Cholesterol be warned… they are on a rampage and their coming for you. An international study of over 20,000, yes 20,000, people allowed researchers to identify 7 new genes that influence blood cholesterol levels and confirmed 11 other genes that were previously thought to influence high lipids.

Of the seven new variants, two influenced HDL, one influenced LDL, and three influenced triglycerides, which are found in fat and in the bloodstream and like LDL, are associated with increased risk of heart disease. One variant influenced triglycerides and LDL.

Will this bring us that much closer to new medications and treatments for high cholesterol? Will this aid in fighting heart disease? Yee ha science!

via Science Daily and University of Michigan

Post from: Blisstree

7 Genes Identified In High Cholesterol

Tobacco smoke-filled air is bad for cardiovascular health, and drinking alcohol at the same time only makes it worse, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

There was a 4.7 fold increase in artery lesions when the mice were exposed to smoky air in a laboratory enclosure and fed a liquid diet containing ethanol, the intoxicating ingredient in alcohol. We need to curb our habits now…

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Put That Cigarette And Drink Down… Heart Disease Is Just Around The Corner

They found that the drug was effective in reversing the actions of cocaine on heart rate, blood pressure and vascular resistance in the skin by interfering with the ability of cocaine to increase nerve activity. “Typically, patients with cocaine overdoses in the emergency room are treated with nitroglycerin, sedatives such as Valium, and some blood-pressure medications such as calcium channel blockers and some beta blockers,” Dr. Vongpatanasin said. “However, the standard treatments don’t alleviate all of the adverse effects of cocaine on the heart, blood pressure and central nervous system.”

What do you think about this kind of research? Do you think it is warranted or do you see it as a “waste” of money and time? Being a cardiac nurse, I see the ramifications of cocaine use and the long term effects that it has on patients. And since I have always been taught to treat all my patients the same, I do indeed. But I sometimes get perplexed over the amount of research and trial studies there are out there that are geared towards drug abusers and overdose patients.

But supply and demand, right? If there wasn’t a need, the research wouldn’t be done. I guess it says a little something about the “signs of the times”!

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

New Treatment Combats Cocaine Induced Symptoms

The 3,845 patient Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET) is the largest ever clinical trial to look at the effects of lowering blood pressure solely in those aged 80 and over. Preliminary results of the trial, which is coordinated by scientists from Imperial College London, suggest that lowering blood pressure significantly reduces both stroke and mortality in the over-80s.

The final numbers will be presented after the patients are all seen for one last check up over the next few months. This is indeed great news for the elder population!

via Science Daily

Imperial College London

Post from: Blisstree

Anti-Hypertensives Have A Profound Effect On The Over 80 Crowd

Scientists have long reported that deaths from lung diseases, heart attacks and strokes are significantly higher on days with high pollution levels, the newspaper said.

This was reported out of Los Angeles, imagine that. A US study has shown the exposure to diesel exhaust can cause heart disease in people with high cholesterol. Hmm… Can’t anything trigger a heart attack in people with extremely high cholesterol?

This is why you always have to take research with a grain of salt. True diesel exhaust has been linked to lung cancer and asthma attacks, as well as DNA damage, but this is first to suggest that it can induce a heart attack. Just how is this possible you ask?

The report said diesel particles enter the body from the lungs and then react with fats in the arteries to alter how genes are activated.

Bottom line, more research needs to be done. I will keep you updated as it comes in.

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Diesel Exhaust Can Trigger A Heart Attack

A large study has found that black Medicare patients are less likely than white patients to receive blood vessel opening procedures such as angioplasty following a heart attack, whether they are admitted to hospitals that provide or do not provide these procedures, but also experience higher mortality rates at 1 year, according to a study in the June 13 issue of JAMA.

Why the difference?  Do you really think it is solely race related or are there other factors that play in to the decisions for interventions?

“These differences could be due to unmeasured clinical or socioeconomic factors, patient preferences, and unmeasured aspects of medical decision making but are unlikely to be related to differences in access to hospitals performing revascularization procedures. Although differences in revascularization may reflect overuse of procedures in white patients, the receipt of revascularization could also explain some of the differences in longer-term mortality in black patients and may represent a broader marker of differences in post-AMI care between black and white patients”

I want to know what your opinion is on this topic.  Don’t hold back, don’t be scared, all opinions are welcomed and wanted.  I have not personally experienced nor observed this in my clinical practice.  And for a point of reference, I work at a hospital approximately 15 miles outside Baltimore City.

Don’t you think there should be standardized care for post MI patients across the board?  Doesn’t everyone deserve the same treatment, regardless of insurance, income, gender, race or status?

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Are Black And White Patients Treated Differently Post Acute MI’s?

Cardiac disease deaths fall while obesity and diabetes are on the rise.

So, that’s surprising? How can the amount of diabetics rise and yet cardiac disease among the very same people is decreasing. Bizarre? No…

Epidemiologists at the University of Liverpool and the Heart of Mersey have found that approximately half the recent fall in coronary heart disease deaths in the US is due to positive life style changes and a further half to medical therapies.

So yet another tribute to the ol’ healthy lifestyle. Diet and nutrition play such a big part. So, I promise this will be my last soap box type post for a while. But ya’all better listen, or else….

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Cardiac Disease On The Fall As Diabetes And Obesity On The Rise

Results showed that in this population-based study, women who drank moderately had a significantly lower risk of heart attack than abstainers, and the benefits were greatest in women who had a drink daily. A lower risk for drinkers than abstainers also was evident in women who drank with food, as well as without, and in those who primarily drank wine or a variety of alcoholic beverages.Similar, but weaker, associations were found when patterns and volume were analyzed among drinkers only. Among these women, drinking alcohol in moderation in general was more important than the actual amount consumed. However, getting drunk at least once a month puts women at a significantly increased risk of heart attack, negating any of alcohol’s potential protective effect.

So, if you read the above carefully you will see one very important key factor, moderation! A small amount of alcohol here and there won’t hurt your health, but in no way am I giving you the okay to become intoxicated on a regular basis. After all, alcohol does carry the risk of other complications.

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Moderate Alchohol Consumption Lowers Women’s Risk Of Heart Attack

Protected by its own nutrients and blood supply, a beating heart supported by an investigational organ preservation device was successfully transplanted into a 47-year-old man with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension on Sunday, April 8.

Very cool stuff! This pioneering surgery took place at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine using a heart that was maintained in a beating state on the investigational Organ Care System (OCS) for two hours and 45 minutes.

The recipient was discharged from the hospital on April 30th in good shape. The OCS keeps organs in their physiological, beating state during transportation to the recipient’s hospital.

Potential for the Organ Care System to aid in the transplant process is promising. The risk of ischemic complications will be greatly reduced as well as rejection.

Cold ischemic storage of organs can lead to substantial organ damage in isolated cases. The faster the organ reaches the patient, the better the chance for a successful transplantation. International data shows that the one year survival of heart transplant is directly and significantly related to the length of time an organ is without blood between the donor and the recipient surgeries. If the time window between removal and implantation is too long, the organ will become unusable. The maximum storage time for a heart is presently four to six hours.

Only a third of patients waiting for a transplant will actually receive their gift. And when you do the math, about 20 people die each day awaiting their organ. Will the OCS be a welcome alternative to the conventional transport method of an organ? Do you think that the amount of rejected transplants will be considerably decreased? I’m excited!

via Science Daily

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Organ Care System Allows Beating Heart To Be Transplanted Into Recipient