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Thursday, May 6, 2021
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Emotional Stress is Harder on Young Women’s Hearts

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emotional stress

New findings show that young women who are dealing with heart issues are more likely to be affected by emotional stress than young men. This theory was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions’ 2014.

Heart attacks are the number one killer for both men and women, but a new study suggests that women are at higher risk of death than men because of mental stress.

For the study, researchers recruited 534 participants with stable coronary heart disease. They measured the blood flow of the heart via nuclear imaging when participants underwent mental health stress tests. The results revealed that women 55 and younger experienced reduced blood flow that was three times greater than in men of the same age.

The physical stress test, on the other hand, found no significant difference on the level of stress that both genders experienced while running on a treadmill.

Researchers attributed the higher level of mental stress seen in women to their regular exposure to stressful activities such as taking care of their children, marriages, jobs and the elderly – meaning parents or relatives.

“If they note that their patient is under psychological stress or is depressed, they should advise the woman to get relevant help or support from mental health providers, stress reduction programs or other means,”

concluded researchers, in a news release.

Symptoms of a heart attack can vary in men and women, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Men experience chest pressure while women experience shortness of breath, pain in the lower or upper abdomen, dizziness, fainting, upper back-pressure or extreme fatigue.

“Women who develop heart disease at a younger age make up a special high-risk group because they are disproportionally vulnerable to emotional stress,”

Dr. Viola Vaccarino of Emory University in Atlanta, GA said.

The researchers explained that biology may play a role in their findings, pointing to a greater tendency in women’s bodies for emotional stress to trigger abnormal blood vessel function, including exaggerated coronary or peripheral blood vessel constriction.

“If they note that their patient is under psychological stress or is depressed, they should advise the woman to get relevant help or support from mental health providers, stress reduction programs or other means,”

Dr. Vaccarino said.

 

Heart Disease Hospitalization Rate Drastically Decreased in the Previous Decade

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Once again, a medical research shows just how important is lifestyle in determining the health status. The American Heart Association released extraordinary news on Monday. After a large-scale study on Medicare patients, researchers found that in the period from 1999 to 2011, the rate of major heart related health problems decreased substantially.

Over 34 million patient records have been analyzed to reach the conclusions. Hospitalization rates and deaths following heart diseases, as well as strokes, decreased among the patients aged 65 or older. The heart disease hospitalization rates dropped by 30 to 40 percent for heart attack, as well as heart failure and stroke. No other health condition saw such a drastic improvement in the given timeframe.

Moreover, the hospitalization rate for unstable angina decreased by 83 percent. Compared to 1999, patients who suffered from unstable angina or heart attack faced a 23 percent decrease in the risk of dying in 2010. Patients who suffered a heart failure or stroke have a 13 percent lower risk of dying in the following year.

Heart transplant patients have another reason to be happy. Another recent research shows that carefully supervised high-intensity exercises provides them with important health benefits.

Heart disease hospitalization rate decreased without any major medical breakthroughs

There were no medical breakthroughs in the analyzed timeframe, so the improvement can only be explained by a combination between lifestyle factors and improved medical care, according to Harlan Krumholz, a researcher who is a professor of medicine at Yale University. Prevention seemed to have worked almost miraculously.

Heart disease hospitalization rate decreased in the last decade

The hospitalization rates for the mentioned heart related conditions dropped for all races.

“There is still more work to do as heart disease and stroke combined remain the leading cause of death and disability, but this study documents astonishing progress and national achievement,” Krumholz said.

The authors mention a couple of main factors that influenced the decrease of hospitalization rates. One is the changes in lifestyle, mainly the decrease of smoking rates. Another factor is represented by time efficient care strategies. Blood pressure is under a stricter control than ever, as it is identified and treated more efficiently. In the same period, the drug class of statins saw a rapid rise as well. Overall, these are the main factors influencing the decrease of the heart disease hospitalization rate.

However, heart diseases are still the main cause of death among Americans. Around 600.000 people die each year because of heart related conditions, Livescience reminds us.

Stroke Rate Falls among Seniors

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Stroke has always been a major health concern in the medical community. Medical procedures have drastically improved in the last decades, leading to fewer deaths provoked by transmitted diseases. The reduction of child mortality is another success of modern medicine. Now, the most common causes of death are cancers, along with heart related affections. But, according to a new study result, surprisingly, the stroke rate falls in the senior’s category.

Americans’ diet is a focus of numerous debates. The fast-food industry provides Americans with food for a long while. The quality of the fast-food meals has long been a subject of criticism produced by doctors. The high fat content presumably increases the risk of developing a heart related affection. A young body is usually equipped with the ability to better fight the substances which attack the heart’s health. By looking at the results of a 20 years long study in four American communities, the researchers question the old statement that as the heart grows older, it is irremediably weaker. While you finish reading the article, have a bite of dark chocolate, as it has been proved to fight artery disease.

Stroke Rate Falls, according to a study on four American communities

The internationally mixed research team looked at the health indicators of 14 357 persons for more than 20 years. The state of their health has been interrogated constantly though telephone or hospital consultations. Only seven percent of the impressive sample suffered a stroke during the research period, out of which 58 percent died until 2011.

Stroke rate falls among seniors

The researcher team discovered that for people older than 65 years, the stroke incidence declined by 31 percent per decade. The scientists are worried, though, because in the cohorts younger than 65 years, the stroke incidence only decreased by three percent per decade. That is where the focus of health policy should be placed. Another good news is the fact that the stroke incidence for older people decreased in both Whites and Blacks. Due to overall lower socio-economic conditions, the Blacks have been at greater risk of suffering strokes.

A couple of reasons will explain why the stroke rate falls among seniors. First, the use of cholesterol-lowering medication increased from 4 percent to 13 percent during the last two decades. The ‘bad’ cholesterol levels decreased during that time. The use of medication for blood pressure increased too, from 29 to 43 percent. The third reason explaining why the stroke rate falls among the elderly is that many people from the sample stopped smoking during the time.

We Should Eat More Vegetables And Fruits New Study Shows

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vegetables and fruits decrease the risk of cancerYou know what they say: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. It seems that just one apple is not enough, as new scientific studies reveal. Apparently people who eat fruits and vegetables 7 times a day decrease the risks of dying by 42%. Also, the same study made a pretty interesting discovery: vegetables are healthier than fruits.

The new study involved more than 65,000 people over the age of 35 who were kept under observation between 2001 and 2008. The ones who participated in the study say to have eaten an approximate 3.8 servings of vegetables and fruits daily. The researchers found that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can protect against common causes of death like cancer and heart disease. The results of the study have shown that people who eat a lot of veggies had a 25% lower risk of developing and dying from cancer and a 31% lower risk of having a stroke or dying from heart disease.

The same study shows that vegetables provide greater health benefits than fruits. Eating more fruits daily apparently did not increase the chance of survival for the participants involved.

The conclusion is that we need to eat more vegetables every day, even if we think that we have a pretty healthy lifestyle and diet. We need to increase the number of vegetables consumed each day, as this can decrease the risks of developing serious illnesses like different forms of cancer and heart disorders.

Eating more vegetables and fruits decrease the risk of cancer and heart disease

This recent study is a follow-up to a previous one that revealed that women who are eating 8 to 9 servings of vegetables and fresh fruits in their 20’s decrease the risks of developing dangerous plaque in the arteries when they are in their 40’s.

Our advice is: eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can. As studies show, the more the better.

Gum Health and Heart Disease are Linked New Study Shows

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Gum Health and Heart DiseaseA new study performed by the Columbia University in New York, USA has come up with some startling results: apparently, gum health and heart disease are related, and if you take care of your gums, then you can reduce the risk of developing a heart disease. The reasoning behind this find is that if one improves dental care, the speed with which plaque builds up in the arteries slows down.

Gum Health and Heart Disease

One way to take the best care of your teeth is to follow your dentist’s recommendations and brush after each meal, maybe using the new Oral B smart toothbrush, floss and use mouthwash and then you can rest assured that you’ve decreased your risk of developing a heart disease.

The study that linked gum health and heart disease appeared in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that improving gum health is linked to a substantially slower advance of atherosclerosis (a disease which manifests itself through plaque buildup in the arteries). The disease increases a person’s risk of developing stroke and heart disease.

The main author of the study, associate professor of Epidemiology Moïse Desvarieux, at Columbia’s Mailman School of Health, believes that these results are extremely important because atherosclerosis proceeded at the same time with clinical periodontal disease and the bacterial profiles in the gums. These findings that link gum health and heart disease are the most direct evidence that if you modify the periodontal bacterial profile, then you can prevent or slow down heart disease.

The study was performed on around 400 adults with ages between 60 and 75 from New York. They all got tested for oral infection and the thickness of arteries at the beginning of the study and three years later, when the research ended. Over 5,000 samples of plaque were retrieved and analyzed and the results showed that people with improved gum health had a slower advance of atherosclerosis.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you going to start brushing more often? Leave us your thoughts below!

Keep your heart young with some lifestyle changes

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The cardiovascular diseases are becoming common in the developed countries like the United States, thanks to the unhealthy lifestyle. The health experts strictly recommend good eating habits and few hours of exercise for a strong heart.

Moreover, a recent CDC report also suggests, diseases related to heart can be easily avoided with few lifestyle changes.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 200,000 deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, heart strokes are preventable every year.

Although the rate of death (deaths per 100,000 people) from cardiovascular disease declined by 29% between 2001 and 2010, it’s still the leading cause of death in the USA, says the report. One out of three deaths in the United States is caused by cardiovascular diseases.

heart

The experts recommend some of the key methods to keep your heart fit.

• Eat a variety of food items, but not in excess.

• Different coloured vegetables and fruits, pulses and legumes, low fat dairy products can add colour to your platter.

• Check your weight

• Keep away from food rich in fat.

• Use skimmed or low fat milk and milk products. Bake, roast or boil rather than frying.

• Eat food with adequate fiber. Fruits and vegetables like carrot, cucumber and apple have skin. They should be consumed along with it.

• Avoid sugar in excess. White sugar, soft drinks, candies, chocolates, cakes and cookies should be avoided. Don’t eat sweets between meals.heart b

• Sodium should be taken in less quantity: Use small amount of salt to prepare dish.

• Try more natural ways to add flavour to food items. Go with spices, lemon juice, tomatoes and curds, don’t munch chips and fried foods constantly.

• Don’t encourage exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups. Such exercises involve straining muscles against other muscles or an immovable object.

• If your exercise programme has been interrupted for a few days due to illness, vacation, or any other reason, start with a reduced level of activity.

• Don’t exercise outdoors when the temperature becomes extreme. High humidity may cause you to tire more quickly.

• Exercise in hilly areas is a big no. If you are located in such places then slow down when climbing up the hill.

Too Much Coffee Drinking Increases Death Rates: Study

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A new study conducted by researchers in the US says drinking four cups of coffee a day may increase the risk of dying in people below the age group of 55. Earlier, several reports suggested drinking of coffee may result in some health benefits in most people like fighting depression in women and lowering the risk of prostate cancer and stroke. Well, the debate continues to brew.

The study was conducted on 43,727 men and women between the age group of 20 and 87 from 1971 to 2002. Its report was published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings journal which says younger men below the age of 55 years who drank 28 cups of coffee a week were more likely, by 56 percent, to die from any cause. The report adds that the risk increases by twofold for women in the same age group if they drink coffee in the same quantity or more.

Co-author of the study and assistant professor of exercise science with the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, Xuemei Sui said, “From our study, it seems safe to drink one to three cups of coffee a day… Drinking more than four cups of coffee a day may endanger health.” A cup of coffee as per Sui is 6 to 8 ounces.

Too Much Coffee Drinking Increases Death Rates

Sui added, the study of her team failed to find any significant link between heart disease death and coffee consumption, and also further research is to be made to find association between cancer and coffee.

Gregg Fonarow, co-chief of clinical cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, says, “Differences in other dietary factors, marital status and other socioeconomic factors that were not adjusted for in this study may account for some or all of these observations.”

The study also found people who drank coffees more than 8 ounces, or larger amounts liked to smoke more and hence had less healthy hearts and lungs. In this regard Sui says as more research is to be done in this segment so it is advised to avoid drinking excessive coffee.

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