Heart
Tis the Season for Heart Attacks
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The holiday season can be a time of good cheer, brightly lit parties, and the pleasure of family reunions. It can also be a lonely or stressful time, and a season of eating, drinking, or spending too much. These downsides, along with other factors, may contribute to a spike in heart disease deaths over the holidays, reports the Harvard Heart Letter.
A handful of small studies have hinted that death has its season, and winter is it. What is it about the holiday season that isn’t conducive to good health? The Harvard Heart Letter points to these possible factors:
Heart Disease is #1 Killer of Women, Could A Simple Test Be a Lifesaver?
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New research from Saint Louis University School of Medicine may give doctors a way to predict life-threatening heart problems in women.
The team studied 421 diabetic women between 49 and 75 who underwent a certain type of stress test for suspected coronary disease. Investigators concluded that the test, known as dobutamine stress echocardiography, provided valuable information that could help doctors predict future fatal heart problems.
Prescription for heart disease: pat a dog
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Just a few minutes spent patting a dog can relieve a heart patient’s anxiety and perhaps even help recovery during a visit to the hospital, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The effects were much more pronounced than when heart failure patients visited with a human volunteer or were left quietly alone, the researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Dallas.
Most with heart risk don’t use aspirin
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Fewer than one-third of non-hospitalized U.S. patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease take a daily, low-dose aspirin that could protect their hearts, researchers reported on Monday.
For years experts have recommended an aspirin-a-day for people who have had a heart attack or stroke and others with an elevated risk of heart disease. Aspirin can cut the risk of those problems by reducing blood clots at a cost of only pennies per day.
Obesity ups risk of complication after heart surgery
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Obesity is an important risk factor for the development of an irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation (AF) following cardiac surgery, according to a report published online Monday.
This is the first study to find a strong and independent link between excess body weight and the development of AF, a common and potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormality, study investigators say.
Exercise Test May Predict Death in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
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Exercise capacity, as measured in terms of VO2max, is a powerful predictor of death in patients with coronary artery disease, not just patients with heart failure. That is the finding of Mayo Clinic research presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005 in Dallas.
VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen a person can take in during exercise. In a VO2max study, a patient walks on a treadmill for about 5 to 15 minutes and breathes through a valve; the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the expired air are measured. Results are given in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).
Stem Cell Therapy Improves Heart Function After MI
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Patients with impaired ventricular function following a myocardial infarction may be able to pump new life into damaged heart muscle with an infusion of their own bone marrow-derived progenitor cells.
In a placebo-controlled trial, patients who received an infusion of the recycled cells improved their global left ventricular function by 5.5%, versus a 3% improvement in patients who received placebo infusions (P=0.014), according to Andreas M. Zeiher, M.D., of J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
Diet, Exercise Linked to Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
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Coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes may be preventable for most people, according to the results of a 25-year study to be presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 38th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
More than 80% of coronary heart disease cases and 90% of type 2 diabetes cases could potentially be prevented with modest lifestyle changes, especially by becoming more aware of one’s diet, according to Dr. Walter Willett, Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The best diets are the ones that focus on types of carbohydrates and fats, rather than the amount of intake.
Possible Role for Dentists in the Fight Against Heart Disease
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A new study published in the November issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) says dentists have a “unique opportunity” to help in the fight against heart attack, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Health care utilization patterns indicate that individuals may be more likely to see their dentist regularly than they are to see their physician, the JADA report says.
“This could place dentists in the frontlines for identifying patients at risk of coronary heart disease,” says Michael Glick, D.M.D., who co-authored the study with Barbara L. Greenberg, Ph.D.
Viagra reverses symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon
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Viagra (sildenafil) relieves the symptoms and improves the circulation of patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon that does no response to conventional therapy, German investigators report. In patients with ulcers on their fingers or toes, the treatment leads to healing.
Viagra, developed to treat of male erectile dysfunction, is a phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitor that affects very small blood vessels. Studies have shown it improves circulation in other conditions, such as coronary artery disease.
Anti-clotting drug cuts heart attack deaths
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Thousands of deaths could be prevented each year by giving aspirin and another drug to prevent blood clots in patients who have suffered a heart attack, researchers said on Friday.
Each year, 10 million people worldwide have a heart attack. Aspirin is a standard emergency treatment but Dr. Zheng-Ming Chen and scientists at the University of Oxford in England found that adding the drug clopidogrel could save lives.
Shortness of Breath without Chest Pain Can Signify High Risk Heart Disease
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While most people know that chest pain can signify the presence of heart disease, it is less well known that shortness of breath can also be a serious cardiac symptom.
Now, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that patients with shortness of breath can have a higher risk of dying from cardiac disease than patients without symptoms, and even than patients with typical cardiac pain.
Shortness of Breath without Chest Pain Can Signify High Risk Heart Disease
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While most people know that chest pain can signify the presence of heart disease, it is less well known that shortness of breath can also be a serious cardiac symptom.
Now, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that patients with shortness of breath can have a higher risk of dying from cardiac disease than patients without symptoms, and even than patients with typical cardiac pain.
Cardiac Rehab Offers Longer Life to Heart Attack Survivors
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Cardiac rehabilitation programs give many heart attack survivors better, longer lives, regardless of whether the programs include supervised exercise.
That is the major finding of researchers here, who pooled data from 63 studies of cardiac rehabilitation or secondary prevention programs into a meta-analysis, which was published in the Nov. 1 Annals of Internal Medicine.
Childhood Growth Pattern Linked to Heart Disease Risk
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Children who start out skinny and small, but gain weight relatively rapidly after the age of two are at increased risk for coronary heart disease later in life, researchers here reported.
Conversely, rapid weight gain between birth and two years is good, said David Barker, M.D., Ph.D., of the Oregon Health and Science University’s heart research center here.
