Apparently stopping death or irreparable damage from a heart attack could be as simple as inflating a blood pressure cuff.  This according to a recent Danish (The Country) study.

How does it work and why does no one seem to know about this?  Well, it is thought that a brief stoppage [...]]]> Source: U.S. National Institutes of Health

Apparently stopping death or irreparable damage from a heart attack could be as simple as inflating a blood pressure cuff.  This according to a recent Danish (The Country) study.

How does it work and why does no one seem to know about this?  Well, it is thought that a brief stoppage of blood flow improves the ability of organs to withstand stress and prevents tissue damage.  The admittedly small study of 142 patients rushed to hospital emergency rooms for heart attacks who received this treatment managed to retain 30% more of their heart tissue than those who did not.  The cuff was inflated for 4 minutes, relaxed and then inflated again.  Repeating this procedure 4 times appears to have done the trick according to the study’s author, Dr. Hans Erik Botker, a professor of cardiology.

Unfortunately it may take some time before the rest of the world adopts the European model of treatment. One group at Emory University in Atlanta is currently attempting similar treatment here in the United States.  Dr. Jacob Vinten-Johansen has added the inflation variation with a balloon catheter, slightly more invasive.  According to Dr. Vinten-Johansen, “The United States cardiology community is a bit slower to embrace these things and the regulatory situation is better in Europe.”

Regulations here in the States require a consent for what is deemed an “experimental procedure.”  Not always something easy to obtain (No, not because of trial lawyers) as patients having heart attacks aren’t necessarily able to provide a consent.  Similar techniques are being used to attempt to treat stroke as well.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire

Admittedly it was a small, focused study of 36 newborns, 17 of whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.  It is, however, alarming and instructive.  Babies that had been exposed to cigarette smoke in utero (While in Mommy’s belly) demonstrated abnormal heart rates and blood pressures.

But that’s not all. . .rather than [...]]]> Source:  BBC Health; Karolinska Institute (Sweeden)

Admittedly it was a small, focused study of 36 newborns, 17 of whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.  It is, however, alarming and instructive.  Babies that had been exposed to cigarette smoke in utero (While in Mommy’s belly) demonstrated abnormal heart rates and blood pressures.

But that’s not all. . .rather than dissipate with age, the abnormalities appear to have worsened from one week to age one. According to lead researcher, Dr. Gary Cohen, “Babies of smokers have evidence of persistent problems in blood pressure regulation that start at birth and get worse over time” and “[E]arly life exposure to tobacco can lead to long lasting reprogramming of the infant blood pressure control mechanism.”

And Dr. Cohen adds, this might be the mechanism which explains why infants of smokers are at increased risk for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) or “Cot death” as it is known in the UK.

~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire

Arti-arteries.  Nanotechnology (yeah, I don’t know what it means either) is being used to produce artery-like materials from polymers (they’re not just plastic anymore).  While no one knows how any of it actually works (sarcasm) the implications are amazing.

Scientists are actually constructing materials to use as bypass grafts which actually mimic human blood [...]]]> Source:  BBC News

Arti-arteries.  Nanotechnology (yeah, I don’t know what it means either) is being used to produce artery-like materials from polymers (they’re not just plastic anymore).  While no one knows how any of it actually works (sarcasm) the implications are amazing.

Scientists are actually constructing materials to use as bypass grafts which actually mimic human blood vessel pulsations and help to deliver blood and nutrients contained in the bloodstream to the heart and the rest of the body.  The vessels are engineered to withstand the high blood pressures maintained by the human body and are resistant to clot and plaque formation.

Need a specific graft to aid circulation? They can make one.  Need to boost the rest of the artery the graft maintains? They can add specialized stem cells to coat the lining of the arti-artery.

Outside of specialization, this opens up the option of bypass grafting  surgery for those who would be poor candidates due to a lack of suitable arteries within the patient to choose from, like the legs.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire.

Yes, that’s right.  Scientists have now found another “bad” cholesterol which contributes to the development of heart disease.  (Somebody please, stop them!)  We already know of LDL, the other “bad” cholesterol which is not to be confused with HDL, the “good” cholesterol.  The latest to join the [...]]]> Source: The New England Journal of Medicine; BBC Health

Yes, that’s right.  Scientists have now found another “bad” cholesterol which contributes to the development of heart disease.  (Somebody please, stop them!)  We already know of LDL, the other “bad” cholesterol which is not to be confused with HDL, the “good” cholesterol.  The latest to join the party is Lp(a) or Lipoprotein(a) (Making the ska band, Bad Manners’ song “lip up fatty” even funnier than before, but I digress).

Unlike the dreaded LDL, Lp(a) is not controlled through statins (drugs) or a heart healthy diet. However, the good is that Lp(a) does not appear to contribute “as much” to the development of atherosclerosis. How much is “not as much”?  Well that’s really a different subject entirely isn’t it?  Suffice it to say that researchers, some of whom are at Oxford University, are working on that bit, as well as finding medications which might effectively control Lp(a).

And as we all know by know, everyone’s risk of heart disease might be reduced if they eat a healthy diet, remain physically active and avoid smoking. To the rest of you, good luck.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire.

I’m not being ageist, but how else do I refer to patients aged 80 and over, other than elderly?  I’ll take your suggestions.

Cardiac (that’s in relation to the heart) guidelines in both the US and the UK are similar in their recommendations for blood pressure medications at age 80 and [...]]]> Source:  BBC Health; British Heart Foundation

I’m not being ageist, but how else do I refer to patients aged 80 and over, other than elderly?  I’ll take your suggestions.

Cardiac (that’s in relation to the heart) guidelines in both the US and the UK are similar in their recommendations for blood pressure medications at age 80 and beyond. A combination of medications –statins (drugs which lower blood pressure) and ACE inhibitors (same but different mechanism) being among the primary classifications along with drugs which specifically address cholesterol (fat) in the arteries.  The goal of the guidelines is to provide a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg.

When cardiologists start suggesting that there patients might be over-medicated you should take notice.  The recommendations of a recent study, the “Cochrane Study” calls for a more reasonable (meaning less aggressively achieved with medications) target blood pressure of 150/80 mmHg.

If you are concerned that your spouse, parent, grandparent or family member may be receiving  too much in the way of cardiac medications talk to their cardiologist.  Be an informed medical consumer, not one of the sheeple.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire

Ho! Ho! Aaaacckkk… Kidding! Well, sort of.  Cardiac deaths rise 33% from November to January with peaks on Christmas and New Year’s Day. This according to medical researchers in Los Angeles, so it’s not the stress of cold temperatures on the heart.

So what is it then?  Stress. According to [...]]]> Source: American Physiological Society (APS) Podcast

Ho! Ho! Aaaacckkk… Kidding! Well, sort of.  Cardiac deaths rise 33% from November to January with peaks on Christmas and New Year’s Day. This according to medical researchers in Los Angeles, so it’s not the stress of cold temperatures on the heart.

So what is it then?  Stress. According to the theory, stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system which releases catecholamines, subsatances which increase heart rate and blood pressure and cause the heart to contract. Too many of these could damage muscle of the heart and also could dislodge plaque (fat deposited in the arteries) causing a blood clot which closes off flow to the heart and done.

So it’s the holidays. They aren’t easy. Take them slowly and in stride.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron Esquire

2,755 working men in Stockholm (the city, not the syndrome) were studied between 1992 and 1995.  47 of those in the study died from a heart attack or complications of heart disease.  While the study considered the traditional factors, over age 41, high BP, high BMI, smoking, drinking and [...]]]> Source: BBC Health; Stress Research Institute, Stockholm

2,755 working men in Stockholm (the city, not the syndrome) were studied between 1992 and 1995.  47 of those in the study died from a heart attack or complications of heart disease.  While the study considered the traditional factors, over age 41, high BP, high BMI, smoking, drinking and low physical activity, the primary focus was upon how the individuals dealt with anger.

Researchers concluded that those men who did not openly express their anger from conflict situations in the workplace and instead “bottled it up” had double the risk of death from heart disease.

According to  a cardiac RN with the British Heart Foundation, “Stress itself is not a risk factor…but…responses to stress…” Indeed.  Thought of the day.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire

Okay, it’s not the mediterranean but most of you in North America won’t know the difference.  A medical study was carried out in conjunction with Cairo’s (in Egypt) Museum of Antiquities on mummies of all people.  22 of them and the results are interesting.

16 of the 22 mummies were preserved sufficiently to identify [...]]]> Source: The Beeb

Okay, it’s not the mediterranean but most of you in North America won’t know the difference.  A medical study was carried out in conjunction with Cairo’s (in Egypt) Museum of Antiquities on mummies of all people.  22 of them and the results are interesting.

16 of the 22 mummies were preserved sufficiently to identify arteries, or at least pathways for the arteries, and residual areas of the heart.  of those 16, 9 had calcifications in what would have been their coronary arteries. Yep atherosclerosis, a build up of cholesterol.  So while they weren’t eating fast food or processed foods, there is something going on here because they have evidence, albeit very retrospectively of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).

Okay, admittedly it’s not “earth-shattering” and it certainly doesn’t offer any kind of excuse for the majority of those overweight and sedentary eating processed and highly fat-saturated meals, but it is interesting.  Given that the populace of ancient Egypt is generally believed to have consumed a “healthy diet” by our standards today, why the plaque?

Well it may simply represent a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol or it could also mean that the closely related and highly affluent who were fortunate enough (if that’s the right phrasing) to be mummified were also privy to a diet higher in proteins and fats.  I’ll defer to the actual biological anthropologists and not we “dabblers.”

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire

The latest research presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Conference (that odd area between the Continental US and Alaska) suggests that there are no gender differences in symptoms of myocardial infarction (MI or Heart Attack).

The classic signs, so called Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) are: chest pain; throat, jaw and neck pain; shortness of [...]]]> Source: Canadian Cardiovascular Conference

The latest research presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Conference (that odd area between the Continental US and Alaska) suggests that there are no gender differences in symptoms of myocardial infarction (MI or Heart Attack).

The classic signs, so called Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) are: chest pain; throat, jaw and neck pain; shortness of breath; nausea; sweating; and, a sense of dread or fear. An earlier US study in 2003 had offered that women may not experience chest pain or other “hallmarks” of impending heart attack.

The study, which was performed by inducing symptoms during angioplasty and recording patients symptoms (Yes, that does sound like an inherently bad idea) was performed on a population of 305 patients.  245 or (85%) of them experienced ischemia, a decrease in vascular blood flow in conjunction with the angioplasty procedure.

Women do tend to verbalize their pain more (shocking, I know) and described their symptoms differently from men.  However, end result, symptoms are the same regardless of gender.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire

How’s that for a teaser?  Well a team of Danish researchers has followed Danes for 10 years to arrive at the conclusion that those with small thighs (below 55 cm or 21.65 inches for we non-metric types) had twice the risk for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

Before you get too [...]]]> Source: British Medical Journal

How’s that for a teaser?  Well a team of Danish researchers has followed Danes for 10 years to arrive at the conclusion that those with small thighs (below 55 cm or 21.65 inches for we non-metric types) had twice the risk for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

Before you get too excited, the study was primarily concerned with the amount of muscle mass in one’s thighs and not necessarily just girth.  It is suggested that too little muscle mass makes it difficult for the body to respond to and regulate insulin as it should, increasing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and eventually, heart disease.

So while bathing suit season is ending in Pennsylvania and New Jersey you may have good reason to feel better by the coming resort season.  Yes, I’m aware this reads as incredibly sexist but the study did include both men and women.  Besides, I’m merely passing the information along for your consideration.  I’m taking no personal opinion on the matter.  Whatsoever.

Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esq.