Can Omega-3 Fatty Acid Reduce Heart Disease And Stroke?

Omega-3 fatty acid, which can be found in fish oils, squid oil and some plant oils like flaxseed oil, are considered essential fatty acids. While they cannot be synthesized by the human body, they are vital for normal metabolism.

 

For years, health professionals believe that omega-3 fatty acid can help prevent heart disease and other ailments, as supported by a number of clinical trials. While the underlying mechanism is not clear, it is possible that studies that showed some heart health benefits from consuming omega-3 fatty acids might be due to their ability of lowering triglyceride levels, prevent serious arrhythmias, or even lower platelet aggregation and lower blood pressure.

 

However, its health benefits remain controversial as there is a lack of conclusive evidence to link it with a lower risk of all-cause mortality.

 

A study appeared in September 12, 2012’s issue of the ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’ (Jama) reported that omega-3 fatty acids had no effect in lowering the risk of stroke, heart attack or death.

 

Researchers from the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece examined 20 studies involving 68,680 randomized patients who were given supplements of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. It was found that there were 7,044 deaths, 3,993 cardiac deaths, 1,150 sudden deaths, 1,837 heart attacks, and 1,490 strokes. Analysis of these figures did not show any statistically significant association with reduction in death, stroke or heart disease.

 

Prevailing guidelines suggest using omega-3 fatty acid as supplements or through diet for patients after heart attack. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its use as triglyceride-lowering agents in patients with overt hypertriglyceridemia. In Europe, there are certain national regulatory approving use of omega-3 supplements to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

 

Based on the findings, the researchers do not suggest using omega-3 proactively in trying to optimize heart health. In their opinion, it is necessary to conduct further research, including, in their own words, ‘an individual patient data meta-analysis to refine possible associations related to, among others, dose, adherence, baseline intake, and cardiovascular disease risk group’.

Is There A Link Between Heart Attack And Loud Traffic?

Residents in the United States are not so concerned about noise levels as compared with those in Europe. Noise pollution is generally not recognized as a health hazard.

 

However, previous studies had shown that exposure to high noise levels can cause high blood pressure and there are evidences showing link between noise pollution and heart attack risk. Unfortunately, most people do not realize they are exposing to noise pollution.

 

A study from Denmark has recently found that the louder the traffic near people’s homes, the higher their risk of getting a heart attack. In a paper published on June 20, 2012 in the journal ‘PLoS ONE’, researchers from the Danish Cancer Society and Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark reported that for every 10 decibels of added roadway traffic noise, the risk of heart attack increased 12 percent. They also estimated that traffic noise accounts for 4 percent of all heart attacks in Denmark.

 

In fact, traffic noise during the night is especially harmful since it affects sleep. Nevertheless, anytime one is exposed to high levels of noise, his or her concentrations of stress hormones in the body are increased, hence raising heart attack risk.

 

The study was based on a population of 57,053 people aged 50 to 64 years at enrolment between 1993 and 1997. A total of 1,600 cases of first-ever heart attack were identified between enrolment and 2006.

 

Participants were asked to report where they lived and whether they had ever had a heart attack, along with other information, including their diets and physical activity habits. Factors that could affect participants' risk of heart attack, such as gender, smoking, fruit and vegetable intake, and body mass index (BMI), were also taken into account.

 

Researchers believed their study is one of the first to show an incremental correlation between raising noise and higher risk. While previous study have suggested that risk increased at noise levels higher than 60 decibels, the new study showed that risk increased between 40 and 80 decibels.

 

Current legislation requires hearing protection when noise level reaches 85 decibels and above. But 10 decibels of noise is sufficient to interrupt a conversation.

 

While noise pollution tends to be higher in cities, it is possible to live very quietly in a city but very noisily in a rural area if it is near highways. In order not to affect sleep, it is recommended that people should choose a room with a low exposure to traffic noise, and if this is impossible, it is better to insulate the house against noise.

Can You Spot Your Weight Gain?

Keeping track of one’s weight is important. Once a person becomes overweight, it is rather difficult for him or her to get back to the normal weight. Moreover, overweight has been found to cause many diseases including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and Type-2 diabetes.

 

The general belief is that women tend to be more weight concerns. But according to a study published online by researchers from University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) on December 2, 2011 in the ‘Journal of Women's Health’, young women generally do not recognize recent gain of as many as 11 pounds, and awareness of weight gain also appears to be influenced by race, ethnicity and contraceptive methods.

 

Findings of the study showed that a significant number of women evaluated at 6-month intervals did not recognize recent gains in weight. Their findings also showed that nearly one-third and one-quarter of women did not recognize weight gain of about 4.5 and 8.8 pounds respectively during a 6-month interval. But black women and DMPA users were more likely to be aware of weight gain than their counterparts. DMPA stands for depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, commonly known as the birth control shot.

 

A sample of 466 women with an average age of 25 was surveyed. Among these women, about 37 percent were Hispanic, 35 percent non-Hispanic white and 29 percent non-Hispanic black women. Approximately 39 percent of them used DMPA, 36 percent used an oral contraceptive and 25 percent utilized non-hormonal contraceptive methods.

 

Over a period of 36 months, the women completed a symptom checklist every 6 months that included questions on whether they felt they had gained weight. Their data on height, BMI, physical activity and whether they had borne children were also evaluated.

 

Researchers were surprised to find that race and ethnicity are determinants of accurate recognition of weight gain, predictors that have never before been reported. On the findings on DMPA users were more likely to recognize weight gain, researchers believed that this could be because DMPA has been widely reported to be linked to weight gain, making users more mindful in monitoring their weight.

 

In order to realize significant changes, it is advisable for women to weigh themselves regularly. Based on the findings, though not necessarily representative of all women, doctors should also provide patient-specific counseling to address the frequent inaccuracies to recognize weight gain.

Don’t Drink Heavily To Prevent Stroke!

Indulge in binge drinking is bad because the risk of developing heart disease becomes higher. But heavy drinkers of alcohol might also have other problems such as high blood pressure.

 

According to researchers from the University of Lille Nord de France, people who drank heavily might be getting a brain hemorrhage at a relatively early age. Hemorrhage is a type of stroke where ruptured blood vessels leak blood into the brain. Their findings were published on September 11, 2012 in journal ‘Neurology’.

 

They followed 540 patients with an average age of 71 who had hemorrhage. Among the participants, 137 people (or 25 percent) were heavy drinkers, which was defined as having 3 or more drinks a day or about 1.6 ounces per day of pure alcohol. These participants also underwent CT brain scans and their medical records were reviewed.

 

It was found that the heavy drinkers got brain hemorrhage typically at the age of 60, compared to the age of 74 among patients who were not heavy drinkers. Heavy drinkers were not only younger when they got their stroke they were also relatively healthy and less likely to have any history of heart disease, stroke or mini-stroke symptoms, compared to those who were not heavy drinkers.

 

Furthermore, the findings also discovered that when the stroke occurred in a deep part of the brain, heavy drinkers younger than 60 were more likely to die within 2 years than those who did not drink heavily. Even after discounting for factors like smoking habits, the heavy drinkers were twice as likely to die as compared to one-third of those who did not drink heavily.

 

In the study, heavy drinkers were found to have lower levels of certain substances that allow blood to clot, though those levels were still within the normal range.

 

The findings, however, could not prove that heavy drinking alone caused strokes at an earlier age. There might be other factors involved. For instance, heavy drinkers in the study were often smokers: 42 percent of them smoked compared to 12 percent of the other patients.

 

Since heavy drinking has long been considered a risk factor for strokes, this indicates that there are surely some reasons to believe that heavy drinking can be a problem.

 

Of course, this does not mean that drinking is strictly prohibited. People can still drink but moderation is the key. Remember this, excessive alcohol consumption is bad for the body in a number of ways.

Why Lack Of Sleep Could Lead To Weight Gain?

Besides many causes that could make a person gains weight, lack of sleep is another one that could also cause people to put on weight in the long run.

 

In fact, earlier research done by researchers from the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University had reported on October 21, 2009 in ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ that the energy expenditure of young men with normal weight were curbed after a night of total sleep loss. They also showed that these young men had raised their levels of hunger indicating that an acute lack of sleep might affect human’s food perception.

 

The same researchers have taken a step further. On January 18, 2012, they together with researchers from other European universities reported in ‘The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism’ that a specific brain region that contributes to a person’s appetite sensation can be more activated in response to food images after a night of sleep loss than a night of normal sleep.

 

They had systematically examined which regions in the brain, responsible for appetite sensation, are influenced by acute sleep deprivation. Using magnetic imaging (MRI), they studied the brains of 12 normal-weight males while they were viewing images of foods.

 

Results after a night of normal sleep were compared with those obtained after a night without sleep. It was found that the participants showed a high level of activation in an area of the brain that is involved in a desire to eat. The findings explained why poor sleep habits could affect people’s risk of gaining weight in the long run.

 

In modern society, insufficient sleep has become a growing problems among many people. This might in part contribute to the growing levels of obesity, which is believed to be the risk factor for many diseases including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. It is, therefore, paramount that people should try to sleep about 8 hours every night just to keep a stable and healthy body weight.

Why Should Women Breastfeed Their Babies?

Health experts usually advise mothers-to-be to breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months and then to continue breastfeeding along with solid food until their babies are one year old.

 

Breastfeeding is generally believed to benefit both the babies and the mothers. Studies had shown that breastfeeding help protect babies against common ills like diarrhea and middle ear infections. Meanwhile, research also found that women who breastfeed have lower risk of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease later in life.

 

A study that was published on October 12, 2011 in the ‘American Journal of Epidemiology’ reported that mothers, who breastfed for at least 6 months, might have a lower risk of getting high blood pressure over 14 years, comparing with those who had only bottle-fed.

 

Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill examined the correlation between breastfeeding and later risk of high blood pressure among 55,636 female participants in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study II. All these women had at least one baby.

 

From 1991 to 2005, 8,861 women were diagnosed with high blood pressure. The risk of developing high blood pressure for women who did not breastfeed their first child were 22 percent higher than those who had exclusively breastfed their child for 6 months. In the meantime, the researchers also found that women who had either never breastfed or done so for 3 months or less were almost 25 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who had breastfed for at least a year. Factors such as diet, exercise and smoking habits had been taken into consideration before arriving the results.

 

However, the researchers admitted that none of their findings have proven that breastfeeding itself offers long-term protection against high blood pressure. It is possible that there were some other factors like a stressful working environment that hindered women from breastfeeding and contributed to their blood pressure.

 

On the other hand, it is also likely that breastfeeding has direct benefits. In fact, animal research has found that the hormone oxytocin, which is involved in breastfeeding, has lasting effects on blood pressure. In addition, it is known that women tend to have a lower short-term blood pressure immediately after breastfeeding.

 

It is estimated by the researchers that 12 percent of high blood pressure cases among women with children might be linked to suboptimal breastfeeding, provided if breastfeeding is in fact protective. They also argued that if this is a casual relationship, taking steps to clear obstacles for breastfeeding could actually help women’s health later on.

Are All Fast Food Tied To Heart Disease?

People like fast food because it can be prepared and served very quickly. However, fast food has been linked to many health disorders including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

 

Now the question is: Are all fast food the same?

 

In a paper published on July 2, 2012 in the journal ‘Circulation’, a group of researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health reported that American style fast food such as burgers and fries would raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease but the Asian fast food like noodles and dumplings would not.

 

The study aimed to examine the link between Western-style fast food intake and the risk of incident Type-2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD). It involved 63,257 Chinese Singaporean aged between 45 and 75 who enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study from April 1993 to December 1998. Through process of in-person interview, these individuals answered questions on usual diet, demographics, height and weight, use of tobacco, usual physical activity, menstrual and reproductive history (women only), medical history, and family history of cancer. These participants were followed for about a decade.

 

For CHD mortality, 52,584 participants were included and 1,397 deaths were found through December 31, 2009, via registry linkage. For Type-2 diabetes, 43,176 participants were included and 2,252 cases were identified during the follow-up interview (1999–2004).

 

The findings showed that those who consumed fast food 2 or more times a week had 27 percent higher risk of diabetes and 56 percent higher risk of cardiac death than those who ate little or no fast food. Among 811 participants who ate Western-style fast food 4 or more times a week, the risk of cardiac death was raised by 80 percent. Even after adjusting for other factors such as age, sex, weight, smoking status and education level, the findings still held.

 

On the other hand, the study did not find any association between more cases of Type-2 diabetes and cardiac deaths with eating Eastern fast food like dim sum, noodles and dumplings.

 

It is interesting to note that Singaporeans, who ate Western fast food, were more likely to be younger, educated and physically active, and were less likely to smoke, than those who preferred a more traditional diet.

Should You Take Medicines If You Have Prehypertension?

A person’s blood pressure is measured by 2 readings, systolic (top reading) and diastolic (bottom reading). For instance, a person’s blood pressure is considered normal if the blood pressure readings stay below 120/80 mm Hg. When the readings are persistently at 140/90 mm Hg or higher, this person is said to have hypertension, or more commonly known as high blood pressure.

 

However, there is a group of people whose blood pressures are between 120/80 and 139/89 mm Hg. They are said to have prehypertension. In the United States, it is estimated that more than 50 million adults develop prehypertension. If these people do not monitor and manage their blood pressure properly, they are very likely to become victims of hypertension.

 

Most people with hypertension are not aware of their condition. But hypertension is a risk factor for a number of disorders including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and peripheral arterial disease.

 

In a paper published online on December 8, 2011 in ‘Stroke’ (Journal of the American Heart Association), researchers from the Harrington-McLaughlin Heart and Vascular Institute in Cleveland, Ohio found that people with prehypertension had a lower risk of stroke when they took blood pressure-lowering medicines.

 

After examining data collected from 16 studies, researchers compared anti-hypertensive drugs against placebo in 70,664 people with average blood pressure within the pre-hypertensive range. They found that patients who took blood pressure-lowering medicines had a 22 percent lower risk of stroke, comparing to those taking a placebo.

 

While there was no significant reduction in the risk of heart attack, there was a trend toward lower cardiovascular death in patients who took blood pressure medicines as compared with those on placebo. 169 patients had to take the blood pressure-lowering medicines for an average of 4.3 years in order to prevent one stroke in the study population.

 

This clearly contradicted to the American Heart Association’s guidelines, which recommend lifestyle change instead of taking medications for people with prehypertension to lower their blood pressure. The suggested changes in lifestyle include weight loss, physical activity, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in salt and fat, and keeping alcohol consumption moderate (no more than 2 drinks for men and no more than 1 drink for women per day).

 

Though the researchers did not insist that people with prehypertension should take medicines instead of carrying out lifestyle changes, they stressed that taking blood pressure medicines can somewhat complement the lifestyle changes, as shown in their findings. Nevertheless, they urged medical community to discuss extensively about the cost of long-term therapy and the risks of taking blood pressure medicines before changing the guidelines.