Exercise is good medicine for heart failure patients ? even while they await heart transplantation ? according to a new statement from the American Heart Association published in today’s print issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
In older people with high blood pressure, a sharp increase in blood pressure in the morning increases the risk of stroke and is linked to brain lesions known as “silent” strokes, according to a study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “This study is the first to show that an excessive morning blood pressure surge is a predictor of stroke in elderly people with high blood pressure,” says lead author Kazuomi Kario, M.D., from the department of cardiology at Jichi Medical School in Tochigi, Japan.
The drug ramipril significantly reduced the onset of debilitating and often-fatal heart failure in a large group of high-risk patients, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Ramipril, trade-named Altace, is one of a family of high blood pressure medications known as ACE inhibitors. The drugs reduce the risk of death from heart failure ? the inability of a weakened or damaged heart to pump enough blood through the body ? in people who suffer heart attacks. The American Heart Association estimates that nearly 5 million people in the United States have congestive heart failure.
An interruption in normal breathing patterns during sleep which is often seen in heart failure patients may contribute to heart failure rather than just being a result, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study.
“We are now finding that central sleep apnea, which has been previously understood as a symptom of heart failure, may contribute to the development of heart failure in people at risk,” said the study’s lead researcher.
Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology can detect heart attack in emergency room patients with chest pain more accurately and faster than traditional methods, according to a new study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Published in the February 4 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the findings suggest that more patients who are suffering a heart attack or who otherwise have severe blockages in their coronary arteries could receive treatment to reduce or prevent permanent damage to the heart if they are assessed with MRI.
In women with metabolic syndrome, blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) can help predict cardiovascular risk, researchers reported today in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. CRP is an indicator of inflammation. High levels of CRP have been linked to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes.
Anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis may also benefit people with heart disease by improving blood vessel flexibility and reducing inflammation, according to a small study in today’s rapid track report from Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “Increasing evidence indicates that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease,” says senior author Frank Ruschitzka, M.D., of the department of cardiology at University Hospital in Z?rich, Switzerland. “Thus, anti-inflammatory agents used to treat arthritis, such as COX-2 inhibitors, may not only reduce inflammation in the joints, but could possibly have that same anti-inflammatory benefit in the vessel wall. This study is the first to show that relationship.”
Researchers have found that vitamin C and taurine, an amino acid in fish, reversed abnormal blood vessel response associated with cigarette smoking ? a discovery that may provide insight into how smoking contributes to “hardening of the arteries,” according to an Irish study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In a second study, researchers from Iowa demonstrated that a drug used to treat gout ? allopurinol ? rapidly reversed the abnormal blood vessel constriction caused by smoking.
Transplanted hearts stayed healthier in patients who took a cholesterol-lowering drug, according to an eight-year study reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. After eight years, the survival rate for patients who received early simvastatin treatment was 88.6 percent compared to 59.5 percent of patients who didn’t start simvastatin treatment until four years after transplant, says the study’s lead author. The team also studied the effects of simvastatin on the development of coronary artery thickening called transplant vasculopathy, which is a major long term complication of heart transplantation. Early simvastatin treatment cut in half the incidence of vessel thickening as measured by angiography, which probably explained the improved survival rate.
A rapid and inexpensive blood test that measures levels of a hormone predicted the long-term health of patients with heart attack and chest pain, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. This hormone ? B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) ? is elevated when the heart is damaged. A fragment of this hormone called the N-terminal fragment (N-BNP), can provide a clearer picture of a patient’s likelihood of survival, more so than with current prognostic methods.
A person age 40 or older has a one-in-five chance of developing congestive heart failure, according to a study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study authors also reported that lifetime risk of developing heart failure doubles for people who have high blood pressure.
Maybe people who eat fatty foods without negative health consequences really haven’t sold their souls to the devil. They may just have good genes. The link between dietary fat intake and heart disease is hardwired into our genes, according to research reported today. “This genetic mutation helps explain why some people are able to adapt to a Western high-fat diet, while others are not able to,” says lead author Jose M. Ordovas. The fat risk is greatest for people who have a specific genetic mutation in the hepatic lipase (LIPC) gene that is involved in the way high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ? “good cholesterol” ? is metabolized. The mutation is called ?514 (C/T) LIPC, and occurs in the promoter (or expression) region of the LIPC gene encoding the ?514 T allele.
Obese men can significantly reduce heart disease risk on a three-week low-fat, high-fiber diet and daily exercise ? even though they may lose only a few pounds, according to research announced today in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Men who consumed a diet high in grains, vegetables and fruit and took brisk daily walks reduced their high blood pressure, a hallmark risk factor for congestive heart failure, kidney disease, coronary artery disease and stroke.
Researchers have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict the risk of heart attacks or cardiac deaths in coronary heart disease patients, according to a report in today?s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
