontrolled hypertension.
More than 350 patients with uncontrolled hypertension aged 18 to 85 years with Internet access were randomized into the HBPM group, or the UC (Usual Care) group. They were then led to the website http://www.Heart360.org, which is the American Heart Association’s free online heart health management center. The site allows patients to track and manage their blood pressure, then share that information with their medical provider.
Obesity and Its Associated Heart Risks
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Obesity is a disorder that is increasing in epidemic proportions, especially in the industrialized world. It’s a disorder that is defined as simply having too much body fat. Because our body is made up generally of water, fat, protein and carbohydrates, as well as a varied array of proteins, vitamins and minerals, if we have too much fat, particularly in the belly and waist area, we’re definitely at greater risk of additional health complications, which include high cholesterol levels, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes as well.
A Heightened Risk Factor For Coronary Heart Disease
Obesity is very much recognized as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, and this can lead to a higher incidence of heart attacks too. Obesity is known to lower the good cholesterol, or HDL, and it elevates blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well. Obesity can further induce the onset of diabetes too, whether type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and also elevate the body’s blood pressure levels.
Heart Disease, Diabetes Risk Linked To Processed Meat
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You might want to think twice before grilling up those breakfast sausages as a new study has linked processed meat consumption to heart disease and diabetes.
Some of our favorite foods may not be doing us any good, as according to researchers, eating processed meat can up our risk of heart disease by 42 percent, and our risk of diabetes by 19 percent.
Processed meats include; bacon, hotdogs, lunch meat to name a few, all of which are considered popular food items when it comes to the diet of Americans.
Processed Meat Linked to Heart, Diabetes Risks
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A new study shows eating processed red meat—such as hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and cold cuts—is linked to increased risks of heart disease and diabetes.
But the study, published in Circulation, shows no such link for unprocessed red meat.
Eating one serving a day of processed meat—or the equivalent of a single hot dog or two slices of salami—was associated with a 42% increased risk for heart disease and a 19% increased risk for diabetes in the study, conducted by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Diabetes increases risk of cardiac arrest
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A recent study indicates that coronary disease casualties are starting to fall in Ontario, but having diabetes significantly increases the risk of cardiac arrest . The study has established that a 35 per cent decrease in deaths from coronary disease occurred between 1994 and 2005, largely due to healthier lifestyles .
A research team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto partnered with other institutes such as the University of Liverpool and the Canadian Heart Research Centre to reach their conclusions.
By 2030, cardiovascular disease and death rates in China will surge
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death rates will surge in China by up to 73 percent by 2030, due to aging, smoking, high blood pressure and other risk factors, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
“China is a prime example of a middle income nation in transition. The country’s standard of living and life expectancy have improved for many, but aging, dietary changes and less physical activity are leading to more heart disease and stroke,” said lead author Andrew Moran, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, N.Y. “Our study used a computer model to forecast future cardiovascular disease in Chinese adults, and is the first to project the individual and combined effects of major risk factor trends on a national scale.”
Moran and colleagues reviewed risk factor surveys of Chinese adults, ages 35-84, since economic reforms in the 1980s, and used them to project future trends in blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes and body weight.
Diabetes drugs warning: they cause heart problems
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Widely used diabetes drugs appear to increase patients’ risk of potentially fatal heart problems, according to a study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London and published in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers examined patient and prescription records to examine rates of heart failure, heart attack and death from any cause among 900,000 patients taking all different kinds of diabetes drugs. Patients were followed for an average of seven years each.
Diabetes drugs fall into three classes: sulphonyureas, glitazones and biguanides. The sulphonyureas include chlorpropamide, glibenclamide (marketed as Daonil and Euglucon), gliclazide (marketed as Diamicron), glimepiride (marketed as Amaryl), glipizide (marketed as Glibenese and Minodiab) and tolbutamide.
Avera Medical Minute: Diabetes, Heart Disease and Diet Modification
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The CDC estimates that nearly 24 million people in this country have diabetes. 18 million have been diagnosed, but 7 million haven’t. That’s a real problem because your chances of dying from heart disease and stroke are 2 to 4 times greater when you have diabetes. Here’s more on diabetes, heart disease and diet modification with an expert at the Avera Heart Hospital.
A lot of patients at the Avera Heart Hospital have diabetes which makes sense since it’s a big risk factor for heart disease. Suprisingly a lot of those patients had no idea. Dietitian and Diabetes Educator at the Heart Hospital Mary Beth Russell helps teach those patients how to modify their diets and learn what foods affect their blood sugar like carbohydrates.
Mary Beth Russell says, “Lots and lots of foods have carbohydrates in them. They need a clear understanding of those foods and how that affects their blood sugar. It’s the worst at raising blood sugar levels.”
Questions raised about heart implants past age 80
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People age 80 and older who get a pacemaker or defibrillator are more likely to die in the hospital after the procedure than younger patients, raising questions about the risks of these implants when used in very elderly people, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Most clinical trials looking at implantable heart devices involve people in their 50s and 60s even though about a fifth of these implants are used in people over age 80, a group often overlooked in medical studies, the researchers said.
As such, little had been known about the benefits of these devices in people over 80, according to the researchers.
High glycemic diet may raise female heart risk: study
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Women who eat lots of high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates like white bread and ice-cream may be at greater risk of heart disease, but men do not seem to be affected, Italian scientists said on Monday.
In a study of almost 48,000 adults, the scientists found that the 25 percent of women who ate the most carbohydrates overall had around double the risk of heart disease of the 25 percent who ate the least.
When these carbohydrates were separated into high and low glycemic index categories, the researchers found that eating more high GI foods was strongly linked to greater risk of coronary heart disease, whereas low GI foods were not.
How does a heart know when it’s big enough?
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A protein discovered in fruit fly eyes has brought a Johns Hopkins team closer to understanding how the human heart and other organs automatically “right size” themselves, a piece of information that may hold clues to controlling cancer.
The protein, named Kibra, is linked to a relay of chemical signals responsible for shaping and sizing tissue growth by coordinating control of cell proliferation and death, according to research published Feb. 16 in Developmental Cell by teams at Johns Hopkins and Florida State University.
In a series of experiments, the scientists manipulated Kibra’s role in a signaling network called the Hippo pathway, which consists of several proteins working together as a braking system. Counterparts of the components in the Hippo pathway in flies are found in most animals, suggesting that this pathway may act as a “global regulator” of organ size control, according to Duojia Pan, Ph.D., a professor of molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Europe soccer stadiums unprepared for heart attacks
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Many of Europe’s top soccer stadiums haven’t got the equipment or trained staff to save the lives of spectators who suffer heart attacks, researchers said on Wednesday.
New research published online in the European Heart Journal said that more than a quarter of the 187 top sports arenas that were studied in 10 European countries did not have automated external defibrillators on site, action plans or training in place to help fans who had heart attacks.
Study author Mats Borjesson is chairman of the sports cardiology section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR) and also a club doctor at elite level for both the Swedish premier division football team GAIS and the Swedish national women’s football team.
