From ACC newsletter:
The UK's Daily Mail (11/13, Hope) reports "that a high level in the blood of selenium -- a trace mineral found naturally in Brazil nuts, grain, fish and meat -- increases cholesterol levels," according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition.
The UK's Telegraph (11/13) reports that "scientists at the University of Warwick studied data on 1,042 individuals aged 19 to 64 who took part in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey between 2000 and 2001." The researchers "found that in people with blood selenium concentrations higher than 1.20 micromols per litre, levels of total cholesterol were raised by an average of 8%." Meanwhile, "levels of the harmful type of cholesterol associated with heart disease were increased by 10%." The UK's Press Association (11/12) also covered the story
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Twitter: @drportnay
Friday, November 13, 2009
New technique helps breastbone heal after open-heart surgery
From ACC Newsletter:
The Canadian Press (11/13, Ubelacker) reports that "Canadian researchers have pioneered a new way to mend a patient's breastbone after open-heart surgery, using a Superman-strength glue that cuts healing time and reduces pain." The procedure "uses a state-of-the-art adhesive called Kryptonite that rapidly bonds to bone and accelerates the recovery process, says Dr. Paul Fedak, a cardiac surgeon and scientist at the University of Calgary." Dr Fedak "is set to head an international trial using the technique, which will involve 500 patients over the next year or two." Reuters (11/12) also covered the story.
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Fwd: Can you teach bedside manner?
So sad that this needs to be done but I know so many physicians with terrible bed side manners ---
Doctors' training is changing to make sure they all have a good bedside manner, says the General Medical Council's Ros Levenson.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/8340560.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/8340560.stm
Fwd: How to shave 10 years off your life: Have high cholesterol, be hypertensive, and smoke
Smoking, together with high cholesterol and blood pressure, can knock 10 years off life expectancy in middle-aged men, new UK research shows. If excessive weight and glucose intolerance are added in, the difference can be as much as 15 years, they add.
http://www.theheart.org/article/1004611.do
http://www.theheart.org/article/1004611.do
NHLBI Publishes New Heart Healthy Cookbook
The health of your heart has a lot to do with the foods you eat. To help busy people and families shop for, prepare, and serve healthy meals, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health created and published Keep the Beat Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners. The new cookbook features 75 simple and delicious recipes influenced by Asian, Latino, Mediterranean, and American cuisine that are good for your heart and taste great too.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170648.php
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What double-decker buses taught us about heart attacks
Wonderful article/obituary from the WSJ --
In the middle of the 20th century, the number of people dying of heart attacks was rising sharply in the developed world, but nobody knew why. Jeremy Morris, a doctor who died the week before last, figured it out.
Morris thought there might be some link between occupation and heart-attack risk. And when he looked at the men who worked on London's double-decker buses, he found a striking result: The conductors who went up and down the stairs on the bus all day long were half as likely to die of heart attacks as the drivers, who sat at the wheel all day.
He was admirably cautious about interpreting the results, trying to poke holes in his hypothesis that exercise lowered heart-attack risk. "We set about destroying this observation," he told the FT, which ran a profile of Morris earlier this year.
But the data held up; among postal workers, Morris found, those who delivered mail by bike or on foot were far less likely to die of heart attacks than those who sat behind the counter at the post office. He published his findings in the Lancet in 1953, under the title "Coronary Heart-Disease and Physical Activity of Work."
Morris, who would have turned 100 next year, died of pneumonia and kidney failure, the New York Times said in its obit. He swam, rode an exercise bike or walked for at least half an hour on most days until he was well into his 90s. And in recent years, he often walked up and down the stairs of the London School of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health, where he was an emeritus professor.
"I'm constantly being asked: 'Your long life, what would you advise?' and so forth," Morris told the FT. "To start telling other people what to do – I'm very reluctant. Except on exercise, where to a large extent I feel it's what I've done myself that's contributed to longevity."
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In the middle of the 20th century, the number of people dying of heart attacks was rising sharply in the developed world, but nobody knew why. Jeremy Morris, a doctor who died the week before last, figured it out.
Morris thought there might be some link between occupation and heart-attack risk. And when he looked at the men who worked on London's double-decker buses, he found a striking result: The conductors who went up and down the stairs on the bus all day long were half as likely to die of heart attacks as the drivers, who sat at the wheel all day.
He was admirably cautious about interpreting the results, trying to poke holes in his hypothesis that exercise lowered heart-attack risk. "We set about destroying this observation," he told the FT, which ran a profile of Morris earlier this year.
But the data held up; among postal workers, Morris found, those who delivered mail by bike or on foot were far less likely to die of heart attacks than those who sat behind the counter at the post office. He published his findings in the Lancet in 1953, under the title "Coronary Heart-Disease and Physical Activity of Work."
Morris, who would have turned 100 next year, died of pneumonia and kidney failure, the New York Times said in its obit. He swam, rode an exercise bike or walked for at least half an hour on most days until he was well into his 90s. And in recent years, he often walked up and down the stairs of the London School of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Health, where he was an emeritus professor.
"I'm constantly being asked: 'Your long life, what would you advise?' and so forth," Morris told the FT. "To start telling other people what to do – I'm very reluctant. Except on exercise, where to a large extent I feel it's what I've done myself that's contributed to longevity."
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Plavix appears to work about as well in women as it does in men
From ACC Newsletter
MedPage Today (11/9, Phend) reported, "Unlike aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix) appears to work about as well in women as it does in men," according to a meta-analysis appearing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. In fact, "clopidogrel reduced cardiovascular events by 7% in women and 16% in men compared with placebo, with only a 'weak' trend for a difference between genders." The researchers found that "major bleeding risk was elevated 43% in women and 22% in men compared with placebo, again without a significant difference." HealthDay (11/9, Edelson) and Reuters (11/10, Steenhuysen) also covered the study
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