- Author: Johnson Francis
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: Aug 8,2008
Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s great fund raising event held annually. The aim is to promote physical activity and heart healthy living in an atmosphere of fun and family involvement. This year more than 1 million walkers will participate in more than 450 events to raise funds for saving lives from heart disease and stroke the number one and number three killers of Unites States of America. You can walk with your family, friends, co-workers or strangers and build a strong bondage. You are welcome to organise a team at work in your company along with your co-workers. The American Heart Association will honour and recognize individuals, companies and teams that have made their all out efforts in this great humanitarian venture. Top walkers, top companies and top nationwide teams are listed separately on the American Heart Association website.
Poor diet and lack of exercise are responsible for at least 25% of health care costs of working adults. Physical inactivity more than doubles the risk of heart disease. So what are you waiting for? Start walking today! Don’t forget to continue walking for at least 30 - 40 minutes a day for the rest of your life. No harm in talking one or two days off every week. But maintain the program life long and encourage your friends and family to do so. A word of caution for those who already have heart disease - please get clearance from your physician regarding the permissible level of activity.
- Author: Johnson Francis
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: Aug 6,2008
Photo by hapal
Eating fish twice a week has been a widely accepted way to reduce the burden of coronary heart disease. Fish is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids and help to maintain the 4:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids in diet. But a recent study in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of American Dietetic Association (J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1178-85.) has shown that two of the most widely farmed fish, tilapia and catfish may have an unfavourable omega 6 fatty acid content. At the same time, trout and Atlantic salmon had higher omega 3 fatty acid content and low omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio. This has been attributed to the fact that wild fish feed on algae with high omega 3 content while farmed fish feed on commercial feed high in omega 6 fats. The beneficial long-chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.
- Author: Johnson Francis
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: Jun 13,2008
Coronary steal is the term given to blood being stolen from one region of the coronary tree by another. It is also called coronary steal syndrome. In fact the term steal is used in vascular medicine for one territory stealing blood from another territory. Another example of steal is subclavian steal in which the arm steals blood from the brain so that the person feels giddiness during arm exercise. Steal occurs when there is obstruction to one vessel which is connected to another. Coming back to coronary steal, it occurs when certain type of vasodilators (blood vessel dilating drugs) are given. The classical example is a drug called dipyridamole. Dipyridamole is both an antiplatelet drug and a vasodilator. When it is given to a person with partial obstruction to a coronary artery, all the coronary vessels dilate. Hence blood will flow preferentially to the non obstructed vessels, reducing the flow in the region of the obstructed vessel. Hence the drug given to improve the circulation will predispose to stealing of the blood into other regions. This is why dipyridamole is not used for this purpose usually. This disadvantage can be used in the form of dipyridamole stress test to bring out the deficiency of blood supply in a suspected case, if the person is unable to undergo a treadmill exercise test due to physical deficits in the legs. Another drug with similar effect is adenosine. Adenosine is used for pharmacological stress test now a days because it is short acting. Any reduction in blood supply to a region of the heart produced by adenosine is quickly reversed and unlikely to lead to long lasting cardiac damage.
- Author: Johnson Francis
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: May 31,2008
Photo by greefus groinks
Today is World No Tobacco Day. The theme this year is “Tobacco-free Youth”. World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments to protect the 1.8 billion young people of the world by imposing a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. This year’s campaign focusses on the large scale advertising by tobacco companies to “catch them young”. Studies have shown that the more young people are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to start smoking. Despite this, comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising covers only 5% of the world’s population. Please visit the WHO page for more details: Tobacco-Free Youth interactive website
To prevent tobacco use or any substance use, assertiveness training should be given to adolescents. They should be able to say no boldly to any peer group pressure which tries to force them towards its use. Adolescents start using tobacco as a means of excitement, consolation, rebellion or as an effort to belong to a peer group.
- Author: Johnson Francis
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: May 25,2008
Photo by denn
Angioplasty is a method to remove blocks from important blood vessels. The most common form of angioplasty is coronary angioplasty, the method of removing blocks from the blood vessels supplying oxygenated blood (arteries) to the heart. Coronary angioplasty was originally described by Andreas Gruentzig in 1975. He used a balloon at the tip of tiny long tubes known catheters to dilate narrowed coronary arteries. The procedure is also known as PTCA (Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty). Blood vessels supplying the brain, kidneys and the limbs can also be treated by angioplasty. Coronary angioplasty is usually done when one or more blood vessels supplying the heart are critically narrowed (> 70% decrease in diameter). The most important benefit of angioplasty is symptomatic relief, rather than improvement in survival. The procedure is done under local anaesthesia. The tiny tubes used for angioplasty can be introduced into the body either through the groin or above the wrist. The tubes are threaded back into the main artery of the body called aorta and from the aorta into the coronary arteries under x-ray fluroscopic guidance. Initially iodine containing contrast dye is injected into the vessels to visualise the sites of narrowing. Once localised, a floppy guide wire is used to cross the narrowed segment of the vessel. A balloon tipped catheter (a tiny tube) is threded over the guide wire across the narrowing in the vessel. After confirming the position of the balloon by further injections of contrast dye, the balloon is inflated, enlarging the lumen of the vessel. Since the vessel which is newly dilated has a tendency to recoil and close off, it is stented using stainless-steel or cobalt-chromium stents. Stents are tiny mettalic structures like springs meant to hold the enlarge vessel lumen in position without closing off. The cost of stent depends on the type of material used - stainless steel stents being cheaper than cobalt-chromium stents. A recent introduction is drug eluting stents. Drug eluting stents having a polymer coating which holds drugs which prevent narrowing of vessels treated by angioplasty. One of the important disadvantages of angioplasty is the higher recurrence rate than bypass surgery, which is the alternative mode of treatment for severe blocks in coronary arteries. The chance for recurrence increases with the number of blocks treated. Hence some may prefer bypass surgery for those with multiple blocks. The advantage of angioplasty over bypass surgery is the earlier mobility and return to work. While the individual has to be in hospital for at least a week after bypass surgery, it is possible to go home in two days after an angioplasty. If the procedure is done through the blood vessels above the wrist, one can start walking within a few hours. Medicines to prevent recurrence of blocks have to be meticulously taken after angioplasty. Otherwise blood can clot within the stents and produce sudden total blocakge and sometimes a heart attack. A healthy life style with good diet, regular exercise and avoidance of risk factors like smoking are important in prevent new blocks from developing in other locations.
- Author: Bijoy Johnson
- Filed under: Health Buzz
- Date: Dec 26,2007
An editorial in The Lancet reminds us that all dark chocolates are not created equal!
A lot of studies have shown that Dark chocolate is good for the heart. This is because they contain lots of flavinoids - antioxidants which helps to reduce the oxidative damage to our body. (For knowing more about the benefits of dark chocolate, read my earlier post - A dark chocolate a day keeps the cardiologist away!)
Photo by karimian
But the truth is that dark chocolate need not necessarily contain flavinoids. As flavinoids taste bitter, some companies remove the flavinoids from dark chocolate to make them taste better. All that remains is fat and sugar and there is no health benefit whatsoever. Most companies do not reveal the content of flavinoids in their products and we have no way for finding out whether they are heart healthy or not. (Unless ofcourse you send them for analysis in a lab!) So the bottom line is, if you cant find a label describing the amount of flavinoids in the chocolate, you better stick to the traditional heart healthy diet - a balanced diet low in sugar, salt and fat, with lots of fruits and vetgetables.
Reference: The Lancet;
- Author: Bijoy Johnson
- Filed under: Health Buzz
- Date: Dec 26,2007
Photo by (Tres)
Most people believe that in order to get good exercise, you need to either join the gym or get those fancy (and expensive) exercise equipment. But recent research at the Stanford University shows that $10 is all the investment you need to stay healthy. $10 can get you a simple pedometer - a device that can measure the number of steps taken by a person during a given period of time. Organisations such as American Heart Association and Shape Up America recommends that adults should walk atleast 10,000 steps in one day.
Photo by tellumo
In recent years, more and more is understood about the health benefits of walking. Nowadays more advanced pedometers are available which can calculate the distance walked and even the calories you have spent. So lets walk towards a healthier life.
- Author: Bijoy Johnson
- Filed under: Health Buzz
- Date: Nov 22,2007
Photo by trekkyandy
A recent study published in ‘Circulation’ suggests that eating dark chocolate can decrease your risk for heart attack.
Heart attack is caused by blockage in the blood vessels supplying the heart. High oxidative stress and limited availability of antioxidants lead to the damage of the blood vessels, leading to increased chances for a blood clot. But dark chocolates (which contain 70% cocoa) have lots of flavinoids - potent antioxidants which helps to overcome the oxidative stress present in our body. They also decrease the activation of blood platelets - the blood cells responsible for blood clotting. The study which was conduted by a team of scientists in Switzerland, found that within two hours of eating 40g dark chocolate, the size of the coronary blood vessels increased by 6%.
Photo by ShutterCat7
Can’t you get more flavinoids from other foods? - you may ask. But the fact remains that dark chocolate contains greater amounts of flavinoids than any other food like green tea and blueberries. And companies have perfected their techniqes for the preparation of dark chocolate that upto 95% of flavinoids are preserved!
And before you reach out for that delicious dark chocolate bar, here’s something that you should remember - Although eating some dark chocolate is good for the heart, it’s still full of calories. So you’ve got to cut down on some other food stuffs.
Try dark chocolate bars that are not only delicious, but good for you too. Find the best dark chocolate from around the world.
- Author: Bijoy Johnson
- Filed under: Health Buzz
- Date: Nov 22,2007
Photo by CarbonNYC
“Oh God! You really gave me a heart attack!” Heard this before? Well, there is more truth in this than you could imagine.Doctors from John Hopkins University have confirmed that the news of the sudden death of a loved one or similar shocking news can really cause a broken heart. ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’ as they call it - is real, reversible and yet potentially deadly. Its a condition in which sudden severe emotional stress can cause extreme heart muscle weakness and heart attack like symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath.
What causes it?
When we hear a shocking news, our endocrine system kicks in and a lot of adrenaline and other proteins are produced. These help us to cope better with the stressful condition. But sometimes adrenaline surge can temporarily damage the hearts of some people. The exact reason for it is not yet known. It is believed to be caused by the decrease in blood supply to the heart due to narrowing of blood vessels. In the weakened state of the heart muscle, a temporary bulging of the apex of the heart occurs and hence its also called stress cardiomyopathy (disease of the cardiac muscle caused by stress).
Is it dangerous?
Broken heart syndrome can be life threatening in certain cases. It differs from the ‘classic heart attack’ in that most of the damage that occurs is reversible. A typical heart attack is caused by blockage in the blood vessels supplying the heart whereas broken heart syndrome is due to temporary narrowing of the blood vessels. With proper and timely medical medical care, most people recover within a few days. Rarely, it can even be fatal.
I have to face a lot of stress everyday. Am I at risk?
Broken heart syndrome is not caused by everyday stresses. It occurs due to a sudden severe emotional trauma. Moreover, most of the people who had this had no prior history of heart disease. It’s interesting to note that women are at greater risk for this than men, the exact cause for which is unknown.
Can people have Broken Heart Syndrome a second time?
Though it’s rare, there is a 10% chance for recurrence. But most people after suffering from an episode of broken heart syndrome went on to lead a healthy and happy life.
To learn more about keeping your heart healthy, read 5 steps towards a healthier heart
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- Author: Bijoy Johnson
- Filed under: Health Buzz
- Date: Nov 19,2007
Photo by aussiegall
Stem cells are those cells found the embryo, which have the capacity to transform into all of the different types of cells in our body - even heart muscle cells. They have been the subject of a lot of hype these days as newer techniques are being developed for their use in various fields of medicine.Researchers from Finland and California showed that injecting stem cells to the damaged hearts could boost the pumping power of the heart. This could be a new ray of hope for heart disease victims and may be the beginning of a new technology that may even change the way we look at heart disease. But the day when heart disease is totally curable is still years into the future and more research has to be done to perfect the techniques of stem cell therapy. Till then, its all pray and hope for the best!
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