Dr. John's Health Matters
Welcome to Dr. John's Health Matters blog.
The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
Following:
Navigate
COMING SOON!
Expand all | Collapse all 
Search
Click Tags under Articles
NOTE: SEARCH BY KEYWORD FUNCTIONS BELOW ARE TEMPORARILY MALFUNCTIONING. USE AT OWN RISK.
Or Display Full Article by
Posts tagged "coronary"
Tuesday, Sep 1st, 2009 ↓Caution on mix of cholesterol-lowering meds →
Sept 1, 2009 (Cbc.ca)—Combining a prescription cholesterol-lowering medication with omega-3 supplements may not be the best approach, a new review suggests.
Statins are medications that prevent the liver from producing cholesterol, which can help reduce the risk of heart attacks. Every year, Canadian doctors write more than 12 million prescriptions for statins, making them the most-prescribed drugs in the country. Omega-3’s are heart-healthy oils that some evidence suggests help reduce the risk of coronary disease.
In the Nov. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Mukul Sharma, medical director of the Regional Stroke Centre at the Ottawa Hospital, and his team reviewed five different cholesterol-lowering medications that can be combined as well as omega-3 supplements sold over the counter. They concluded there is little evidence to support mixing them.
Bad cholesterol increase
In one case, the researchers found taking prescription medication with omega-3 had the opposite effect.
“Your bad cholesterol, the LDL, actually goes up,” Sharma said. “There isn’t a benefit in terms of heart disease, stroke or mortality.”
Most cholesterol patients may be better off taking higher doses of one drug instead of multiple medications, since there may be less chance of side-effects and long-term problems developing, he said. People are also less likely to take their medications the more that are prescribed.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cholesterol increase risk danger LDL prescription cardiovascular blood heart statin medication liver heart attack prevention coronary disease
Secondhand Smoke Worsens Outcome of Acute Coronary Syndrome →
Aug 28, 2009 (Medscape.com)— - Environmental exposure to tobacco smoke - a known risk factor for myocardial infarction and other acute coronary syndromes (ACS) - can also worsen prognosis after ACS, according to a new study.
“These findings suggest that, by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, smoke-free legislation may not only reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events, but may also improve prognosis in those who suffer them,” Professors Jill P. Pell and Sally Haw write in a featured editorial published with the study in the September issue of Heart.
For full medical article, see link above.
Tags: secondhand smoke cigarette acute coronary syndrome myocardial infarction risk danger cardiovascular smoker
Hormone therapy fatal in prostate cancer sufferers →
Aug 27, 2009 (Presstv.com)—Hormone-based medications commonly used to treat aggressive prostate cancer may be hazardous for certain men suffering from heart problems.
Previous studies had reported that drugs which block tumor-fueling surges of testosterone can effectively treat aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
A new study, however, finds radiation therapy added with these drugs increase the mortality rate in men already suffering from heart disease.
According to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, neoadjuvant hormone therapy doubles the risk of death in prostate cancer sufferers with coronary artery disease-induced congestive heart failure (CHF) and myocardial infarction (MI).
Such a high mortality risk, however, was not reported among those with no comorbidity or just a single coronary disease risk factor undergoing the treatment.
Scientists concluded that physicians should prescribe hormone therapy with care in men with serious heart diseases. Such men account for only five percent of the male population.
PKH/AA
Tags: hormone therapy prostate cancer danger risk heart disease cardiovascularr testosterone death coronary artery congestive heart failure heart attack myocardial infarction treatment
Whole Grain Cereals, Popcorn Rich In Antioxidants, Not Just Fiber, New Research Concludes →
Aug 18, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—In a first-of-its kind study, scientists reported today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that snack foods like popcorn and many popular breakfast cereals contain “surprisingly large” amounts of healthful antioxidant substances called “polyphenols.”
Polyphenols are a major reason why fruits and vegetables — and foods like chocolate, wine, coffee, and tea — have become renowned for their potential role in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.
Until now, however, no one knew that commercial hot and cold whole grain cereals — regarded as healthful for their fiber content — and snack foods also were a source of polyphenols.
“Early researchers thought the fiber was the active ingredient for these benefits in whole grains, the reason why they may reduce the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease,” said Joe Vinson, Ph.D., who headed the new study. “But recently, polyphenols emerged as potentially more important. Breakfast cereals, pasta, crackers, and salty snacks constitute over 66 percent of whole grain intake in the U.S. diet.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: whole grain cereal popcorn antioxidant polyphenol prevention disease cancer fiber heart coronary
Is There Long-term Brain Damage After Bypass Surgery? More Evidence Puts The Blame On Heart Disease →
Aug 6, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.
Researchers say their latest findings explain study results presented last year, which showed that the heart-lung machines – used to pump blood and supply the body with oxygen while the heart is stopped during surgery – did not cause postoperative long-term brain deficits.
“Our results hammer home the message that heart-lung machines are not to be blamed for cognitive declines observed years later in people who have had bypass surgery,” says lead study investigator Ola A. Selnes, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the neurology department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The new results stand in contrast to the impact of heart-lung machines on so-called “pumphead” syndrome, the temporary memory loss, vision and slurred speech observed right after surgery in many heart bypass patients.
For full article see link above.
Tags: heart disease cardiovascular coronary artery heart-lung machine blood oxygen brain cognitive decline bypass surgery memory vision speech
Twin Study Examines Associations Between Depression And Coronary Artery Disease →
Aug 5, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Major depression and coronary artery disease are only modestly related throughout an individual’s lifetime, but studying how the two interact over time and in twin pairs paints a more complex picture of the associations between the conditions, according to a new report. For example, the association between coronary artery disease onset and major depression risk is much stronger over time than vice versa.
“While an association between major depression and coronary artery disease has long been noted and recently confirmed, the direction and cause of this association remain unclear,” the authors write as background information in the article. High cortisol levels, inflammation and changes in blood platelet function associated with depression may increase risk for coronary artery disease; coronary artery disease is a stressful event that may increase risk for depression; and shared genetic or environmental factors may underlie both conditions.
Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, and colleagues studied 30,374 twins (average age 57) from the Swedish Twin Registry. Information was obtained from telephone interviews conducted between 1998 and 2003 and also from Swedish hospital discharge and death registers.
The results of statistical models over time and of twin pairs yielded several findings, the authors note. “First, the lifetime association between major depression and coronary artery disease in this sample was modest and did not differ substantially in men and women,” they write. “Second, in more informative time-dependent analyses, coronary artery disease onset was associated with a nearly three-fold increased risk for depressive onset in that year and a nearly two-fold increase in subsequent years. The long-term effect of coronary artery disease on risk for major depression did not attenuate over time.”
“Third, given an onset of major depression, the risk for coronary artery disease onset was increased 2.5-fold in that year and much more modestly in subsequent years,” they continue. “The ongoing increased risk for coronary artery disease after major depression onset did not attenuate over time. Although modest, this future risk for coronary artery disease was strongly related to the severity and recurrence of major depression. Indeed, elevated future coronary artery disease risk was confined to individuals with recurrent episodes of major depression or those who meet more than the minimum number of diagnostic criteria.”
For full article see link above.
Heart Disease Patients With Previous Blockages More Likely To Die →
Aug 5, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Heart disease patients with previous atherosclerosis (fat deposits in the walls of the arteries) are more likely to die in the hospital and less likely to be treated with recommended therapies, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers analyzed data from the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease database to determine whether compliance with quality of care treatment for heart disease was associated with the extent of prior vascular disease. They examined records from 143,999 patients hospitalized in 438 facilities between 2000 and 2008. Overall in-hospital mortality for all patients was 5.3 percent, but those who had previous artery blockages were more likely to die while hospitalized than those who had no prior vascular disease.
They were also less likely to undergo surgery to clear their new blockages, had longer hospital stays and received cholesterol-lowering drugs, counseling to stop smoking and angiotensin-coverting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for left ventricular dysfunction less often.
“The results are surprising,” said Emmanouil S. Brilakis, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and director of cardiac catheterization laboratories at Veterans Administration North Texas Healthcare System. “Patients with prior atherosclerosis have a higher risk for complications compared to those without prior atherosclerosis. Therefore, one would expect them to be more likely to receive these evidence-based treatments.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: heart disease cardiovascular coronary artery blockage death die hospitalization surgery cholesterol smoking counseling atherosclerosis risk
Longer Life For Milk Drinkers, Study Suggests →
July 22, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Research undertaken by the Universities of Reading, Cardiff and Bristol has found that drinking milk can lessen the chances of dying from illnesses such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke by up to 15-20 %.
In recent times milk has often been portrayed by the media as an unhealthy food. The study, led by Professor Peter Elwood (Cardiff University) together with Professor Ian Givens from the University of Reading’s Food Chain and Health Research Theme, aimed to establish whether the health benefits of drinking milk outweigh any dangers that lie in its consumption.
Importantly, this is the first time that disease risk associated with drinking milk has been looked at in relation to the number of deaths which the diseases are responsible for.
The review brought together published evidence from 324 studies of milk consumption as predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and, diabetes. Data on milk consumption and cancer were based on the recent World Cancer Research Fund report. The outcomes were then compared with current death rates from these diseases.
Professor Givens explained: “While growth and bone health are of great importance to health and function, it is the effects of milk and dairy consumption on chronic disease that are of the greatest relevance to reduced morbidity and survival. Our review made it possible to assess overall whether increased milk consumption provides a survival advantage or not. We believe it does.
“Our findings clearly show that when the numbers of deaths from CHD, stroke and colo-rectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from these chronic diseases due to milk consumption. We certainly found no evidence that drinking milk might increase the risk of developing any condition, with the exception of prostate cancer. Put together, there is convincing overall evidence that milk consumption is associated with an increase in survival in Western communities.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: milk calcium heart chd coronary disease prevention diet nutrition stroke diabetes bone dairy cancer
New Evidence: Exercise Helps Heart Disease, Increases Survival Better than Angioplasty →
July 11, 2009 (NaturalNews.com)— At the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation meeting recently held in Barcelona, Spain, new heart research was presented that shows one treatment in particular can provide remarkable help for patients with certain forms of serious heart disease. It’s not a new drug or surgical procedure. Instead, it’s a natural therapy — plain old-fashioned regular exercise.
In fact, in several studies just presented at the meeting, exercise reduced the markers of heart disease in patients following coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). What’s more, it improved indications of disease in people with heart failure, a condition usually thought to be incurable and often just treated with symptom-relieving drugs. But the news that’s perhaps most likely to make some interventional cardiologists’ hearts skip a beat or two was the evidence presented that showed that exercise improved cardiac event-free survival in coronary patients better than angioplasty with stents.
For full article see link above.
Tags: heart cardiovasular exercise rehabilitation disease bypass surgery failure coronary angioplasty PCI plaque prevention
Component Of Vegetable Protein May Be Linked To Lower Blood Pressure →
July 6, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Consuming an amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may be associated with lower blood pressure, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found that a 4.72 percent higher dietary intake of the amino acid glutamic acid as a percent of total dietary protein correlated with lower group average systolic blood pressure, lower by 1.5 to 3.0 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Group average diastolic blood pressure was lower by 1.0 to 1.6 mm Hg.
Systolic blood pressure is the force when the heart beats; diastolic pressure is the pressure when the heart rests between beats.
This average lower blood pressure seems small from an individual perspective. But, on a population scale, it represents a potentially important reduction, said Jeremiah Stamler, M.D., lead author of the study.
“It is estimated that reducing a population’s average systolic blood pressure by 2 mm Hg could cut stroke death rates by 6 percent and reduce mortality from coronary heart disease by 4 percent,” said Stamler, professor emeritus of the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.
For full article see link above.
Tags: vegetables glutamic hypertension heart circulatory blood pressure amino acid stroke prevention coronary disease
Walnuts can cut cholesterol, say Harvard researchers →
July 2, 2009 (Nutraingredients.com)—A meta-analysis of walnuts by Harvard scientists has found diets rich in walnuts can significantly reduce cholesterol levels, supporting growing evidence to suggest these popular nuts can improve healthy blood lipid ratios.
In their investigation of thirteen studies, the researchers demonstrated that walnut-rich consumption decreased total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol during short term trials. However the scientists suggested that “larger and longer-term trials” are needed to observe the effects of eating walnuts, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, on cardiovascular risk and weight management.
For full article see link above.
Massive Decline in Coronary Deaths in Iceland Due Mostly to Natural Health Strategies →
(NaturalNews) It sounds miraculous. In the 25 years between 1981 and 2006 mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) in Iceland decreased by an amazing 80 percent in men and women between the ages of 25 and 74. How could such a huge decline be explained?
Was it the result of some miracle drug? Are the health services in Iceland incredibly better than elsewhere? Findings of a study by the Icelandic Heart Association and the University of Iceland have the answer — the vast majority of the cardiac mortality decrease in Iceland was attributable to reductions in risk factors throughout the general population. And the lowered risk was accomplished by simply adopting natural, healthy living strategies. Bottom line: the “miracle” heart attack-disease prescription turned out to be getting more exercise, not smoking and eating nutritious foods.
To figure out what caused the huge drop in CHD deaths, Dr. Thor Aspelund and his research team from the Icelandic Heart Association and the University of Iceland applied a validated CHD analysis model (called the IMPACT mortality model) to thoroughly analyze official Icelandic death statistics, national quality registers, published trials and meta-analyses, clinical audits and a series of national population surveys. The results of this research, just presented at the EuroPRevent 2009 meeting in Barcelona, Spain, show that about three-quarters of the mortality decrease in Iceland was attributable to reductions in risk factors. Specifically, it appears Icelanders are living longer with healthier hearts because they have taken control of their health.
For full article, see link above.
Combined Aerobic and Strength Training Best for Women With Coronary Artery Disease
News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD
CME Author: Charles Vega, MD, FAAFP
Oct. 14, 2004 — Combined aerobic and strength training exercise is better than aerobic exercise alone for older women with coronary artery disease (CAD), according to the results of a randomized trial published in the October issue of Chest. “Older women with CAD have reduced peak aerobic power (VO2peak), muscle strength, and quality of life (QOL),” write Chihya Hung, MSc, and colleagues from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. “Exercise interventions that can improve VO2peak and muscle strength may also result in an improvement in QOL.”
This study compared the effect of aerobic training or combined aerobic and strength training on VO2peak, distance walked in six minutes, upper extremity and lower extremity maximal strength, and QOL in 18 women with documented CAD. Age range was 60 to 80 years, aerobic training consisted of treadmill and cycle exercise, and the combined aerobic and strength training exercise group also participated in upper extremity and lower extremity strength training.
After baseline testing, the women were randomized to aerobic training or combined aerobic and strength training, 30 minutes per day, three days per week for eight weeks. The increase in VO2peak, distance walked in six minutes, lower extremity strength, and emotional and global QOL was similar in both groups. However, upper extremity strength, and physical and social QOL improved in the combined aerobic and strength training group but was unchanged in the aerobic training group.
“Older women with CAD should perform aerobic and strength training to attain optimal improvements in overall physical fitness and QOL,” the authors write. “The improvement in overall physical fitness may make the difference between living independently versus becoming a resident of a seniors’ home in the near future after having a myocardial infarction.”
In an accompanying editorial, Walid Hassan, MD, FCCP, and Mohamed Eid Fawzy, MD, from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia, note that the beneficial effects of exercise on CAD risk are less marked in women than in men.
“Mechanisms by which increased exercise benefits patients with CAD may include improvement in the following: endothelial function, vasodilatory reserve, vascular conditioning, capillary density, oxidative enzyme content, mitochondrial number and size, high-density lipoprotein, collateral circulation (possible), insulin resistance, BP [blood pressure], body weight, psychological benefits, and increased self confidence,” the authors write. “Despite the small number of subjects in the study group, no mention of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, and the presence and quantity of myocardial ischemia, Hung and colleagues must be congratulated for this prospective investigation, which provides important information for us to use in cardiac rehabilitation programs, and to be applied in future large-scale trials with longer follow-up to determine long-term morbidity and mortality benefits.”
Chest. 2004;126:1009-1010, 1026-1031
Cardiac Imaging Zaps Patients with High Radiation →
Feb 06 09 (NaturalNews) Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and many heart attacks occur in people who’ve had no previous symptoms or warning. So a noninvasive imaging technique known as cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography (CCTA) that evaluates the anatomy of the coronary arteries quickly and can find calcified and non-calcified plaques that could lead to a heart attack sounds like a great idea — especially when the test is so specific it has about a 90% accuracy rate.
In fact, the 64-slice (meaning it scans 64 images per rotation) CCTA is currently being used in an increasing number of patients who go to the emergency room with chest pains or who have had abnormal stress tests. And some doctors are advocating using it on seemingly healthy people to look for hidden heart disease, too.
However, a new study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association points out that CCTA may not be the super safe test it has been hyped to be. In fact, it could be exposing countless people to high levels of radiation. That means, while checking for possibly non-existent heart disease, it could be promoting the development of cancer. Moreover, the researchers said while there are methods to reduce the dose of radiation the test produces, they are rarely used.
For full article, see link above.
Trans Fat Levels Increase Risk of Coronary Heart Disease
“Trans Fat Levels Increase Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Presented at AHA”
By Charlene Laino CHICAGO, IL — November 16, 2006 — Consumption of trans fatty acids is a strong and independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, a new analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study shows. Qi Sun, MD, departments of nutrition and epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston Massachusetts, presented the results here on November 14[th at American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions (AHA) 2006 Scientific Sessions.
While previous studies have shown that trans fatty acid intake is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), the new study is one of the first to quantify that risk, Dr. Sun said. Additionally, most past studies used food questionnaires or food diaries to assess intake, a design that is subject to recall bias, he said. In contrast, the new research assessed the hypothesis that higher trans fatty acid levels in erythrocytes are associated with both higher dietary intake and elevated risks of CHD among women, Dr. Sun said.
Blood samples were prospectively collected from more than 30,000 participants of the Nurses’ Health Study in 1989 and 1990. During 6 years of follow-up, 167 incident cases of CHD were ascertained and matched with 344 controls for age, smoking and fasting status, and date of blood collection. Capillary gas-liquid chromatography was used to assess baseline trans fatty acid levels in erythrocytes as a percentage of total fatty acids.
Results showed that total trans fatty acids in the erythrocytes were significantly correlated with dietary intake of trans fats (Spearman partial correlation coefficient = 0.44), Dr. Sun said. After adjusting for age, smoking status, and other dietary and lifestyle cardiovascular risk factors, higher total trans fatty acid levels were associated with elevated risks of CHD. Specifically, women in the highest quartile of total trans fatty acid levels in erythrocytes were 3.3 times more likely to develop CHD than those in the lowest quartile.
“There was a significant linear relationship across all the groups,” Dr. Sun added, with women in the second quartile 50% more likely to develop CHD than those in the lowest quartile. Women in the third quartile were 70% more likely o develop CHD, compared with those in the lowest quartile (P trend = .003.) Women in the lowest quartile consumed the equivalents of 1.3 g per 1000 kcal of trans fats per day, while those in the highest quartile consumed the equivalents of 2.0 g per 1,000 kcal per day, he said.
“There was no threshold,” Dr. Sun said. “The more trans fats you consume, the worse it is.” Commenting on the study, Ray Gibbons, MD, AHA president and professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United Sates, said he supports a ban on trans fats. “We still don’t know that any level of trans fats are OK,” Dr. Gibbons said. “This study buttresses arguments to get rid of them.”
Dr. Gibbons noted that in 2004, Denmark enacted legislation to eliminate industrially produced trans fats from the food supply. “While it was difficult in the first few months, my understanding is that the ban has been a success,” he said.
