Walking to work tied to lower diabetes risk (UK)

People who walk to work are 40 percent less likely to develop diabetes and 17 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who drive, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from 20,000 U.K. residents to examine how the ways they traveled to work affected their health. Walking, cycling and using public transit all were linked to a lower risk of being overweight than driving or taking a taxi. People who bicycled to work were about half as likely to have diabetes as those who commuted by car. The study also found that 19 percent of people who used private transport - such as cars, motorcycles or taxis - to get to work were obese, contrasted with 15 percent of those who walked and 13 percent of those who cycled. Modes of getting to work varied widely in different parts of the United Kingdom. For example, 52 percent of people in London used public transit, compared with 5 percent in Northern Ireland, according to the study appearing August 6 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. High blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight all are major risk factors for heart and circulatory disease. The new findings show that people could reduce their risks of serious health problems such as heart attacks by avoiding car commutes, the researchers said

Restricting blood flow may help heart bypass patients (UK)

In a potentially significant discovery for heart bypass patients, British researchers are reporting that limiting blood flow to an arm before surgery produced better results in a small trial of patients. Restricting blood flow before surgery reduced levels of troponin T, a cardiac protein that is released into the bloodstream after injury to the heart and is associated with poor outcomes after surgery, the researchers said. "If you remotely precondition the heart before surgery, you get significant protection," said study researcher Dr. Derek Yellon, of University College London's Hatter Cardiovascular Institute. "You can significantly reduce troponin T in patients undergoing bypass surgery." "Remote preconditioning is a phenomena in which, if one deprives the blood supply to an organ or tissue, other than the heart, that initiates a protective mechanism on the heart," added study lead author Dr. Derek J. Hausenloy, also from the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute. The findings are published in the August 18 issue of The Lancet

MS drug shows promise for preventing heart failure

A drug already approved to treat multiple sclerosis may also hold promise for treating cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the cardiac muscle - a disorder that often leads to heart failure, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report. The findings are published in the July 16 issue of Circulation: Heart Failure. Cardiac hypertrophy is a slow thickening of the heart muscle that shrinks the interior volume of the heart, forcing the organ to work harder to pump a diminishing volume of blood. "There comes a day when the heart just can't keep up any more, and it fails," says R. John Solaro, UIC distinguished university professor and head of physiology and biophysics. Cardiac hypertrophy, which afflicts one in 500 people, can be caused by high blood pressure or inherited through genes that control contraction of the heart. Solaro and his colleagues believe that if the thickening of the heart muscle could be slowed, or maybe even reversed, heart failure could be prevented

Cheap blood test could lead to high blood pressure cure (UK)

A study undertaken by Cambridge University found that at least 10 per cent of the 16 million people who suffer with high blood pressure could be cured if diagnosed early. It focused on a specific form of the condition caused by tiny, benign tumours of the adrenal gland, a hormone-producing gland that sits on top of the kidney. If detected with a £15 test, scientists believe it could be treated through keyhole surgery. The British Heart Foundation described the research as "an exciting development" but said it would be dependent upon early diagnosis. The operation is most successful for those under the age of 40. However, the belief that the tumours are extremely rare means that the procedure is only carried out around 300 times a year. Professor Morris Brown, a member of the research team and an honorary consultant physician at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, said the number who could benefit could be around 30 times higher and called for men and women in their 20s and 30s with high blood pressure to be given the blood test

Stroke victim unable to feel sadness (UK)

Malcolm Myatt, 68, who spent 19 weeks in hospital and lost the feeling in his left side, was told by doctors that the stroke had hit the frontal lobe of his brain, which controls the emotions. He has since noticed a number of changes, including to his short term memory, but believes that the loss of sadness from his emotional repertoire is a positive. Experts have confirmed that it is not uncommon for strokes to cause psychological, emotional and behavioural changes. The retired lorry driver said: "I am never depressed. Being sad wouldn't help anything anyway. I would definitely rather be happy all the time than the other way round. It's an advantage really. "The stroke could have become my worst enemy but I wouldn't let it. Now I barely even notice that I don't feel sadness.”

Young binge drinkers may be on the road to heart disease

Teens and young adults who binge drink in college may be raising their risks of cardiovascular disease later in life, a U.S. researcher says. Shane Phillips of the University of Illinois at Chicago looked for early signs of heart disease by comparing 19 binge drinkers to 17 non-drinkers ages 18-25. "Even though these individuals are young and healthy and don't have any other overt cardiovascular signs of disease, these data would suggest they may be on the road to developing problems," Phillips said in a statement. Phillips examined the ability of small blood vessels such as those in the arm to dilate, or widen. Reduction in dilating is a sign of an early tendency toward heart disease. Phillips found changes in the binge drinker group. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found the binge drinkers had a reduction in the ability of the main artery of the upper arm to respond to stress-induced increased blood flow by widening, as compared to their non-drinking peers. Binge drinking was defined as consuming five or more standard alcoholic drinks within 2 hours for men, and four or more standard drinks within 2 hours for women. Binge drinkers in the study averaged four years of binge-drinking behavior and had an average of six binge-drinking episodes within the past month, Phillips said

Don't fear defibrillators, says mother who lost son (Canada)

Automated external defibrillators that give instructions on how to use them have been installed at Edmonton International Airport and an Alberta mother wants to make sure people aren't afraid to use them. Kim Ruether's 16-year-old son Brock died from cardiac arrest last year even though there was defibrillator at his volleyball practice. It turned out that people were afraid to use the device. Since then, Ruether and her husband have been educating people on how to use AEDs which use an automated voice to talk users through each step. "Maybe someday a parent will come say thank you for raising this awareness and saving our boy or girl," Ruether said.
Ruether told her story at Edmonton International Airport where 60 automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) have been installed throughout the terminals

Cardiac health scanner worker detects her own heart tumour (UK)

A hospital worker who scans hearts discovered her own heart tumour during a routine training exercise. Amy Sherwood, 33, an echocardiographer at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, was acting as a Guinea pig with a colleague when she spotted the growth. Ms Sherwood became one of just a few patients in the UK to receive keyhole heart surgery to remove the tumour, which meant a shorter recovery period. Two weeks after the operation, she married her fiance Simon Bowden. Ms Sherwood was stunned to discover the tumour. "Although I've been carrying out echocardiograms on patients for a number of years, never in my working life did I imagine that I would find a problem with my own heart - especially so close to my wedding day," she said

Heart's own stem cells could help treat cardiac failure

Researchers have highlighted, for the first time, the natural regenerative capacity of a group of stem cells that reside in the heart. According to the new study these cells are responsible for repairing and regenerating muscle tissue damaged by a heart attack that leads to heart failure. The study shows that if the stem cells are eliminated, the heart is unable to repair after damage. If the cardiac stem cells are replaced the heart repairs itself, leading to complete cellular, anatomical and functional heart recovery, with the heart returning to normal and pumping at a regular rate. Also, if the cardiac stem cells are removed and re-injected, they naturally 'home' to and repair the damaged heart, a discovery that could lead to less-invasive treatments and even early prevention of heart failure in the future. The study has been published in the journal Cell

Lab-grown human heart tissue beats on its own

Progress in regenerative medicine has been coming fast and furious in recent months: scientists are now using far-out tissue engineering techniques to restore liver function in mice, regrow human muscle, and even implant bioengineered blood vessels into ailing patients. Now, a team at the University of Pittsburgh has managed to grow human heart tissue that can beat autonomously in a petri dish - an exciting step towards devising transplantable replacement organs. The group, who reported their progress in the journal Nature Communications, used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) to accomplish the feat. These mature human cells are first "reprogrammed" to an embryonic state, before being spurred to develop into a specialized type of cell. In this instance, iPS cells derived from human skin were induced to become multipotential cardiovascular progenitor (MCP) cells - basically heart cells that can further differentiate into three varieties of highly specialized cells required for cardiovascular function

Implantable defibrillators linked to decline in cardiac arrests (Netherlands)

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators - small devices placed in the chest to detect potentially fatal heart rhythms - reduce the number of cardiac arrests caused by ventricular fibrillation, a type of abnormal heart rhythm, according to a new study. Researchers in the Netherlands estimate that the cardioverter defibrillators prevented 81 cardiac arrests related to ventricular fibrillation between 2005 and 2008 in greater Amsterdam. They further estimate that the devices accounted for one-third of the decline seen in cardiac arrests caused by ventricular fibrillation between 1995 and 2008. The study was published August 6 in Circulation

Study: The road to health starts by walking, biking to work

People who walk or bike to work are less likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure or a heart attack than those who drive to work, British researchers say. Anthony Laverty of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London and colleagues at the University College London examined how people got to work, using data from a survey of 20,000 people across Britain and compared it with health data. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found people who walked to work were 17 percent less likely than people who drove to have high blood pressure, cyclists were around half as likely to have diabetes as drivers and 40 percent who walked were less likely to have diabetes as drivers. The study also found that those who cycled, walked or used public transport were all associated with lower risk of being overweight than those who drove or took a taxi. The researchers said people could reduce their risk of serious health problems such as heart attacks by avoiding using a car. "This study highlights that building physical activity into the daily routine by walking, cycling or using public transport to get to work is good for personal health," Laverty said in a statement

Kids’ cardiac threat (Spain)

Children who exercise for less than an hour a day could be at risk from heart disease in the future, according to Spanish research. One in seven of the 3,120 children who took part in the Europe-wide study were found to have higher than average blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The youngsters, aged between two and nine-years-old, were also found to have poor fitness levels and layers of fat, putting them at greater risk of health problems in later life, according to scientists at the University of Zaragoza. Meanwhile, a separate study by researchers at Newcastle University has revealed that girls exercise for an average of just 17 minutes a day, while boys were active for 24 minutes

How the 'obesity gene' triggers weight gain (UK)

A UK led international team of researchers has discovered why people with a variation of a certain gene are more likely to become obese. The obesity-risk FTO variant gene affects one in six people who are 70% more likely to become obese. The FTO gene's role in obesity was first discovered in 2007. People with the gene have higher levels of the 'hunger hormone', ghrelin, in their blood which makes them feel hungry again just after eating. One in 4 adults in the UK are now obese and the numbers are rising. The new study was led by scientists at University College London, the Medical Research Council and King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry. Twenty healthy weight male volunteers were used in the trial rather than people who were already overweight. "As soon as you've become overweight, then all of your body systems behave in a different manner, and you don't know which is cause or consequence," says Dr Rachel Batterham from UCL and University College London Hospitals who led the study. Ten of those taking part had the FTO gene, the other 10 didn't. Even within this normal weight range group, people with the FTO gene were likely to have more body fat

'Heart-healing virus' trial starts (UK)

Patients in the UK have been enrolled into a trial to see if an engineered virus can be used to heal their damaged and struggling hearts. The trial will use a virus to introduce genetic material into heart muscle to reverse the organ's decline. The British Heart Foundation said the idea had "great potential" but needed to be proven in clinical trials. Heart failure affects more than 750,000 people in the UK and can leave some people too weak to climb the stairs. It occurs when the organ is damaged, for example after being starved of oxygen in a heart attack, and becomes too weak to effectively pump blood around the body. There have been huge medical leaps in keeping patients alive after a heart attack, but the consequence is a rapidly growing number of people living with heart failure