Tag: Cardiovascular Disorders

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News on Health & Science

Steps on Enlarged Heart ‘Uncovered’

Researchers in the US claim to have got new insight into the mechanisms that underlie an enlarged heart — a finding that could lead to development of new treatment for managing this common cardiac ailment.

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An enlarged heart can lead to heart failure (Image: CNRI, Science Photo Library)

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According to them, high blood pressure, heart valve disease and heart attacks can lead to a abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, called myocardial hypertrophy, which plays a role in the pathological increase in the heart size.

At the molecular level, signals driving myocardial hypertrophy, like elevated levels of catecholamine hormones, activate the Myocyte Enhancer Factor (MEF) proteins. This alters gene expression in heart muscle cells and induces an adverse developmental paradigm known as “fetal gene response”.

“Previous research has shown that the signalling pathways leading to MEF2 are altered during pathological cardiac hypertrophy. Although we know that enzymes called histone deacetylases (HDACs) control MEF2 activity, it was not clear that HDACs and MEF2 were integrated into a larger signalling unit,” lead author John D Scott said.

To further identify the molecular mechanisms associated with cardiac hypertrophy, Scott and colleagues at the University of Washington studied cardiac A-Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs), which are known to play a critical role in organising signalling complexes in response to catecholamine hormones and transmitted signals within cells.

The researchers found that AKAP-Lbc functions as a scaffolding protein that selectively directs catecholamine signals to the transcriptional machinery to potentiate the hypertrophic response, the ‘Cell Press‘ journal reported.

“Our study supports a model where AKAP-Lbc facilitates activation of protein kinase D, which in turn phosphorylates the histone deacetylase HDAC5 to promote its export from the nucleus. The reduction in nuclear HDAC5 favoured MEF2 transcription and onset of cardiac hypertrophy,” Scott said.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Reduce Salt Intake for Healthy Life

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Three gram reduction in a person’s dietary intake of salt would result in over a 20 per cent drop in deaths from stroke and over a 15 per cent fall in death from heart disease, according to a senior cardiologist here.

As heart disease and stroke, the world’s number one killer, causing 17.5 million deaths every year, eating half a teaspoon less of salt each day could save millions of lives, Dr.S Balaji of the private Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, said on “World Heart Day“, organised on September 28.

There are several factors which increased the risk of developing high blood pressure, including excessive consumption of salt, he said. “However, by adopting lifestyle changes hypertension is controllable,” Balaji said.

Avoiding foods high in salt, refraining from adding salt and being aware of the salt content of food in restaurants and processed foods, could potentially reduce salt consumption by three grams a day, he suggested.

High blood pressure or hypertension was the biggest single risk factor for heart disease and stroke and currently affected more than billion people worldwide, Balaji said.

By 2025, it was estimated more than 1.5 million people, or nearly one in three adults over the age of 25, would have high blood pressure, he said.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Lower Cholesterol Early for a Long Life

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The best approach to reducing incidence of coronary heart disease, which kills millions every year, is by lowering cholesterol early on, according to University of California researchers.

Pioneering lipid researcher Daniel Steinberg, professor emeritus of medicine, University of California and colleagues Christopher Glass and Joseph Witztum, dismissed current approaches to lowering cholesterol as “too little, too late”.

With a large body of evidence proving that low cholesterol levels equate with low rates of heart disease, “our long-term goal should be to alter our lifestyle accordingly, beginning in infancy or early childhood” and “instituting a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet in infancy is perfectly safe, without adverse effects…”

According to Steinberg, progress has been made in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adults with cholesterol lowering drugs like statins.

However, while studies show a 30 percent decrease in death and disability from CHD in patients treated with statins, 70 percent of patients have cardiac events while on statin therapy.

Promising new therapies are under development, but with an alarming rate of CHD in the US today, action to curtail the epidemic is needed urgently.

In fact, the researchers propose that lowering low-density lipoproteins (“bad cholesterol”) even in children and young adults is a safe and potentially life-saving standard, through diet and exercise changes if possible. Drug treatment may also be necessary in those at very high risk.

“Our review of the literature convinces us that more aggressive and earlier intervention will probably prevent considerably more than 30 percent of CHD,” said Steinberg.

“Studies show that fatty streak lesions in the arteries that are a precursor to atherosclerosis and heart disease begin in childhood, and advanced lesions are not uncommon by age 30.

“Why not nip things in the bud? Such early signs of heart disease should be taken as seriously as early signs of cancer or diabetes,” he said.

The UC San Diego team noted that studies of Japanese men in the 1950s showed that consuming a low-fat diet from infancy resulted in lifelong low cholesterol levels, and their death rate from heart disease was only 10 percent of the rate of cardiac-related death in the US

These findings were published in Tuesday’s issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Mouth Or Dental Injury

Schematic of patterns of disease in Crohn's di...Image via Wikipedia

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Conditions that may increase the risk for problems after a mouth or dental injury:
.CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with one’s ability to heal or fight infection. The person may be at risk for a more serious problem from his or her symptoms if he or she have any of the following. Be sure to tell the health professional in detail.

THE CONDITIONS:-

*Heart valve disease:

*Heart valve replacement

*Previous dental injuries

*Previous dental or gum surgery

*Radiation therapy to the mouth, face, or neck (now or in the past)

*Surgery to remove the spleen

Lifestyle choices:

*Alcohol abuse or withdrawal

*Drug abuse or withdrawal

*Smoking or other tobacco use

Medicines:

*Antiseizure medicines, such as phenytoin

*Birth control pills (oral contraceptives)

*Blood-thinning medicines, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin

*Calcium channel blockers, which are used to control high blood pressure or for people with heart problems

*Corticosteroids, such as prednisone

*Medicines that contain gold

*Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection

*Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)

*Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen

Diseases:

*Cancer

*Crohn’s disease

*Dental disease, such as tooth decay or gum disease

*Diabetes

*Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa

*Gastroesophageal reflux disease

*Hemophilia

*Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

*Infection of the muscles and valves of the heart (endocarditis)

*Iron deficiency anemia

*Malabsorption syndromes

*Scleroderma

*Sickle cell disease

*Sjögren’s syndrome

*Vitamin deficiencies, such as too little folate, niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, vitamin C, and vitamin K
Credits

Sources:MSN Health & Fitness

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Health Quaries

Some Health Quaries & Answers

Q: My neighbour has about 30 cats. They are strays who have congregated on his verandah because he feeds them cooked chicken and fish offal purchased from the market. The stench permeates everywhere and is repulsive. He recently developed cancer of the colon. Could it be because of the cats? You had mentioned in an earlier column that cats harbour cancer causing H. pylori.

A: Cats do carry H. pylori which is associated with cancer of the stomach, not of the colon. But more disturbing here is the large congregation of unimmunised cats. Any one of them might harbour the rabies virus. Also, the garbage will attract flies and rodents that are responsible for spreading their own set of infectious diseases.

It is best to inform the local public health authorities about the hygiene problem. There is usually a medical health officer who can be approached on such matters. The neighbours should immunise themselves against rabies (in case a person is accidentally scratched or bitten). This can be done by taking “pre-exposure prophylaxis”. The vaccine consists of three injections and will give protection against rabies for five years. The schedule is available with doctors. Also, as far as possible, avoid contact with the cats.

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Chewing vs smoking:

Q: I have heard that chewing tobacco is safer than smoking. Is this true?

A: No, that’s a myth. If you hold tobacco flakes or leaves between your gums and cheek for 30 minutes, your body receives the same amount of harmful chemicals as that contained in three cigarettes. Chewing tobacco is as addictive as smoking cigarettes. In addition, the chemicals in it can cause cancers of the gum and cheek. As the juice is often swallowed, the risk of cancers of the throat, larynx and oesophagus also increases. Teeth and gum problems abound, with inflammation and recession of the gums.

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Rising BP:-

Q: Is there any way to control my blood pressure? I am on medication but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

A: You can buy an electronic blood pressure recording apparatus. You can then monitor your blood pressure. Other measures are to maintain an ideal body weight with diet and exercise, stop using tobacco, and reduce caffeine and alcohol intake. Sodium contained in table salt plays a role in blood pressure control and maintenance. There is a medical controversy about whether salt restriction should be recommended to all persons with high blood pressure. The recommended dietary intake of sodium is only half teaspoon (2.5gm) per person a day. Most of us consume more than this. One way to cut down is to avoid salty snacks, pickles, chutneys and preserved and canned foods. Also, do not sprinkle extra salt on your food.

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Eyesight correction:-

Q: I have poor eyesight and have been recommended surgical correction. I have heard the results are good, but no one is mentioning the side effects, if any. Is surgery advisable?

A: Technology is improving in this field rapidly. You can expect to achieve 20/20 (70 per cent) or 20/40 (90 per cent). The side effects are increased sensitivity to light, problems with glare, clouded vision, haloes around lights and intolerance to contact lenses. Before deciding on the surgeon, check for how many years he or she has been performing this operation and how good the results have been.

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Collar not cool:-

Q: I suffer from neck pain. The doctor has diagnosed cervical spondylosis and has asked me to wear a collar for three months. However, I find this awkward and uncomfortable. Is there any other way out?

A: Cervical spondylosis usually occurs as part of the normal ageing process. The cartilage cushioning bones of the neck deteriorate with age. As the body attempts to repair this damage, extra spurs of bones are formed, pressing on the nerves and causing pain. Mild cervical spondylosis needs exercises to strengthen the neck muscles and either traction or a collar to relieve the discomfort. If you do not follow the doctor’s advice, the condition may worsen. Once that happens you may require surgery. A collar worn short term is definitely an easier option.

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Baby’s day out:-

Q: I am pregnant and want to know when the baby is due.

A: You can calculate the due date if you know the date of your last menstrual period. The first day of that is taken as day 1. Add seven days and then nine months. If your period started on, say, March 7, 2008, your baby is due on December 14, 2008. If your cycles are not regular this date may not be accurate. A scan can also tell you the approximate due date. But all these calculations are only approximate. The best thing would be to have regular antenatal check-ups with a doctor. He or she will be able to advice you appropriately.

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You may click to see:->Pregnancy timeline

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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