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Health Alert

Fluctuating BP ‘Warning Sign for Stroke’


People with occasionally high blood pressure are more at risk of stroke than those with consistently high readings, research suggests.
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Current guidelines focus on measuring average blood pressure levels to spot and prevent the chance of a stroke.

But research suggests doctors should no longer ignore variation in test results and give drugs that produce the most steady blood pressure levels.

The Stroke Association called for national guidelines to be overhauled.

In the first of the series of studies published in The Lancet, UK and Swedish researchers looked at the variability in blood pressure readings at doctors’ checks.

They found those with fluctuating readings at different GP visits had the greatest risk of future stroke regardless of what their average blood pressure reading was.

A review of previous trials also found that the differences in effectiveness of several blood pressure drugs could be explained by how well they kept blood pressure on an even keel.

Some drugs, in particular beta blockers, were shown in a separate study in The Lancet Neurology, to increase variation in a patient’s blood pressure.

‘Major implications’

Professor Peter Rothwell of the Department of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, who led the research, said the findings have major implications for how GPs spot and treat people at high risk of stroke.

“At the moment, the guidelines for GPs say not to believe a one-off unusual reading, to bring the patient back and measure again, and as long as it’s not consistently high, there is no need to treat.

“What we’re saying is don’t discount that one-off high blood pressure reading.”

He added that GPs would also need to make sure they prescribe the most effective drug combinations – ideally one that lowers blood pressure but also stabilises it.

It is not know exactly why occasional spikes would increase a person’s risk of stroke but it is thought it puts undue stress on the system.

If you get rapid fluctuations that can cause turbulent flow of blood which can cause damage and stiffening in the arteries,” said Professor Rothwell.

He said anyone with high blood pressure who tests themselves at home might want to mention to their GP if they spot variations in their results.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence‘s guidelines on high blood pressure is in the process of being rewritten and these latest studies will be taken into account.

Joe Korner, director of communications at The Stroke Association said people who have occasional high blood pressure readings – known as episodic hypertension – are often not treated.

“With this new research it is now important that the clinical guidelines about treating high blood pressure are reviewed.

“In the meantime we urge GPs to read this research to help them prescribe the best treatment for people at risk of stroke.”

Experts stressed that those already prescribed medication for high blood pressure should not worry or stop taking their pills.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation said: “Current practice is not wrong, but this might add a new measure to help doctors make decisions on who to treat for hypertension and which drug to use.”

Source : BBC News:12th.March.2010

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Eat Slow and Cut Your Calories

For ages, mothers have admonished children to slow down and chew their food. It turns out they’re onto something.

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Researchers have found evidence that when people wolf their food, they end up consuming more calories than they would at a slower pace. One reason is the effect of quicker ingestion on hormones.

In one recent study, scientists found that when a group of subjects were given an identical serving of ice cream on different occasions, they released more hormones that made them feel full when they ate it in 30 minutes instead of 5.

In other words, it can’t hurt to slow down and savor your meals.

Sources: New York Times February 22, 2010

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Coke’s New ‘Healthy Front’ May Be Just a Big Bluff

Diet Coke and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health have joined forces to raise awareness about women’s risk of heart disease. Diet Coke’s Red Dress Program will take center stage at high-profile events.

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest points out that Coca-Cola, whose products are not exactly heart healthy, is a strange partner for the NHLBI.

Are such partnerships a benign win-win? History suggests otherwise.

In 1984, Kellogg cooked up a partnership with the National Cancer Institute to put health claims for fiber on the boxes of All-Bran cereals. In doing so, Kellogg (and NCI) went around the FDA and undermined that agency’s control over health claims on food packages — leading to problems that the agency is still struggling to fix.

Source: Food Politics February 17, 2010

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Running Shoes May Damage Your Knees & Hips

Finally got that new pair of running shoes? Well, before you get down to taking them on the jogging track, here’s a piece of information—running shoes are likely to damage knees, hips and ankles.

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In a study, researchers compared the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes.

They concluded that running shoes exerted more stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes.

Sixty-eight healthy young adult runners (37 women), who run in typical, currently available running shoes, were selected from the general population. None had any history of musculoskeletal injury and each ran at least 15 miles per week.

All runners were provided with a running shoe, selected for its neutral classification and design characteristics typical of most running footwear. They observed each subject running barefoot and with shoes using a treadmill and a motion analysis system.

The researchers observed increased joint torques at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running barefoot.

Disproportionately large increases were observed in the hip internal rotation torque and in the knee flexion and knee versus torques.

An average 54 pct increase in the hip internal rotation torque, a 36 pct increase in knee flexion torque, and a 38 pct increase in knee varus torque were measured when running in running shoes compared with barefoot.

The findings confirmed that while the typical construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased stress on each of the 3 lower extremity joints.

These increases are likely caused in large part by an elevated heel and increased material under the medial arch, both characteristic of today’s running shoes.

“Remarkably, the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques during running (36pc-38pc increase) that the authors observed here is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier of high-heeled shoes during walking (20pc-26pc increase). Considering that lower extremity joint loading is of a significantly greater magnitude during running than is experienced during walking, the current findings indeed represent substantial biomechanical changes,” said lead author D. Casey Kerrigan, JKM Technologies LLC, Charlottesville, VA, and co-investigators.

Kerrigan concluded: “Reducing joint torques with footwear completely to that of barefoot running, while providing meaningful footwear functions, especially compliance, should be the goal of new footwear designs.”

Source : The study has been published in the latest issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation .

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Being Bored is Bad for Your Health

Experts say there’s a possibility that the more bored you are, the more likely you are to die early.

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Researchers analyzed questionnaires completed between 1985 and 1988 by more than 7,500 London civil servants. The civil servants were asked if they had felt bored at work during the previous month. The researchers then tracked down how many of the participants had died by April 2009.

Those who reported they had been very bored were two and a half times more likely to die of a heart problem than those who hadn’t reported being bored.

Resources:
USA Today February 11, 2010
International Journal of Epidemiology April 2010

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