When it comes to conversations with patients about valvular heart disease, I find these discussions expanding as the options for the treatment of valvular disorders increase rapidly for both physicians and patients. Mitral commissurotomy became popular in the 1960s for selected patients whose lesion was primarily mitral stenosis with little regurgitation and the chordal apparatus was still intact. The advent of heart bypass opened a new world of heart valve surgery, where surgeons could replace the aortic, mitral or tricuspid valve and relieve the severe volume or pressure overload that was common before this surgery.
Read Article: http://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2017/02/21/12/42/advancing-the-management-of-valvular-heart-disease The cause of most cardiovascular disease is a build-up of atheroma - a fatty deposit within the inside lining of arteries. There are lifestyle factors that can be taken to reduce the risk of forming atheroma. These include not smoking; choosing healthy foods; a low salt intake; regular physical activity; keeping your weight and waist size down; drinking alcohol in moderation.
Your blood pressure and cholesterol level are also important. All people aged over 40 should have a cardiovascular health risk assessment - usually available at your GP surgery. If you have a high risk of developing a cardiovascular disease, treatment to reduce high blood pressure (hypertension) and/or cholesterol may be advised. What is cardiovascular disease?Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart (cardiac muscle) or blood vessels (vasculature). However, in practice, when doctors use the term cardiovascular disease they usually mean diseases of the heart or blood vessels that are caused by atheroma. The rest of this leaflet briefly discusses atheroma, the diseases atheroma can cause, and ways of preventing a build-up of atheroma and preventing the diseases it causes. Read Article: http://patient.info/health/preventing-cardiovascular-diseases We are only a couple of weeks into 2017 and already many of our beliefs and positions are being upended. We also expect that healthcare will see structural change. And I am not just talking about the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
2016 was an important year for healthcare innovations. Wearables gained popularity with millions tracking their own health. Precision medicine became reality with new therapies based on cell-level understanding of disease. Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things started to make marked improvements on diagnostics and treatment . Now what is gaining momentum and what will take center stage in 2017 and beyond? Read Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-take-healthcares-center-stage-2017-jeroen-tas Remember good old breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Americans have pretty much thrown that out the window, the American Heart Association says. And that may affect how much weight we are putting on. In fact, it might be a good idea to plan when to eat as much as what to eat, the group says in a new scientific statement. The association appointed a committee of experts to review the evidence from dozens of reports for one big study. “This study clearly demonstrated that adults in the United States eat around the clock,” the American Heart Association says in the statement, published in the journal Circulation. It’s still not 100 percent clear if it’s better to eat breakfast every day, or to eat less after 6 p.m. But a growing body of evidence does suggest that breakfast is good for you and that eating late at night can help you put on more pounds, even if you skipped meals earlier in the day. Read Article: http://www.today.com/health/meal-timing-works-heart-health-experts-say-t107579 Baby pictures of a newborn supernova have captured this stellar explosion after the first half-dozen hours of its life, shedding light on how these giant explosions happen, a new study finds.
This newly discovered cosmic baby is the type of supernova that occurs when a giant star runs out of fuel and explodes. Supernovas are so bright that they can briefly outshine all of the other stars in their home galaxy. Astronomers have previously seen glimpses of supernovas within the first minutes after they explode. However, until now, researchers had not captured light from a newborn supernova across the so many wavelengths — including radio waves, visible light and X-rays. The new images add to evidence that suggests that these dying stars may signal their upcoming demise by spewing a disk of material in the months before their deaths, according to a paper describing the finding. [Know Your Novas: Star Explosions Explained (Infographic)] Much remains unknown about how and why dying stars can detonate with such violence. Studying the final years of a star that is destined to die as a supernova could reveal key details about the way in which these explosions happen, but stars in these brief, final stages are rare — statistically, it is very likely that none of the 100 billion to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy are within one year of dying as a supernova, according to the new paper. Read Entire Article: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/02/15/baby-supernova-discovery-hints-at-how-star-explosions-are-born.html Taking ibuprofen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help relieve cold or flu symptoms may seem harmless, but new research suggests otherwise. It could increase the risk of heart attack.
Study co-author Dr. Cheng-Chung Fang, of the National Taiwan University Hospital, and colleagues recently reported their findings in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are medications that help to alleviate pain by reducing inflammation. Ibuprofen and aspirin are examples of two commonly used NSAIDs, and many individuals use these medications to help relieve some of the symptoms of a cold, flu, and other acute respiratory infections (ARIs), such as fever and headache. According to Dr. Fang and colleagues, previous research has suggested a link between the use of NSAIDs, ARIs, and an increased risk of heart attack. However, the team notes that there have been no studies assessing whether NSAID use during ARI episodes is associated with a greater heart attack risk. Read Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315658.php For most of my life, I have struggled with getting enough sleep. When I tell people how little I sleep, they are complimentary. They generally see that it is the reason I am able to be a CEO and still read so many books. I consider myself a high-functioning insomniac because most people are not able to tell when I am tired.
So all good, right? Not so fast. I would gladly give all of that up for solid sleep, every single night. Getting little sleep is not a badge of honor. It is not something to brag about. Not getting enough sleep can range from an occasional annoyance to a serious issue requiring medical help. Sleep better and you increase your productivity, your odds of success, and your ability to lead. Read Article: http://www.skipprichard.com/the-dangers-of-not-getting-enough-sleep/?utm_content=buffer54e84&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#close This content is sponsored by Anne Arundel Medical Center
By Jerome Segal, MD, interventional cardiologist and medical director of Cardiovascular Services at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Heart disease strikes someone in the United States every 43 seconds, according to the American Heart Association. While we’ve made strides in reducing the death rate from heart disease, it’s still the number one cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 375,000 people a year. The good news is you’re never too old—or too young—to take care of your heart. You can benefit from taking simple steps toward better heart health in every decade of life. In your 30s Prevention is key. This is a busy time when people often juggle demanding careers and young families. Make your health a priority with regular cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables. It’s never too early to learn about any family history of heart disease. Family history raises your own risk. In your 40s Your metabolism slows down, so watch your weight. Exercise and diet are even more important to help you avoid weight gain. Get familiar with your numbers—blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol. Start these screenings early and have them done regularly. Work with your doctor to monitor any changes from year to year. In your 50s Aging is one risk factor for heart disease that you cannot control. That’s why it’s important to continue to focus on factors you can control, such as blood pressure, your weight, cholesterol and smoking tobacco. Smoking raises your risk for heart disease and sudden cardiac death. If you need help quitting, you can find classes to help at askAAMC.org/events or call 443-481-5366. During this decade, you might also want to talk to your doctor about a calcium heart scan. This test looks for calcium deposits that can narrow your arteries and increase your heart attack risk. Your calcium score can reveal you have a higher risk of heart disease before other symptoms present themselves. In your 60s All the hard work you’ve put into your diet, exercise and knowing your numbers will pay off at this stage of life. If you haven’t been as diligent, talk with your doctor before making drastic changes to your exercise routine. Be sure to get appropriate screenings to learn your heart health risks. As you age, blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart-related numbers tend to rise. Watch your health closely and address any issues that come up. Read Article: http://wtop.com/anne-arundel-medical-center/2017/02/decade-by-decade-guide-to-heart-health/ “To date, there has been no systematic synthesis of the literature comparing sex differences in the relationship between markers of [socioeconomic status] and CVD,” Kathryn Backholer, PhD, of the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, and colleagues wrote. “We, therefore, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to ascertain the most reliable estimate of the sex differences in the [RRs] of socioeconomic status on the risk of incident CHD, stroke and CVD in the general population.”
The researchers analyzed 116 cohorts, including 22 million individuals (35% women), from Asia (n = 22), Europe (n = 75), North America (n = 7) and Australasia (n = 12). More than 1 million CVD events were documented. Across the studies, socioeconomic status was determined by educational attainment, area-level deprivation, occupation or income. Sex differences For CHD, when the lowest level of education was compared with the highest, the pooled age-adjusted RR for women was 1.66 (95% CI, 1.46-1.88) vs. 1.3 (95% CI, 1.15-1.48) for men. The pooled RRs remained significantly different for women vs. men when adjusting for CVD risk factors. Women with the lowest level of education were a higher risk for CHD compared with men with the same level of education (age-adjusted RR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.09-1.41). The risk remained significant after adjustments for CVD risk factors (RR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.09-1.63). Read Article: www.healio.com/cardiology/chd-prevention/news/online/%7B0a33b4cc-feb8-40a2-93e9-2d74a3763f76%7D/women-with-lower-socioeconomic-status-at-higher-risk-for-chd-cvd-than-men |
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