Heart Disease Prevention - Can Allergy Drug Worsen Heart Conditions?

Allergy medications can be obtained over the counter or prescription. But some allergy medications can worsen a heart condition or can be dangerous when mixed with blood pressure drugs and certain heart disease medicines. Find out more at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/can-allergy-drug-worsen-heart-conditions.html

Heart Disease Prevention - What Is Ventricular Tachycardia?

Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach) is a heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia) caused by abnormal electrical signals in ventricles. V-tach reduces the heart’s efficiency. This often make V-tach a particularly dangerous cardiac arrhythmia. Find out more about V-tach at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/what-is-ventricular-tachycardia.html

Heart Disease Prevention - How Is High Caffeine Linked To Heart Disease?

Effect of caffeine peaks within an hour after consumption, and the body eliminates half of it within about 4 to 6 hours. But how people react to caffeine really depend on gender, age, and health condition. Whether high caffeine intake would increase the risk of coronary heart disease is still debatable. Find out more at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/how-is-high-caffeine-linked-to-heart-disease.html

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Is Heart Rhythm Important And How To Check?

Even if one has a healthy heart, he or she could have an arrhythmia at some point for no reason and without any real risk to the health. But if this happen too often for an extended period of time, there may be an underlying issue. Find out more at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/why-is-heart-rhythm-important-and-how-to-check.html

Are Triathletes At Higher Risk Of Cardiac Events?

Being a multiple-stage competition involving the completion of 3 continuous and sequential endurance disciplines, triathlon usually involves swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. It began in 1970s and has become an increasingly popular endurance activity worldwide. A standard Olympic triathlon involves a 1.5 km (0.9 mile) swim, followed by a 40 km (24.8 mile) bike ride and a 10 km (6.2 mile) run.

Obviously, triathlon puts unusually high demands on the body, especially the heart. Does it mean that triathlon is a dangerous sport?

Recent study by German researchers reported that men who compete in triathlons could put their heart at risk. After examining 55 male triathletes averaged 44 years old, and 30 female triathletes averaged 43 years old, the researchers found that 18 percent of the men had a condition known as myocardial fibrosis, but not the female triathletes. Myocardial fibrosis is scarring of the heart, and it usually affects the pumping chambers and can progress to heart failure. The findings were presented at the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting between Nov 26 and Dec 1, 2017 in Chicago.

The clinical relevance of these scars is currently unclear but they might lead to future heart failure and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). The researchers explained that higher exercise-induced systolic blood pressure may result in greater myocardial mass and more exercise might expose the athlete to a higher risk of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. These factors, together with repeatedly increased stress of the left ventricular wall due to exercise, could injure the heart muscle. Meanwhile, the presence of testosterone may be one of other factors that explain the difference in myocardial fibrosis risk between male and female triathletes.

Findings presented at meetings should be considered preliminary because it has not been subjected to the scrutiny given to research published in medical journals. Previous studies have, however, found myocardial fibrosis in elite athletes.

Latest American data also indicated that triathletes may be more likely to die suddenly and suffer a fatal trauma or cardiac arrest than previously thought. A study of more than 9 million participants over 3 decades found that deaths and cardiac arrests struck 1.74 out of every 100,000 competitors. The findings were published October 17, 2017 in the ‘Annals of Internal Medicine’.

During the study period from 1985 to 2016, 135 people died suddenly or had a cardiac arrest. This included 107 sudden deaths and 13 race-related cardiac arrests that people survived because of prompt emergency medical attention. The victims were 47 years old on average, and 85 percent were male.

Autopsy data showed that clinically silent cardiovascular disease was present in an unexpected proportion of decedents. The incidence of cardiovascular events was much lower in female triathletes, 3.5-fold less than in men. Death risks also raised with age. Among men 60 and older, 19 participants died or suffered cardiac arrest out of every 100,000 competitors.

Hence, it is advisable for participants of triathlon or other sports to get medical checkup to see if they have any risk before participating. This is particularly important for middle-aged and older men.

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Do Holidays Raise Heart Disease Risk?

During holidays, it is very common for people including healthy young adults to develop arrhythmia, most frequently atrial fibrillation, after several days of binge drinking. The condition is known as Holiday Heart Syndrome (HHS). HHS is usually temporary, but for some people, especially those with heart disease or who is at increased risk for heart disease, HHS can pose a special risk. Find out more at:

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Do Holidays Raise Heart Disease Risk?

Heart Disease Prevention - Atrial Flutter Is Just Another Kind Of Arrhythmia

Talking about arrhythmia, most people will first think of atrial fibrillation, which is the most common one. But besides atrial fibrillation, there are other types of arrhythmia. One of the less common one is atrial flutter. Atrial flutter has similar symptoms as atrial fibrillation, like feeling faint, tiredness, palpitations, shortness of breath... To know more, click the following link:

Heart Disease Prevention - Atrial Flutter Is Just Another Kind Of Arrhythmia

How To Save A Cardiac Arrest Victim?

Each year, there are between 300,000 and 400,000 deaths in the United States from cardiac arrest. Most cardiac arrest deaths occur outside the hospital. The current out-of-hospital survival rates are very low: between 1 and 5 percent.

Cardiac arrest usually occurs when the heart's electrical activity becomes disrupted and the heartbeat gets dangerously fast (ventricular tachycardia) or chaotic (ventricular fibrillation). As a result, irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) occurs and the heart stops beating effectively and cannot adequately pump blood. But if an electric shock from an AED can be delivered in time across the chest and through the heart, the fatal rhythm of ventricular fibrillation can be turned back to a normal rhythm.

An AED (automated external defibrillator) is a device that can be attached to a person’s chest. It can sense the heart's rhythm during cardiac arrest and in some cases, deliver an electric shock to get the heart beating again. The device, when used together with CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) by trained persons offers the best chance of survival for a person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest. CPR can keep some blood flowing to the heart and brain for a short time.

People who has a cardiac arrest will suddenly lose consciousness. So when one sees someone pass out, the first thing he or she should do is to check whether the victim is unconscious and not breathing. Once confirmed the victim is unresponsive, an ambulance should be called immediately and an AED should be secured right away. AEDs are now commonly available in many public places including the shopping malls, office buildings, sports arenas, golf courses, schools, and airports and airplanes.

CPR should then be started on the victim until the AED arrives. Once the device is switched on, voice prompts will advise what to do. Sweat, if any, should be wiped from the chest of the victim before attaching the electrode pads to the bare chest. The first pad should be placed on the victim's upper right side, just below the collarbone, while the second pad is placed just below and to the left of the left nipple. The device will advise if shock is advised. If shock is required, the helper should make sure no one is touching the victim before pressing the button. The helper should continue to follow the voice prompts until the ambulance arrives.

Nevertheless, one should note that an AED can only for certain types of cardiac arrest that involves specific types of heart fibrillation, and it will not revive everyone in cardiac arrest.

Heart Disease Prevention - Would Bystanders’ CPR Raise Cardiac Arrest Survival?

Cardiac arrest might be reversed if someone nearby can perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and use a defibrillator to shock the heart in order to restore a normal heart rhythm within a few minutes. Hence, bystanders can make a difference when somebody collapses with cardiac arrest. Read the full article @

Heart Disease Prevention - Would Bystanders’ CPR Raise Cardiac Arrest Survival?

Anger and Stress Can Be Deadly for People With Heart Disease!

According to the American College of Cardiology, there are more than 400,000 sudden cardiac deaths in the United States every year. Previous studies also showed that earthquakes, war or even the loss of a World Cup soccer match could raise rates of death from sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart stops circulating blood.

Recently, a study by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut indicated that anger and other strong emotions could trigger potentially deadly heart rhythms in certain people with heart disease. The paper was published on February 23, 2009 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

62 patients with heart disease were studied by the researchers. They were equipped with implantable heart defibrillators or ICDs (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator), which are devices that deliver an electrical shock to restore a normal heartbeat when dangerous heart rhythms or arrhythmias are detected.

The patients were asked to recount a recent angry episode so that the research team could perform a so-called T-Wave Alternans test to measure electrical instability in the heart. By specifically asking questions to get people to relive the angry episode, the researchers found in the lab setting that anger did increase the electrical instability in these patients.

These patients were then followed for 3 years. The study found that people who had the highest anger-induced electrical instability were 10 times more likely to have an arrhythmia in follow-up.

The researchers suggested that anger could be deadly for people who are already vulnerable to this type of disturbance in the heart. However, how anger and stress might affect people with normal hearts is likely very different from how it might affect the heart with structural abnormalities. Therefore, they cautioned that people should not simply extrapolate their results to normal people.

Meanwhile, a study has been conducted by the same researchers to see if anger management classes can actually help reduce the risk of arrhythmia for patients who are at risk.

More Power Means More Functions For Pacemaker!

A pacemaker is a small device, which can be installed under the skin of a person’s chest or abdomen, for helping control abnormal heart rhythms. By using electrical pulses, such devices can prompt the heart to beat a normal rate.

Arrhythmia is the name given to describe abnormal heart rhythms. When a person has symptoms related to arrhythmias, his or her heart rhythms can be too slow, fast or simply irregular. With the help of a pacemaker, a person with abnormal heart rhythm could resume a more active lifestyle.

It has always been the wish of doctors to incorporate more functions into the pacemakers to help monitor the heart. However, to add new functions into pacemaker means more power is required, and the only way to increase the power is to use larger-size and heavier battery. Unfortunately, such change would certainly make patients feel uncomfortable and arouse rejection from the patients.

Good news has emerged recently when researchers have developed a tiny generator that can harvest the excess energy of a beating heart to help power a pacemaker or defibrillator, according to a paper presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting during November 2008.

By capturing enough surplus heart energy, the experimental micro-generator, developed by the researchers from Southampton University Hospital in Britain, can in turn provide 17 percent of the power required to run a pacemaker. This means that new generation of devices that lasted significantly longer would be available soon and more functions that can help monitor the heart can be added.

Right now, the researchers have already started their work on how to improve the materials used in the generator in order to enhance the energy harvesting.

Cells That May Repair Heart Attack Damage!

Heart attack is a serious disease that may end up with death instantly if medical assistance is not provided in time. Even if the patients survived, they may have shorter life span. Pass data showed that approximately 15 per cent of heart attack patients may die within two to three years of sudden death due to the development of ventricular arrhythmias. Arrhythmia is an irregularity in the heart's natural rhythm.

A group of scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany reported on Dec 5, 2007 in the journal Nature that transplanting genetically engineered cells into the heart may help protect heart attack survivors from later developing life-threatening heart rhythm problems.

In the study, the scientists transplanted living mouse embryonic heart cells into cardiac tissue of mice with heart attack-like damage, making the animals resistant to later arrhythmias

According to the researchers, a protein known as connexin43 made by these transplanted embryonic heart cells improved electrical connections to other heart cells. As a result, the transplanted heart cells became activated during normal heart contractions. But for ethical reasons, human embryonic heart cells could not be used for transplantation in people. As such, genetically engineered skeletal muscle cells were used to make this protein. By transplanting these cells into the mouse heart, the same restorative result was achieved as with the transplanted embryonic heart cells.

Hopefully, the new approach, with some refinement, could help people who suffer heart attacks in the near future.