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Device For Your Heart

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Shabina Akhtar on a new instrument that records the heart‘s functioning and shows exactly what goes wrong during a fainting spell .
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURE

When V.S. Prasad, 58, lost consciousness for about half a minute in his bathroom last September, none of the doctors he went to initially could fathom why. They thought it was a case of syncope  simply temporary loss of consciousness. All the usual tests failed to give any indicationsEven the 24-hour Holter monitoring(an ambulatory electrocardiography device for monitoring the heartbeat  round the clock) failed to indicate any underlying heart disorder. The Tilt test (to detect syncope of neurological origin), too, was negative because of which the neurologist ruled out epilepsy,” says Arunangshu Ganguly, consultant interventional cardiologist at the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Calcutta.

Prasad’s case is not uncommon; cardiologists worldwide are often faced with such tricky situations. Dr Emilio Vanoli, associate professor at the Dipartimento di Cardiologia Policlinico of Monza, Italy, says: Syncope is a symptom that a doctor needs to interpret. Unfortunately, in more than 40 per cent of cases, it goes unregistered.” Lack of awareness — even among doctors — makes things difficult, he adds. Patients who complain of fainting spells are often treated as epileptics and the cardiac problem, if any, goes undetected. Similarly, epileptics are sometimes wrongly implanted with pacemakers.

Prasad was, however, more fortunate. Says Dr Ganguly: “I suspected some electrical problem in his heart. But none of the tests backed my intuition. Then I advised him to get an Insertable Loop Recorder (ILR) implanted. The device records the heart’s functioning, providing evidence of what goes wrong during a fainting spell.”

So when Prasad fainted again in December, he pressed the activator button on regaining consciousness. This, to store data about how his heart had behaved during the episode.

When Dr Ganguly analysed the data, he found that Prasad’s heart had stopped beating for nearly 20 seconds. The doctor then concluded that Prasad was suffering from an abnormally low heart beat rate — less than 60 beats a minute is a cause for worry — and needed a pacemaker.

Launched in India in October 2007, the ILR has been on the US market for some years now. It costs around Rs 35,000 to get the thumb-sized device inserted through a non-invasive procedure under local anaesthesia. It has a battery life of 14 months, during which it can continuously record the user’s heart beat.

The ILR promises to be of great use to many. “About 1.5 million people worldwide suffer from unexplained syncope. In almost 10 per cent of cases syncope has a cardiac cause, in 50 per cent a non-cardiac cause, and in the remaining 40 per cent of cases the cause remains unknown. The recorder is of great help as the fainting occurs suddenly and for a very brief duration. Moreover, there is no definite pattern of repetition, which makes documentation very difficult. We cannot perform an electrocardiograph (ECG) right then and the ECGs before and after are usually normal,” explains Dr Vanoli.

With the number of patients complaining of unexplained loss of consciousness increasing, unfortunately, there are instances where pacemakers are implanted without proper documentation of the cause, says Dr Ganguly. Not all cases of loss of consciousness are due to cardiological reasons; neurological, metabolic and other factors too could be at play.

The heart, explains the doctor, is an electromechanical pump which uses its muscles to continuously pump blood to the body system. The valves in it ensure a uni-directional blood flow. A mechanical failure of the organ doesn’t lead to syncope except when there is a critical obstruction in the outflow valve or when there is an uncoordinated contraction of the heart muscles. All other causes of loss of consciousness attributed to a cardiological reason are due to a power failure in the electrical supply to the heart. This electrical supply originates in a generator (Sinus node) and is carried through a nerve to a distribution box (AV node) from where it reaches the heart by means of three nerves (one right bundle and two left bundles). Now when the generator or distribution point or any of the wires becomes incapable of providing uninterrupted power flow to the heart, the heart stops functioning and the brain — on not getting its blood supply — switches off, and the person faints. A stoppage of more than three seconds is fatal. And that is where you need an inverter to back you up, which is a pacemaker.
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The ILR has helped us provide evidence-based treatment rather than fall back on presumptive management,” says Dr Ganguly. However, the cost could pose a problem for some, he feels.

Nonetheless, it comes as a huge relief to many people, sparing them the travails of presumptive management of their disease.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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News on Health & Science

Docs test heart implant to prevent strokes

At least 120,000 Americans a year suffer strokes because of a common irregular heartbeat  one that’s on the rise, hard to treat and can shoot deadly blood clots straight to the brain….click & see

Now doctors are experimenting with a new way to prevent those brain attacks: a tiny device that seals off a little section of the jiggling heart where the clots form.

If it works   and a major study is under way   the Watchman device might provide long-needed protection for thousands of people with atrial fibrillation, whose main hope now is a problematic blood-thinning drug that too many can’t tolerate.

“I don’t think I’m biased, but it could potentially revolutionise a-fib, which is a ton of people,”says Steven Almany, vice chief of cardiology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. He has implanted the Watchman into more than a dozen patients so far.

About 2.8 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat. It is most common among the elderly, and cases are increasing as the population greys.

A-fib occurs when the heart’s top chambers, called the atria, get out of sync with the bottom chambers’ pumping. The atria speed up, sometimes so fast that they quiver like a bag of worms. Blood pools inside a pocket of the heart, allowing clots to form.

About 20% of the nation’s strokes are blamed on the condition, and they tend to be particularly severe. About a third of the victims die, and another third are significantly disabled.

The blood thinner warfarin, also called Coumadin, lowers the stroke risk dramatically. But it is very difficult to use    it can’t be taken together with dozens of other medicines. In addition, side effects include serious, even life-threatening, bleeding.

By some estimates, almost half the people who should take the drug can’t or won’t, and “there are lots of people out there on Coumadin who want off,”says William Gray, a cardiologist studying the Watchman at New York’s Columbia University Medical Center. “This provides the opportunity, hopefully, to get them off the drug.”

In atrial fibrillation, 90% of stroke-causing blood clots collect inside a jalapeno pepper-shaped flap of tissue that hangs off the edge of the left atrium. The Watchman physically seals off that flap, depriving clots of their staging area.

Source:The Times Of India

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Featured

Aspirin Is Very Useful

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Take two and call it a day -:- aspirin makes car, home, beauty, and clothing care a cinch!

Revive dead car batteries:-
If you get behind the wheel only to discover that your car’s battery has given up the ghost — and there’s no one around to give you a jump — you may be able to get your vehicle started by dropping two aspirin tablets into the battery itself. The aspirin’s acetylsalicylic acid will combine with the battery’s sulfuric acid to produce one last charge. Just be sure to drive to your nearest service station.

Remove perspiration stains:-
Before you give up all hope of ever getting that perspiration stain out of your good white dress shirt, try this: Crush two aspirins and mix the powder in 1/2 cup warm water. Soak the stained part of the garment in the solution for two to three hours.

Restore hair color:-
Swimming in a chlorinated pool can have a noticeable, and often unpleasing, effect on your hair coloring if you have light-colored hair. But you can usually return your hair to its former shade by dissolving six to eight aspirins in a glass of warm water. Rub the solution thoroughly into your hair, and let it set for 10-15 minutes.

Dry up pimples:-
Even those of us who are well past adolescence can get the occasional pimple. Put the kibosh on those annoying blemishes by crushing one aspirin and moistening it with a bit of water. Apply the paste to the pimple, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before washing off with soap and water. It will reduce the redness and soothe the sting. If the pimple persists, repeat the procedure as needed until it’s gone.

Treat hard calluses:-
Soften hard calluses on your feet by grinding five or six aspirins into a powder. Make a paste by adding 1/2 teaspoon each of lemon juice and water. Apply the mixture to the affected areas, then wrap your foot in a warm towel and cover it with a plastic bag. After staying off your feet for at least ten minutes, remove the bag and towel, and file down the softened callus with a pumice stone.

Control dandruff:-
Is your dandruff problem getting you down? Keep it in check by crushing two aspirins to a fine powder and adding it to the normal amount of shampoo you use each time you wash your hair. Leave the mixture on your hair for 1-2 minutes, then rinse well and wash again with plain shampoo.

Apply to insect bites and stings:-
Control the inflammation caused by mosquito bites or bee stings by wetting your skin and rubbing an aspirin over the spot. Of course, if you are allergic to bee stings — and have difficulty breathing, develop abdominal pains, or feel nauseated following a bee sting — get medical attention at once.

Help cut flowers last longer:-
It’s a tried-and-true way to keep roses and other cut flowers fresh longer: Put a crushed aspirin in the water before adding your flowers. Other household items that you can put in the water to extend the life of your flower arrangements include: a multivitamin, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and baking soda, and even a copper penny. Also, don’t forget to change the vase water every few days.

Use as garden aid:-
Aspirin is not only a first-aid essential for you, but for your garden as well. Some gardeners grind it up for use as a rooting agent, or mix it with water to treat fungus conditions in the soil. But be careful when using aspirin around plants; too much of it can cause burns or other damage to your greenery. When treating soil, the typical dosage should be a half or a full aspirin tablet in 1 quart (1 liter) water.

Remove egg stains from clothes:-
Did you drop some raw egg on your clothing while cooking or eating? First, scrape off as much of the egg as you can, and then try to sponge out the rest with lukewarm water. Don’t use hot water — it will set the egg. If that doesn’t completely remove the stain, mix water and cream of tartar into a paste and add a crushed aspirin. Spread the paste on the stain and leave it for 30 minutes. Rinse well in warm water and the egg will be gone.

TAKE CARE:-
About 10 percent of people with severe asthma are also allergic to aspirin — and, in fact, to all products containing salicylic acid, aspirin’s key ingredient, including some cold medications, fruits, and food seasonings and additives. That percentage skyrockets to 30 to 40 percent for older asthmatics who also suffer from sinusitis or nasal polyps. Acute sensitivity to aspirin is also seen in a small percentage of the general population without asthma — particularly people with ulcers and other bleeding conditions. Always consult your doctor before using any medication, and do not apply aspirin externally if you are allergic to taking it internally.
From The Book : Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things

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