Tag: Myocardial infarction

Trans Fats Could be Deadly

Post author By Mukul
Post date January 2, 2010
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: Image via Wikipedia

For women with heart disease, eating too many artery-clogging trans fats may increase their risk of dying suddenly from cardiac arrest.

…………. 12_24doughnuts _chicken_potato
Trans fats, found largely in commercially prepared baked and fried foods, have become notorious in recent years because they not only raise “bad” LDL cholesterol, but also lower levels of heart-healthy HDL cholesterol. High trans-fat intake has been linked to coronary heart disease, in which fatty plaques build up in the heart arteries, sometimes leading to a heart attack.

In a new study, researchers found that among nearly 87,000 U.S. women followed for 26 years, trans fat intake was linked to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death among women who had underlying coronary heart disease. In this group, women who ate the most trans fats were three times more likely to die of cardiac arrest.

Click to see:->What Two Surprising Factors Can Predict Your Risk for Heart Disease?

Resources:
Reuters December 2, 2009
American Heart Journal November 2009; 158(5):761-7

Determining the Best Way to Prevent Sudden Death in Athletes (health.usnews.com)
High Lipoprotein Levels Can Cause Heart Disease (nlm.nih.gov)

Tags Cardiovascular Disorders, Conditions and Diseases, Death, Health, Heart Disease, High-density lipoprotein, Low-density lipoprotein, Myocardial infarction

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Compound In Chili Peppers Protects Heart

Post author By Mukul
Post date December 22, 2009
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The main component found in chili peppers has been shown to prevent and reduce heart damage during a heart attack, according to a new study.

The study published in the journal Circulation, finds that applying capsaicin, which is the main component in chili peppers and the active ingredient in some common pain creams, to specific skin areas on mice caused sensory nerves in the skin to trigger signals in the nervous system.

These signals activate cellular “pro-survival” pathways in the heart which protect the muscle, the article further explains.

“If proven effective in humans, this therapy has the potential to reduce injury or death in the event of a coronary blockage, thereby reducing the extent and consequences of heart attack,” says Keith Jones, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati where the study was performed.

Capsaicin, which is used topically to treat pain, produces a hot feeling on the skin. It is approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The research further supports the value of chili peppers as a natural health resource.

Chili peppers, which are high in vitamin C, have already been shown to help fight migraine headaches, relieve sinus congestion and aid digestion.

Source: Better Health Research. Dec. 17th.2009

Tags Capsaicin, Chili pepper, Food and Drug Administration, Health, Migraine, Myocardial infarction, Research, University of Cincinnati

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Daily Dose of Nuts Benefit Heart Health

Post author By Mukul
Post date November 16, 2009
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A daily dose of nuts—walnuts, almonds, pistachios— can make up for a heart-healthy diet, according to Mayo Clinic researchers.

CLICK & SEE

Most nuts contain some nutrients that can benefit heart health and help with cholesterol control.

They include unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, 1-arginine and plant sterols. Nuts have been shown to reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL, or “bad” cholesterol) levels in the blood.

Eating nuts also can reduce the risk of developing blood clots and improve the health of the lining of the arteries.

The above benefits suggest that eating nuts, in limited amounts, may reduce the risk of heart disease, though studies haven’t yet proved this conclusively.

Almost any type of nut is nutritious — and high in calories. It is best to eat nuts in moderation, no more than a handful a day.

Also, choose unsalted or low-salt versions and use nuts as a substitute for saturated fats, such as those found in meats, eggs and dairy products.

Source: The study has been published in the latest issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource.

Featured

Stress is to be Blamed

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Your body is aching all over, and you are suffering from acidity and indigestion. Curiously, medical tests show there is nothing wrong with you. If you are flummoxed, give this idea some thought — is it possible that your suffering is actually a manifestation of stress?

One out of two people in India suffers from stress. Such people are physically, mentally and emotionally unable to cope with the demands that life makes on them.

It is not just men — very often the sole breadwinner of a family — who suffer from stress. It also affects working women who have to balance a career and home and housewives who have to take care of budgets that go haywire because of inflation. It doesn’t spare children either. Stress affects the young who are in an increasingly competitive academic world.

Any physical, chemical or emotional factor that causes mental tension can be defined as stress. It can play an important part in the cause of disease. Continuous stress sets in motion a train of physical events which can eventually precipitate disease. This is particularly so in the case of people medically “sitting on the fence”. These individuals do not as yet have overt diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes, but months of stress push them over the edge.

Stress invokes a “fight or flight reaction” in the body. It results in a surge of chemicals, predominant among which are the neurotransmitters adrenaline and nor-adrenaline. These act on every organ in the body causing a rapid heart rate, palpitation and a cold, clammy skin. At night, they keep the person awake, tossing and turning in bed. This results in insomnia, one of the commonest early symptoms of stress.

Eventually, other symptoms appear. The person’s temper becomes short and he or she becomes touchy and irritable. Relationships with family members and peers are affected. After all, no one wants to be around a bad tempered person. This disrupts support systems that may actually be beneficial in coping.

Marriages begin to suffer as the libido decreases. There is loss of interest in sex and in children and family activities. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may produce an aversion to food. In some people satiety may be affected, resulting in overeating and food binges.

In such a condition, muscles may go into a spasm and fail to relax. There may be headaches, neck and shoulder pain, and backaches. The skin may break out in rashes.

Unable to relax or sleep, the person may turn to drugs or alcohol to relax. The dependence is not necessarily on hard core drugs such as heroin or cocaine — it may also be on painkillers such as propoxyphene. Many pharmacies may provide anxiolytics (anti anxiety drugs) or addictive sedatives like diazepam or alprazolam without a prescription.

Stress usually builds up over time, although it can be triggered by sudden, unexpected pressure. It is aggravated by long hours of work, lack of job security, long journeys to and from work, and extended periods of exertion with no breaks or holidays.

Short-term stress, however, has certain plus points. It often brings out the best in an individual so that tasks are completed efficiently and on time. By and large, long-term stress is detrimental to physical well-being.

The pressures of work and life cannot be escaped. The stress generated can and should be managed.

Time management is most important. It is best to prioritise tasks and not be sidelined by mundane everyday chores. Do only what needs to be done. Try to finish your work on time. Long hours do not necessarily add up to increased or better production.

Eat meals regularly and on time. Eat healthy, non-greasy food and if necessary get it from home. Add around four to five helpings of fresh fruit and vegetables. The vitamins and antioxidants will give your body a natural boost so that you can avoid all the extra cups of coffee and tea. Excessive caffeine does not really help to keep you alert or active. It might produce more palpitations and tremors.

Exercise is a great stress buster. Around 30-45 minutes of walking, running, jogging or swimming releases natural mood elevating chemicals from the calf muscles. You will not only have more stamina, but will also be rejuvenated. Exercise should be completed an hour before bedtime. Otherwise the chemicals released will keep you awake. The best results are obtained if the exercise is combined with relaxation techniques. Yoga for about 20 minutes a day is ideal. Otherwise deep breathing with the eyes shut and the mind emptied of all thought for five to 10 minutes may be sufficient. Constant stress may make you a high achiever, but unless balanced with diet and exercise, it might push you towards an early heart attack. Such a situation is not worth it and to a large extent avoidable.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

Stress (slideshare.net)

Tags Blood pressure, Health, Hypertension, India, Kolkata, Mental Health, Myocardial infarction, Stress

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The Little Blood-Sucker Ticks Can Save Lives

Post author By Mukul
Post date September 10, 2009
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Thousands of people who have had, or are at risk of, a heart attack could be saved by a new drug made from a chemical produced by blood-sucking ticks.

………………………….click & see
The drug, called Variegin, contains a man-made version of an anti-clotting chemical found in ticks from Africa and Central America.
Once the tiny insects have latched on to their human or animal prey, they release the chemical to stop blood from clotting and allow them to feed for longer.

Now a team of scientists from Britain, Singapore and Slovakia have discovered it might also slash the risk of heart attacks by stopping blood clots from forming.
They have developed a drug containing a synthetic form of the blood-thinning chemical that is up to 70 times more powerful than the ‘natural’ form produced by the ticks.
Initial tests show it is not only highly effective as an anticlotting agent, but potentially longer-lasting and safer than some existing drugs.

Every year, around 270,000 people in Britain suffer a heart attack, and coronary disease remains Britain’s biggest killer. About a third of heart attack patients die before reaching hospital, often because they have delayed seeking help.
Heart attacks occur when a clot forms and shuts off the supply of blood to cardiac muscle. Clotting is the body’s natural reaction to injury, designed to stem blood loss. But clots that form when there has been no injury can wreak havoc throughout the body, not just on the heart.
If they reach the brain, they can cause a stroke, or if they restrict blood flow to the lungs, they can cause an often fatal condition called a pulmonary embolism.

Patients who have suffered a heart attack or stroke – or are at high risk of them – are often given anti-clotting drugs to prevent more clots forming.
These work by changing the chemical composition of blood in a way that switches off the clotting process. The best known is Warfarin, a drug that has been around for more than 50 years and was once commonly used as a rat killer.
But patients on Warfarin have to be monitored extremely closely to ensure it does not thin their blood so much that they run the risk of bleeding to death from even the slightest cut. Newer drugs, known as direct thrombin inhibitors, have come on to the market in recent years. Although they have a better safety record than Warfarin, they can also increase the danger of a life-threatening bleed.
Around one in 100 people given a direct thrombin inhibitor suffers bleeding severe enough to kill them – unless they have urgent medical attention such as a transfusion.
If a patient is bleeding heavily or needs surgery, it’s vital that doctors can quickly restore normal clotting. But a drawback of modern anticlotting drugs is that their effects are irreversible.
The researchers behind the tick-saliva medicine have found a way of switching the clotting process back on, by injecting a chemical called protamine sulphate.
Professor Patricia Nuttall, who spearheaded the British arm of the tick project-at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, says: ‘The problem with direct thrombin inhibitors is once you have used them, you cannot switch them off.
‘Then you might get a patient who suffers excessive bleeding that you cannot control. But in our tests we used protamine sulphate, which stops the drug from binding to thrombin, the enzyme in the blood that makes it clot.’
Researchers hope to begin human clinical trials using the tick-saliva drug in the near future.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, says: ‘Scientists often take lessons from nature in the development of new medicines.
‘Our own researchers have worked with snake venom in the past to reveal clues about blood clotting. We look forward to seeing the results of clinical tests with Variegin.’