Tag: Myocardial infarction

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Chill spells high cardiac risk

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Harsh winters are bad news for heart patients as cold weather triggers heart attacks, particularly in people suffering from high blood pressure.

Cardiologists say the increased rate of attacks seen during winter is because low temperature increases blood pressure and puts more strain on the heart.

A general rise in blood pressure can also prove lethal with colder weather causing the blood to become stickier and more likely to clot.

Cholesterol levels also tend to be higher during winter and an increase in respiratory infections may lead to inflammation that contributes to the rupture of artery-clogging plaques.

Speaking to TOI , chief cardiologist of Escorts Heart Research Centre Dr R R Kasliwal said: “The occurrence of heart attacks in people with hypertension and high blood pressure is twice as high during winter. Cold causes spasm of arteries causing angina or heart attacks. Also, cold winter mornings cause peripheral arteries to contract, increasing the blood pressure and putting extra load on the heart. This precipitates a stroke. Strokes during early morning in winter are very common.”

Cardiologists say patients who walk very early in the morning should avoid the cold. They can suffer accidental hypothermia which means the body temperature falls below normal.

It occurs when the body can’t produce enough energy to keep the internal body temperature warm enough. Heart failure causes most deaths in hypothermia.

Dr S K Gupta, head of cardiology at Apollo Hospital, added: “High blood pressure is a well-known risk factor for heart disease and stroke but the risk goes up as the temperature goes down. High BP causes twice as many heart attacks during cold weather as they do on warmer days. The adrenaline level is highest early in the morning. Because the body has to stay warm, it pumps glucose and adrenaline more rapidly which increases the workload on the heart.”

A Cardiologist Society of India official said: “As people age, their ability to maintain a normal internal body temperature often decreases. Because elderly people seem to be relatively insensitive to moderately cold conditions, they can suffer hypothermia without knowing they are in danger. People with coronary heart disease often suffer chest pain or discomfort called angina pectoris during cold weather.”

Scientists from the University of Burgundy in France recently presented studies which found a higher number of heart attacks among blood pressure patients — in those with pressure higher than 140/90 — when temperatures dropped by more than nine degrees on the day of their heart attack.

The connection stems from the fact that blood vessels constrict in cold weather, making it harder for blood to flow through the body.

Source:The Times Of India

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Little chocolate a day keeps heart attacks at bay

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They were so addicted, they just could not give up their favourite daily snack  not even in the interest of science…..click & see

But chocolate lovers who flunked out of a Johns Hopkins University study on aspirin and heart disease helped researchers stumble on an explanation of why a little chocolate a day can cut the risk of heart attack.

It turns out chocolate, like aspirin, affects the platelets that cause blood to clot, Diane Becker of the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine and her colleagues discovered.

“What these chocolate offenders taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack,”Becker said.

The 139 so-called chocolate offenders took part in a larger study of 1,200 people with a family history of heart disease.

The study looked at the effects of aspirin on blood platelets. Before they got the aspirin, the volunteers were asked to stay on a strict regimen of exercise, refrain from smoking and avoid caffeinated drinks, wine, grapefruit juice and chocolate.

Source:The Times Of India

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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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2-Drug process to heal the heart

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The damaging effects of a heart attack may be reversible, say researchers who have successfully used drugs to boost new heart tissue and blood vessel growth.

Treating the hearts of rats that had experienced simulated heart attacks, the team found the repaired hearts beat as well as undamaged hearts even after several months.

This is a dramatic recovery,”says Felix Engel, paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital in Boston who led the study. “A human with this kind of heart muscle damage would be dead.”

Under normal conditions, when blood flow is prevented from reaching the heart during a heart attack, the tissue dies, forming irreparable scar tissue. To re-grow the damaged areas in rats, Engel and colleagues used two drugs: one that overcomes a natural inhibitor of cell division within the heart; and one that encourages blood vessel growth.

The researchers studied 120 rats, some with heart attacks simulated by permanently closing off one of the coronary arteries that feed the heart muscle. Rats that received both drugs showed the greatest improvements.

Yibin Wang, a physiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, US, who collaborated with Engel on a preliminary study, praised the new work but questioned some of its claims.

“The bottom line of this study is great,”Wang said, “they found a way to break the barrier of cardiac regeneration. But it’s very challenging to claim all of the benefits they observe are truly due to regeneration.”

Wang noted that heart function began increasing just one day after the heart attack   too soon, in his opinion, to be attributed to regeneration.

He suspects the damaged cells never died, but were protected by the drugs, which were applied at the same time as the simulated attack.

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News on Stem Cell Therapy

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Two recent TheraVitae patients who made their way across the globe to receive Vescell Adult Stem Cell therapy for their heart conditions. Both men are profiled in their local newspapers and their stories here.

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In the first article, Florida native, Jack Bodolay has his story told in The Ledger, a prominent newspaper in Central Florida.

In the second article, the East Oregonian details the exploits of James “Superman” Burns and talks about his new mission to spread the word about the wonders of adult stem cell therapy.

Take Heart: Stem Cell Therapy Found to Be promising
By Robin Williams Adams
The Ledger

LAKELAND — Businessman Jack Bodolay went to Thailand for help when Florida doctors couldn’t do anything more to boost his failing heart.

Stem cells from his blood were multiplied by the millions and put into his heart in an experimental procedure to improve the heart’s ability to pump blood.

The treatment at Bangkok Heart Hospital cost him between $30,000 and $35,000. Improvement wasn’t guaranteed.

Not getting it, however, would have meant giving in to his steadily worsening congestive heart failure, which the Lakeland man wasn’t willing to do.

“My thoughts were `I don’t have much time left and I’m going to do what I have to do,’ ” said Bodolay, who is 76.

His ejection fraction — the percentage of blood pumped from the heart each beat — was 20 percent or less when he left for Thailand, he said. Normal pumping ability is 50 percent to 75 percent; below 35 is low.

Four months later, he’s glad he had the procedure. His pumping percentage has increased slightly to 22 or 23, and Bodolay is optimistic that it is going up instead of down.

“I can tell I’m much stronger on the inside than I was,” he said. “If I can make the same progress in the next three months . . . I’ll be in good shape.”

In deciding to get that treatment, he was encouraged by the improved condition of singer Don Ho, well known for “Tiny Bubbles” and “The Hawaiian Wedding Song,” who had the same procedure late last year.

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Stem cells heal heart overseas

WESTON – Jim Burns was frustrated.

A heart attack at age 44 left him often fatigued and short of breath. Over the 23 years that followed, doctors performed quadruple bypass surgery, did angioplasty and inserted stents, but his condition gradually worsened. Burns’ options appeared to be dwindling.

“I had probably 50 heart attacks,” he said. “Your heart dies a little at a time.”

Then, one day, he saw a public television program about something called stem cell therapy. Some English researchers testing the procedure on a group of patients, saw incredible improvement, Burns remembered.

He searched the Internet for more information about the therapy and found a biotechnology company in Thailand that specializes in stem cell therapy for heart patients. The company, TheraVitae, uses VesCell stem cell treatments on patients with coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. The company’s Web site claimed an 80 percent success rate after treating over 130 patients.

In stem cell therapy, doctors take stem cells from the patient’s own blood, multiply them in a lab and, later, reinject them into the damaged heart.

The more Burns learned, the more excited he got. Many telephone calls and blood tests later, Burns was winging his way to Thailand with his wife, Melva, with high hopes the procedure would help his weakened heart.

On July 20, doctors withdrew blood from Burns. Five days later, he sat on a steel table in a hospital operating room, watching a monitor as doctors worked.

“It took about 40 minutes,” Burns said. “They put 28 million stem cells into me.”

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