Women More Likely To Die After Heart Attack
March 17, 2010
WebMD
By: Charlene Laino
Better heart treatment of women could help close the gender gap in heart deaths. Women would be more likely to survive a heart attack if they were treated more like men, French researchers say.
In a study of more than 3,500 people admitted to the hospital for a heart attack, women were far less likely than men to get angiography to visualize heart artery blockages or angioplasty to open up blocked arteries.
Women were about twice as likely to die within a month of having the heart attack, according to the study, presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting.
The higher death rate in women “is related to the fact that they don’t get the same treatments as men,” says Maria Rosa Costanzo, MD, an American Heart Association spokeswoman who was not involved with the study.
“If women had the same access to procedures and medication as men, they would derive the same benefit,” says Costanzo, of Midwest Heart Specialists in Naperville, Ill.
Study researcher Francois Schiele, MD, chief cardiologist at the University Hospital of Besancon in France, says that when possible, “women should be treated with all recommended strategies, including invasive ones.”
Closing the Gender Gap
Costanzo tells WebMD that it’s been known for some time that women fare worse after a heart attack than men, but it’s been unclear why. Some studies point to biological differences such as women’s smaller blood vessels that raise the risk of complications during angioplasty, she says.
Also, women tend to be older and have poorer overall health when they have heart attacks, and wait longer to seek medical care than men, research suggests.
But other studies suggest that women are undertreated, Costanzo says.
The new study attempted to level the playing ground by using statistical techniques that took into account women’s and men’s different characteristics and treatments when they had heart attacks.
The researchers analyzed data from a regional registry that included more than 3,500 patients, about a third of whom were women, treated for a heart attack between January 2006 and December 2007.
Women were, on average, nine years older than men, had more health problems, and received fewer effective treatments for heart attack. They were nearly twice as likely to die, both during the initial hospital stay and over the following month.
When the analysis was adjusted to take into account the differences in the women’s ages, blood pressure, kidney function, and other characteristics as well as the treatments they received, there was no difference in death rates, either in the hospital or at 30 days.
“Once they compared apples to apples, it shows women get the same benefit from [procedures to open blocked arteries] and medication as men,” Costanzo says.
Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Sanofi-Aventis helped fund the registry.
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Sony Chairman Pushes For Healthy Alternatives at Cinemas
March 17, 2010
TimesOnline
By: Jacqui Goddard
For many, a night out at the movies would not be complete without the sound of popcorn and chocolate wrappers from the stalls. One of the most powerful studio bosses in Hollywood, however, would like to see cinemas selling healthier snacks.
Michael Lynton, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures, says that audiences would be better off nibbling on granola bars, fruit salad, yogurt and vegetable crudités with dips. “I can almost imagine the Romans eating popcorn and drinking Coke at the Colosseum 2,000 years ago,” he told a convention of cinema owners in Las Vegas. “But by bringing healthier snacks into your concession stands you would be helping our country meet an urgent public health need.”
The average cinema bucket of buttered popcorn has 76 grams (2.6oz) of fat — the equivalent of six McDonald’s cheeseburgers — and 1,100 calories.
Behind Mr Lynton’s call is an awareness of obesity on both sides of the Atlantic. Last month Tim Smith, the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency in Britain, called for filmgoers to be told how many calories there are in the popcorn, ice cream and fizzy drinks that they buy in cinemas and for them to be available in smaller portions.
However, Mr Lynton admitted that old habits might die hard. “I don’t think giant tubs of spinach or broccoli is a good idea. And nobody wants to eat cauliflower while watching Spider-Man, or drink a 40oz cup of prune juice,” he said.
He did not, he said, intend to “close the window for popcorn, soda and candy” but items such as baked crisps and unbuttered, air-popped popcorn, would enhance the choice. “I’m just talking about adding some healthier items to what you already sell.”
Deirdre Flynn, spokesman for the Popcorn Board, a non-profit organisation funded by US popcorn processors, said: “If you ask most consumers what they consider the number one movie snack, they will tell you it’s popcorn. Popcorn and movies have gone hand in hand since the early 1900s.”
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, started by the former President Clinton, and the American Heart Association to fight childhood obesity offered to advise on nutritious menus.
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New York Considers Salt Ban in Restaurants
March 12, 2010 by JP
Filed under Government
March 11, 2010
Fox News
By Arun Kristian Das
Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.
“No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises,” the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.
The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.
“The consumer needs to make their own health choices. Just as doctors and the occasional visit to a hospital can’t truly control how a person chooses to maintain their health, neither can chefs nor the occasional visit to a restaurant,” said Jeff Nathan, the executive chef and co-owner of Abigael’s on Broadway. “Modifying trans fats and sodium intake needs to be home based for optimal health. Regulating restaurants will not solve this health issue.”
Nathan is part of the group My Food My Choice , which calls itself a coalition of chefs, restaurant owners, and consumers, called the proposed law “absurd” in a press release issued on its Facebook page.
Ortiz has said the salt ban would allow restaurant patrons to decide how salty they want their meals to be.
“In this way, consumers have more control over the amount of sodium they intake, and are given the option to exercise healthier diets and healthier lifestyles,” Ortiz said, according to a Nation’s Restaurant News report.
But many chefs and restaurant owners said they are tired of politicians dictating what they can serve and what people can eat. They have opposed the city’s anti-sodium and anti-transfat campaigns.
“Chefs would be handcuffed in their food preparation, and many are already in open rebellion over this legislation,” said Orit Sklar, of My Food My Choice. “Ortiz and fellow anti-salt zealot Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City seek to undermine the food and restaurant business in the entire state.”
The American Heart Association encourages Americans to reduce their sodium intake and has advocated the reduction of sodium used by food manufacturers and restaurants by 50 percent over a 10-year period.
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Sugary Soft Drinks Lead to Diabetes
March 10, 2010
Telegraph.co.uk
By Richard Alleyne
More people now drink soft, sport and fruit drinks daily, and the increase has led to thousands more diabetes and heart disease cases over the past decade, according to research presented to the American Heart Association’s annual conference.
The study estimates the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks between 1990 and 2000 contributed to 130,000 new cases of diabetes, 14,000 new cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), and 50,000 additional life-years burdened by coronary heart disease in the US over the past decade.
The drinks – excluding 100 per cent fruit juice – contain between 120 to 200 calories per drink and play a major role in the rising tide of obesity.
Now researchers are calling for a health tax on soft drinks to pay for the increase costs of treating victims of coronary disease and diabetes.
Dr Litsa Lambrakos, of the University of California, said: “We can demonstrate an association between daily consumption of sugared beverages and diabetes risk. We can then translate this information into estimates of the current diabetes and cardiovascular disease that can be attributed to the rise in consumption of these drinks.”
Over the last decade, at least 6,000 excess deaths from any cause and 21,000 life-years lost can be attributed in the United States to the increase in sugar-sweetened drinks.
Health policy experts suggest curbing the consumption of sugared drinks through an excise tax of one cent per ounce of beverage, which would be expected to decrease consumption by 10 per cent.
Professor Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, senior author of the study at the University of California, said: “If such a tax could curb the consumption of these drinks, the health benefits could be dramatic.”
Dr Lambrakos said: “We want to make the general public more aware of the adverse health outcomes of consuming these drinks over time.
“We want to help support disease prevention and curb consumption of these drinks that lead to poor health outcomes and increased health care costs for the average American.”
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Drastic Measures: Tax Soda and Pizza to Cut Obesity
March 10, 2010
Reuters
By Julie Steenhuysen
U.S. researchers estimate that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda can push down U.S. adults’ calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds (2 kg) per year.
The researchers, writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday, suggested taxing could be used as a weapon in the fight against obesity, which costs the United States an estimated $147 billion a year in health costs.
“While such policies will not solve the obesity epidemic in its entirety and may face considerable opposition from food manufacturers and sellers, they could prove an important strategy to address overconsumption, help reduce energy intake and potentially aid in weight loss and reduced rates of diabetes among U.S. adults,” wrote the team led by Kiyah Duffey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
With two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, policymakers are increasingly looking at taxing as a way to address obesity on a population level.
California and Philadelphia have introduced legislation to tax soft drinks to try to limit consumption.
CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden supports taxes on soft drinks, as does the American Heart Association.
There are early signs that such a policy works.
Duffey’s team analyzed the diets and health of 5,115 young adults aged age 18 to 30 from 1985 to 2006.
They compared data on food prices during the same time. Over a 20-year period, a 10 percent increase in cost was linked with a 7 percent decrease in the amount of calories consumed from soda and a 12 percent decrease in calories consumed from pizza.
The team estimates that an 18 percent tax on these foods could cut daily intake by 56 calories per person, resulting in a weight loss of 5 pounds (2 kg) per person per year.
“Our findings suggest that national, state or local policies to alter the price of less healthful foods and beverages may be one possible mechanism for steering U.S. adults toward a more healthful diet,” Duffey and colleagues wrote.
In a commentary, Drs. Mitchell Katz and Rajiv Bhatia of the San Francisco Department of Public Health said taxes are an appropriate way to correct a market that favors unhealthy food choices over healthier options.
They argued that the U.S. government should carefully consider food subsidies that contribute to the problem.
“Sadly, we are currently subsidizing the wrong things including the product of corn, which makes the corn syrup in sweetened beverages so inexpensive,” they wrote.
Instead, they argued that agricultural subsidies should be used to make healthful foods such as locally grown vegetables, fruits and whole grains less expensive.
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Obese Kids May Have Early Signs of Future Heart Disease
March 1, 2010
Wall Street Journal
By Shirley S. Wang
Obese children as young as age 3 show signs of an inflammatory response that has been linked to heart disease later in life, researchers said, in a finding that is likely to further stoke concerns about childhood obesity.
The results suggest that obesity-related disease processes may start earlier than previously believed. Nearly 30% of obese 3-to-5-year-olds had elevated blood levels of C-reactive protein—a widely studied marker for inflammation—compared with 17% of healthy-weight kids of the same age. The disparities widened as children aged, according to the study, which is being published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
“It’s really important to be concerned about childhood obesity and to even be concerned when they are quite young,” said Asheley Skinner, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who was the first author of the study. “We can’t wait until they’re adolescents or adults.”
In the U.S., 14% of 2-to-5-year-olds are considered overweight, or at the 85th percentile or greater of weight for height in their age group.
C-reactive protein, or CRP, has been shown to help predict risk of heart disease, stroke and death under certain conditions, according to the American Heart Association. Previous studies have found that overweight and obese adults show elevated levels of CRP, but less has been known about CRP in children.
The study examined three markers that measure different aspects of inflammation, including CRP, in more than 16,000 children nationwide between the ages of 1 and 17. By ages 15 to 17, CRP was elevated in about 60% of obese teens, compared with 18% of teens of healthy weight. The increase was even more pronounced for very obese kids, with nearly 43% of young children and 83% of teens showing CRP elevation.
A similar pattern of elevation was observed for the other two inflammatory markers, though one of the markers wasn’t elevated in obese children until the age of 6.
It isn’t known whether elevated CRP in young children will predict heart disease in adulthood. Such a study, which would involve following overweight and obese children until adulthood, hasn’t been done, Dr. Skinner said. But, she said there wasn’t any evidence to suggest that CRP response would be different in children than in adults; its response in the body is the same regardless of age. Inflammation is the body’s immune response to infection or injury.
The concern of finding CRP elevation in such young children is that its effects could be cumulative. Future research is needed to investigate whether that is the case, and also whether losing weight could reduce CRP response in kids, according to Dr. Skinner. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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BPA Linked to Heart Disease
January 19, 2010
NatrualNews
by S.L. Baker
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the U.S. Various forms of the disease take the lives of over 80 million Americans a year. And while we’ve all heard about the risk factors for cardiovascular disease — including smoking, being overweight, high cholesterol and lack of exercise — it appears it’s time to add bisphenol A, better known as BPA, to that list.
This chemical has been used for decades in polycarbonate plastic products including refillable drink containers, plastic eating utensils and baby bottles as well as the epoxy resins that line most food and soft-drink cans. Now a new study just published in the journal PLoS ONE provides the most compelling evidence so far that BPA exposure is dangerous to the cardiovascular system.
Using 2006 data from the US government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers from the Peninsula Medical School at the University of Exeter in the UK studied urinary BPA concentrations and found a significantly strong link between BPA exposure and heart disease. In 2008, these same scientists discovered that higher urinary BPA concentrations were associated with a long list of medical problems in adults, including liver dysfunction, diabetes and obesity. This research team was also the first to report evidence that BPA was linked to cardiovascular disease — and their new research offers further confirmation of a strong connection between BPA and heart ailments.
Despite the fact the new study found that urinary BPA concentrations were one third lower than those measured from 2003 to 2004, higher concentrations of BPA were still associated with heart disease. “This is only the second analysis of BPA in a large human population sample. It has allowed us to largely confirm our original analysis and exclude the possibility that our original findings were a statistical ‘blip’,” David Melzer, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Peninsula Medical School and the research team leader, said in a statement to the media.
“We now need to investigate what causes these health risk associations in more detail and to clarify whether they are caused by BPA itself or by some other factor linked to BPA exposure. The risks associated with exposure to BPA may be small, but they are relevant to very large numbers of people. This information is important since it provides a great opportunity for intervention to reduce the risks,” added scientist Tamara Galloway, Professor of Ecotoxicology at the University of Exeter and senior author of the paper.
Medical Imaging Scans Equalivalant to 725 Chest X-rays
December 15, 2009
NaturalNews
by E. Huff
Researchers from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina have discovered that the tests administered to a person undergoing a heart attack emit radioactive elements at levels equivalent to 725 chest X-rays. The aggregate average of radiation administered is about a third of what nuclear power plant workers are allowed to be exposed to annually.
Dr. Prashant Kaul, author of the research study, indicated that doctors typically fail to identify any other tests a heart attack victim may have already received when administering their own. As a result, patients are being exposed to high levels of radiation that far exceed safe maximum levels.
The research team accumulated and analyzed data from over 64,000 patients who had undergone treatment for heart attacks between 2006 and 2009. The team discovered that patients underwent an average of seven tests utilizing ionizing radiation, the kind that is capable of penetrating tissue and damaging DNA cells. The vast majority of the tests were chest X-rays, followed by catheter procedures and computed tomography, also known as CT scans.
According to the American Heart Association, the aggregate number of medical tests given each year that involve some sort of radioactive exposure has skyrocketed, increasing 700 percent between 1980 and 2006. Most of these tests deal in some way with heart disease as it is one of the fastest growing disease epidemics in America.
Improvements in scanning technology have resulted in a sevenfold increase in radiation exposure compared to diagnostic scans performed in 1980. The New England Journal of Medicine reported in August that roughly 4 million Americans are exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation each year due to such medical testing procedures.
The obvious threat from radioactive testing procedures is the potential for increased rates of cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that a person subjected to a CT scan may develop cancer at some point in his or her life due to the amount of radiation emitted from the test. For this reason, doctors should be cautious in advising patients to undergo such tests unless absolutely necessary.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an alternative technology that involves no ionizing radiation. MRIs utilize magnetic fields to generate images that are typically clearer than those produced by a CT scan. Ultrasound is another option that uses sound waves to form images. Heart ultrasounds work especially well at assessing the heart for possible risk factors before a heart attack occurs.
Changes in CPR May Save More Lives
December 11, 2009
Natural News
By E. Huff
New findings reported by the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center reveal that the chances of surviving cardiac arrest are improved by instigating chest compressions only rather than standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which includes mouth-to-mouth breathing.
In conjunction with Arizona Department of Health Services, the research team evaluated data on survival rates among those who experience cardiac arrest. Five percent of victims survive without any form of CPR being administered to them while those who receive CPR have a slightly higher 6-percent chance of survival. Chest pumping alone, on the other hand, holds an 11-percent survival rate.
In more severe cases where bystanders witnessed the collapse and in which the heart rhythm was most likely to respond to defibrillator shock treatment once paramedics arrived, as high as 32 percent of victims survive through chest pumping alone. Those who receive no CPR hold a 17-percent chance of survival while conventional CPR victims are 19-percent likely to survive.
Trends have also changed to reflect this reality among those trained in administering CPR. Over the past four years, the number of cases where CPR-trained individuals treated an individual using chest compressions only has increased from 16 percent to 77 percent.
Current estimates suggest that a mere 20 percent of people would be willing to perform conventional CPR if needed. Just 20 years ago, 60 percent of people would have been willing to do it, representing a 40-percent drop in willingness to give a stranger CPR in order to save his or her life.
The American Heart Association has been recommending since 2000 that people exercise compression-only CPR when they witness a collapse in public. Originally designed as an alternative form of CPR for people who were uncomfortable performing mouth-to-mouth on a stranger, the compression-only form of CPR was designed to stem the tide of growing unwillingness among the population to perform CPR.
Experts must now inform the public of the findings and work to shift thought away from the idea of having to perform mouth-to-mouth. Even with recommendation from experts throughout the past decade to perform compression-only CPR, the general public has been slow to adopt the idea. Many CPR certification courses still teach mouth-to-mouth CPR.
In order to help get the word out, the Sarver Heart Center decided to send fliers back in June to all Tucson residents notifying them of the new CPR method. The fliers were included with every resident’s electric bill for the month.
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Obese Justification Not a Healthy Mindset
November 18, 2009
American Heart Association
Some obese people misperceive that their body size is normal and think they don’t need to lose weight, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2009.
In the Dallas Heart Study of 5,893 people, researchers found that 8 percent of the 2,056 who were obese said they were satisfied with their body size or felt they could gain weight.
“Almost one in 10 obese individuals are satisfied with their body size and didn’t perceive that they need to lose weight,” said Tiffany Powell, M.D., lead author of the study and a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “That is a sizeable percentage who don’t understand they are overweight and believe they are healthy.”
Participants included about 50 percent blacks, 20 percent Hispanics and 30 percent whites, similar to other urban populations, Powell said. About half – 54 percent – were women. African Americans (14 percent) and Hispanics (11 percent) were significantly more likely than whites (2 percent) to be satisfied with their body size and believe that they did not need to lose weight.
Using the sex-specific Stunkard nine-figure scale, participants chose the figure that represented their present body size and the figure that represented their ideal body size. Self-perceived ideal body size was classified as below normal, normal and above normal. Body size discrepancy, a measure of body size satisfaction, was calculated as the difference between self-perceived actual and self-perceived ideal body sizes.
Those with a misperception of body size believed they were healthy. But 35 percent of them had high blood pressure, 15 percent had high cholesterol, 14 percent had diabetes and 27 percent were current smokers. These risk factors are similar to obese individuals who acknowledged they had a weight problem and needed to lose weight, Powell said.
Overall, 2 percent to 3 percent of the study population perceived an above-normal body size as ideal. Compared to subjects who perceived their ideal body size as normal, those who perceived ideal body size to be above normal were more likely to be women, African American and had higher body mass index, blood pressure and higher insulin resistance.
Researchers also found:
Those who misperceived their body size were less likely to go to a physician. In fact, 44 percent didn’t visit a physician during the past year, compared to 26 percent of obese participants who correctly perceived they needed to lose weight.
There was no significant difference between the two groups in socioeconomic status or access to health care due to insurance status.
Among those who did see a physician in the past year, the obese individuals who did not feel they needed to lose weight were much less likely to report that their physician had told them they need to lose weight compared to those who perceived they needed to lose weight (38 percent vs 68 percent). Moreover, only 38 percent talked with their physician about dietary changes, while 64 percent of those with a more accurate body perception talked about changes.
Obese people who were satisfied with their body size didn’t exercise, while obese individuals who recognized they had a weight problem exercised regularly, on average.
The major limitation of the study is that researchers couldn’t infer causality between associated beliefs and behaviors because the study is cross-sectional.
“This is an important population that we aren’t seeing or targeting,” Powell said. “Understanding and countering this misconception may be a novel and perhaps vitally important target for obesity prevention and treatment. Because many of these individuals believe they are healthier than they really are, they do not go to the doctor and thus community interventions will be needed. However, Powell also emphasized that her findings show that physicians need to talk with their obese patients about exercise and weight loss. “The onus falls on us as physicians to determine who this population is and how to talk with them.”
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