Heart Archives

Healthy lifestyle for long life

70-year-olds who take regular exercise, eat well, and do not smoke greatly increase their chance of living until 90. – A healthy lifestyle during the early elderly years-including weight management, exercising regularly and not smoking-may be associated with a greater probability of living to age 90 in men, as well as good health and physical function, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Heart disease rising in US after 2000

Mayo Clinic analysis of two decades of autopsy results shows prevalence of coronary disease rising after the year 2000. – A Mayo Clinic analysis of two decades of autopsy results shows a long-term decline in the prevalence of coronary disease has ended and the disease may be on the upswing. The findings appear in today’s issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Weight gain from artificial sweeteners

Want to lose weight? It might help to pour that diet soda down the drain. Diet drinks may actually make you put on weight rather than lose it. – Use of no-calorie sweeteners may make it harder for people to control their intake and body weight. Cutting the connection between sweets and calories may confuse the body, making it harder to regulate intake, revealed by researchers.

DNA sequencing found virus killing transplant recipients in Australia

DNA sequencing establishes high throughput genetic sequencing as powerful tool for pathogen discovery; technology enables improvements in screening for transplant safety. – In the first application of high throughput DNA sequencing technology to investigate an infectious disease outbreak, link the discovery of a new arenavirus to the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia in April 2007.

First decellularized heart valve approved in US

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared for marketing the first replacement heart valve from donated human tissue in which the cells have been removed. – CryoLife, Inc., (NYSE: CRY) a biomaterials, medical device and tissue processing company, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its CryoValve(R) SG pulmonary human heart valve processed with the Company’s proprietary SynerGraft technology.

Cannabis smoking a major cause of gum disease

Heavy cannabis smoking has been identified as a major cause of gum disease in a study involving researchers from the University of Otago, King’s College in London, Duke University and the University of North Carolina in the USA. – Heavy cannabis smoking has been identified as a major cause of gum disease, and responsible for more than one-third of the new cases of gum disease by age 32, revealed in a study.

FDA updates guidance to seafood processors after recent ciguatera poisoning

FDA advises seafood processors about ciguatera fish poisoning in the Northern Gulf of Mexico near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter to seafood processors, advising them of recent illnesses linked to consuming fish carrying the ciguatera toxin, which has led to cases of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in consumers.

Intensive blood glucose lowering treatment proved fatal for diabetes patients

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, USA has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue. – Intensive blood glucose lowering treatment proved fatal for diabetes patients in a US study, and for Safety, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has changed intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Beetroot juice can beat high blood pressure

Research shows a daily dose of beetroot juice can beat high blood pressure. Drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. – Drinking just 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure, revealed by researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine in a new study. Beetroot juice could have major implications for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Chronic drinking can lead to pneumonia after surgery

Consistent alcohol consumption can impair immunity functions following surgery. Study authors recommend that patients considering surgery control their drinking habits, and also be very honest with their doctors about their drinking habits, prior to surgery. – People who drink often have immune-function problems following surgery. For example, patients who consume alcohol long-term have a two- to five-fold greater chance of post-operation infection complications. A new rodent study has found that chronic consumption ? in this case, the equivalent of prolonged moderate drinking ? can result in a more severe form of pneumonia following surgery.

Gain control of your heart health

February is US’ National Heart Month. And now is a great time to gain control of your heart health. – Dr. Charlotte Bai, a noted cardiologist with special expertise in cardiac imaging, has a special message for people with risk factors for heart disease: What you don’t know can hurt you. “February is National Heart Month. And now is a great time to gain control of your heart health,” said Bai, assistant professor, cardiology, Department of Medicine, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine.

Stress in pregnancy may lead to schizophrenia in offspring

This population-based study suggests that severe stress to a mother during the first trimester may alter the risk of schizophrenia in offspring. This finding is consistent with ecological evidence from whole populations exposed to severe stressors and suggests that environment may influence neurodevelopment at the feto-placental-maternal interface. – Most societies believe that a mother’s psychological state can influence her unborn baby. Children of women who undergo an extremely stressful event-such as the death of a close relative-during the first trimester of pregnancy appear more likely to develop schizophrenia, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.