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Heart Disease
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Definition of Heart Disease
Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of different diseases which affect the heart and is the leading cause of death in the United States as of 2007.
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Message To The Elderly: It's Never Too Late To Prevent Illness
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2007) — A new study by a NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientist has an important message for the elderly: It's not too late to improve your health through diet and exercise, even if you've had an unhealthy lifestyle in the past.
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See also:
Health & Medicine
Diet and Weight Loss
Healthy Aging
Fitness
Mind & Brain
Dieting and Weight Control
Nutrition Research
Mental Health
Reference
General fitness training
Detox diet
Coronary heart disease
Hypertension
The report surveyed scientific literature and found that adults, 65 and older, can have significant health improvements with simple and realistic lifestyle changes. It found that risk can be reduced for many diseases—including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
"I think this is an extremely important and positive message," says the paper's le
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Researchers Funded to Narrow Search for Genes Causing Diabetes
Dec. 12, 2007 – If scientist knew the exact gene that caused high blood sugar in diabetics, it might then be possible to alter that gene to control the glucose level and stop the disease. Scientists at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) expect to make big leaps in their understanding of genetic influences on diabetes, thanks to a new $1.7 million grant awarded to Dr. Joanne Curran, the grant’s principal investigator.
The grant from the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases will allow Dr. Curran and her colleagues to conduct a more detailed investigation on 100 genes that previous SFBR studies have shown to play a role in various risk factors for diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
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Dec. 10, 2007
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Respiratory Infections Linked To Increased Heart Attacks And Strokes
ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2007) — A new study, which appears today in the online edition of the European Heart Journal, has found strong evidence that recent respiratory infections increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, both of which are more common in the winter.
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See also:
Health & Medicine
Heart Disease
Stroke Prevention
Vioxx
Mind & Brain
Stroke
Caregiving
Disorders and Syndromes
Reference
Upper respiratory tract infection
Coronary heart disease
Multi-infarct dementia
COX-2 inhibitor
It has for some years been recognised, using information from death certificates, that there is an excess of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke during the winter months, over and above those directly attributable to deaths from respiratory disease. More direct evidence has been necessary.
The authors of this study applied to the British Heart Foundation for funding t
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Heart attack season
Prevention is better than a cure.
It is a familiar phrase used by doctors to get their patents to make smarter choices about their health. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.
Cox News Service file photo
(ENLARGE)
Smart choices will help keep the Christmas holiday season healthier, experts say.
But at this time of year, that advice is especially true for people with or at risk for heart disease, said Dr. Sunil Rao, a cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center. The rate of heart attack and heart disease-related deaths are highest in December and January.
A study done by the center in 2005 found that the rate of heart attack-related deaths in December, 21.7 percent, was higher than in other months, 20.7 percent, Rao said. The fact that heart attacks tend to be larger and more severe and the death rate is higher during December and January months should encourage people to be more aware of their bodies and their behavior, he said.
"Remember what a heart attack i
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Wonder Test Detects 250 Diseases
A 'wonder' test that claims to detect 250 signs of disease of cancer, heart disease and viruses has been launched in Britain.
The Biophysical 250 blood test, which costs £2,200, scans for cholesterol, vitamin deficiency, heart attack risk, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
A simple blood test will show up signs of diseaseSuch checks are popular in the U.S., where TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey took it and found she was in good health, but experts here believe they might lead to hypochondria and put the NHS under even greater strain from the so-called "worried well".
The Brompton Cross Clinic in South Kensington, West London, is the first to offer the test.
Dr Amber Kennard, managing director of the clinic, said: "This is the most comprehensive one-stop health check you can get.
"We are trying to catch people before the disasters happen so we can draw up an action plan to avoid or minimise the risk.
Two tablespoons of blood will be taken from each patient and sen
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Glaxo gets US okay to buy heart drug maker Reliant
WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust authorities have cleared GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to buy privately held heart drug specialist Reliant Pharmaceuticals.
The Federal Trade Commission announced that antitrust authorities had found no reason to oppose the deal in a listing of completed merger reviews that it issues periodically.
Glaxo, Europe's biggest drugmaker, said last month it planned to buy Reliant for $1.65 billion in cash.
Reliant, which recorded net sales of $341 million in the nine months ending Sept. 30, has a portfolio of specialty drugs for heart disease, including U.S. rights to Lovaza, an omega-3 treatment for patients with very high levels of triglycerides. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Brian Moss)
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Childhood Obesity Linked To Adult Heart Disease
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Over the past three decades, levels of childhood obesity have more than doubled in American children. Researchers now have proof that these excess pounds raise the risk of future heart disease.
Doctors followed 277,000 Danish school children for decades and found that those who were overweight as youngsters were more likely to have heart disease as adults. Children who were heavier than average between the ages of 7 and 13 years old had increased risks of both non-fatal and fatal heart disease later in life.
The extra weight was more damaging the longer it persisted -- so kids who were overweight as teenagers faced a higher risk than those who were overweight in early childhood.
In a related study, researchers used current statistics on obesity and heart disease to determine how childhood obesity may affect heart disease rates in the future. They estimated that, if things keep going as they are now, by 2035 there will be 100,000 extra cases of heart di
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MIAA To Conduct Workshop on Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Adolescents
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) will focus its next wellness workshop on Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and how to reduce its risk among young athletes and adolescents. The keynote speaker will be Jonathan Drezner, MD, a noted sports medicine physician and researcher, who will outline a plan for reducing SCA’s risk to these youth, aged six to 18.
It is estimated that SCA claims the lives of over 425 youngsters each month in the United States, but most often the first sign of a problem is sudden and unexpected death. Dr. Drezner will address the need for preventive planning, the limitations of traditional heart screening practices and the potential value of electrocardiogram (ECG) screening. He will also describe ways for school athletic departments to prepare an emergency action plan and checklist for dealing with SCA. Dr. Drezner serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for HeartScreen America, an Andover, MA based heart screening company using ECG techno
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Obese kids at heart disease risk
According to the findings of two separate studies conducted by Danish and American researchers the number of overweight children at risk of future heart disease is rapidly increasing.
The study, of more than 276,000 Danish children, revealed that overweight 7-13 year olds were more likely to develop heart disease after the age of 25.
An analysis of US health statistics published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that by the year 2035 teenage obesity will raise heart disease rates in the US by at least 16 percent.
In the United States some 17 percent of the boys and 16 percent of the girls are struggling with weight problems.
MHR/HGH
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Obese Children Increased Risk For Death From Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease And Attacks – CHD and Type 2 Diabetics
(Best Syndication) Pinon Hills - A new study says that obese children will be prone to heart attacks when they get older. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Columbia University Medical Center estimate up to 37 percent of males and 44 percent of females will be obese when these teenagers turn 35 years old in 2020.
They took a virtual snapshot of overweight adolescents back in 2000 and say that these kids are expected to have more heart disease and chronic chest pain. These kids will be more likely to die before the age of 50. Normally, they would not have to worry about heart disease until they were much older.
Since we tend to gain weight as we age, the problem is compounded. The model suggests that there will be more than 100,000 extra cases of heart disease by 2035. This is a 16 percent increase over today’s numbers.
There will be 19 percent more obesity-related CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) deaths. CHD is the end result of the accumulatio
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Glaxo grabs heart disease drug in $1.65bn deal
GlaxoSmithKline, Europe's largest drugs company, is to acquire Reliant Pharmaceuticals for $1.65 billion (£800 million) in cash, giving it the rights to flagship drug Lovaza.
Lovaza, which is set to become a “new driver for sales growth in the US business”, is a non-statin treatment for high triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood, which increases the risk of heart disease.
Sales of the drug soared 115 per cent in the nine months to September to reach $206 million.
It is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved prescription omega-3 product in the US for the treatment of very high triglycerides, and it has patent protection until 2018.
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The non-statin dyslipidemia market was worth about $2.2 billion in 2006, according to Glaxo, and is expected to grow more than 20 per cent a year.
Chris Viehbacher, president of US p
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No to Over-The-Counter Cholesterol Drug
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government advisers on Thursday rejected Merck & Co.'s bid for over-the-counter sales of Mevacor, the granddaddy of the famed cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Too many of the wrong people would use the drug if it no longer required a prescription, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration concluded in a 10-2 vote against nonprescription sales of the medication.
"The patients couldn't figure out whether the drug was for them," said one FDA adviser, Dr. William Shrank of Harvard Medical School.
Merck argued that offering a low dose of Mevacor on open drugstore shelves, next to the aspirin, would persuade millions of people with moderately high cholesterol levels to take a pill that might prevent a first heart attack.
"This is a real opportunity," said Edwin Hemwall, executive director of Merck's worldwide OTC regulatory and scientific affairs.
The FDA's advisers, however, were struck by how many people, in a study of almost 1,500 potential customers, wanted
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Rogue Bacteria Involved In Both Heart Disease And Infertility
ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2007) — Outside the laboratory, Anthony Azenabor is outgoing and talkative, an extrovert who laughs heartily at his own jokes.
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See also:
Health & Medicine
Cholesterol
Heart Disease
Stroke Prevention
Plants & Animals
Bacteria
Molecular Biology
Genetics
Reference
Trichomoniasis
Sexually transmitted disease
Inflammation
Pathogen
But engrossed in his research, Azenabor is a shrewd and serious investigator who coaxes rogue bacteria to give up deadly secrets of how they cause several human illnesses.
Educated in Nigeria and Great Britain, Azenabor landed a fellowship sponsored by the World Health Organization soon after completing his doctorate on the bacteria Chlamydia. He was one of only two chosen worldwide.
Now an associate professor of health sciences at UW-Milwaukee, he has identified how two different kinds of Chlamydia can cause both coronary artery disease and miscarriages.
Solving one mystery gave him clues that he needed to figure out the other.
By focusing on the immune system mechanisms in Chlamydia infections, Azenabor has identified an important link in seemingly unrelated health problems.
The result could be new treatments and prevention strategies for both heart disease and infertility.
The first mystery
Chlamydia pneumoniae is a microbe that normally causes pneumonia and bronchitis, but it has long been associated with atherosclerosis, a cardiovascular disease also called "hardening of the arteries."
"It was a frightening prospect," says Azenabor, "that atherosclerosis could come from a bacterial infection." He decided to look for an explanation.
Chlamydiae are unusual, says the Nigerian-born scientist, because, unlike most other bacteria, they use the same form of cholesterol for metabolism that human cells use. Chlamydiae also are intracellular pathogens, meaning that they can only grow and reproduce inside of another cell.
But these bacteria have another peculiar ability.
Normally, when a pathogen invades human tissue, the immune response unleashes "killer cells" called macrophages, which stretch to engulf the attacker and destroy it with toxin-producing enzymes.
Chlamydiae fight back, says Azenabor, His work shows that, as they are ingested, these two species of Chlamydia can manipulate the functions of protective cells like macrophages in creative ways.
Cholesterol connection
One of the keys lies in the macrophages' cell walls
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Lifelong Effects of Childhood Obesity
Doctor, firefighter, astronaut. These are the things kids want to be when they grow up. Obese 35-year-old with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease? Not exactly. But according to two studies published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), that's where our children are headed, unless monumental — and immediate — changes are made in the effort to curb childhood obesity.
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"This is a public health problem, and public health problems require policies that actually reinforce positive choices," says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California, San Francisco, a principle author of one of the NEJM studies. "We know that healthy nutritious foods and physical activity are
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