Researchers show new antioxidant could help treat cardiovascular disease (Scotland)

Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe they have found a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease which reduces blood pressure. Scientists at the British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre (BHF GCRC) used a recently-developed antioxidant called MitoQ10 to prevent damage to the mitochondria of cells in an experimental model of hypertension and stroke. The researchers found that MitoQ10 improved the function of the endothelial cells which line blood vessels and play an important part in controlling blood pressure, as well as reducing thickening of the heart muscle (cardiac hypertrophy) which results from high blood pressure (hypertension)

Smoking, drinking, lack of exercise interact with genes to increase risk of hypertension

Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise can interact with genes to influence a person's risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a report published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics. "The three lifestyle characteristics are well-known risk factors for high blood pressure," said Nora Franceschini, M.D, lead author of the study and assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "What's new is that we are showing that these behaviors interact with your genes to influence blood pressure levels" - AHA

Bypass surgery has long-term benefits for children with Kawasaki disease

Coronary artery bypass surgery provides long-term benefits for children whose hearts and blood vessels are damaged by Kawasaki disease, Japanese researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers followed 114 people for up to 25 years who had bypass surgery as children or adolescents (ages 1 to 19) to treat Kawasaki disease - AHA

The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL)

The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) is a research study in 20,000 U.S. men and women investigating whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D (about 2000 IU) or fish oil (about 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids) reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who do not have a prior history of these illnesses. Recruitment for the study will begin in January 2010.

New plans to cut heart, stroke death rates (Scotland)

Scotland is on course to cut the number of deaths from heart disease and strokes by half inside a decade, doctors revealed. The health boost was revealed as Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met recovering patients in Glasgow and announced new plans to reduce the death rates even further. They will focus on prevention and treatment, as well as increasing the survival rates for those who are affected. David Clark, chief executive of Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, said: "We have seen death rates from heart disease and stroke drop by nearly half in the last 10 years. "This new strategy provides an excellent opportunity to take this to the next stage by improving the quality of life for people who survive heart disease and strokes." The NHS in Scotland has targets of reducing premature heart deaths by 60% and stroke by 50% by 2010 from 1995 levels. The last set of figures were published in 2005 and showed deaths from heart attacks had reduced from 18 per 10,000 of the population in 1995 to 12 per 10,000 in 2005. Stroke deaths fell from 3.7 per 10,000 to 2 per 10,000 over the same period - Evening Times

New Orleans clinic keeps music, musicians alive

Walk into New Orleans' St. Anna's Episcopal Church and you can attend Mass and share a fellowship meal, both with great musical accompaniment. And - if you visit on a Wednesday - you can see folks getting acupuncture treatments or having their blood pressure checked in a hallway near the church's kitchen. This weekly treatment center is run by the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, in cooperation with its many partners - including the church and some local hospitals. The musicians get a paying gig, a free meal and medical attention

Trans fats affect blood flow

U.S. researchers say partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have trans fats that can interfere with blood flow. The study, scheduled to be published in the journal Atherosclerosis, finds trans fats reduce the amount of an enzyme - prostacyclin - that keeps blood flowing and helps prevents blood clots. "This is the first time that trans fatty acids have been shown to interfere with yet another part of the blood-flow process," study leader Fred Kummerow, emeritus at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says in a statement. "This study adds another piece of evidence to a long list that points to trans fats as significant contributors to heart disease." - UPI

Binge drinking linked to stroke in men (Korea)

Binge drinking - six or more alcoholic drinks at one occasion at lease once a week - is linked with stroke in South Korean men, researchers said. In the study, binge drinkers were defined as men who drank six or more servings of alcohol and women who drank four or more servings of alcohol on one occasion at least once a week. Most of the alcohol was soju, a native Korean distilled liquor similar to vodka. It is 25 percent alcohol by volume. The study, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, found the risk of a bleeding stroke - hemorrhagic - was more than 300 percent higher among male binge drinkers, while the risk of total stroke was 86 percent higher among male binge drinkers - UPI

What is a heart attack? - British Heart Foundation

Heart attacks are in the news, but what are they and how do you recognise the symptoms?

Peanut butter 'wards off heart disease'

Peanut butter sandwiches, favoured by cartoon character Charlie Brown, could be the secret to beating heart disease, according to new research. A study in the US reveals snacking on peanuts or peanut butter at least five days a week can nearly halve the risk of a heart attack. A team of experts at Harvard Medical School in Boston came up with the findings after studying the eating habits of thousands of women with type two diabetes. The condition dramatically increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Poor diet and lifestyle has led to a surge in the numbers affected by type two diabetes in the UK, up from 1.5 million five years ago to 2.25 million. The latest findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition, support earlier studies on the cardiovascular benefits of peanuts and peanut products. - Mail

Drinking in week before surgery a bad idea, doctors say

Drinking alcohol during the week before heart surgery multiplies the risk of delirium by six times, a study done at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver suggests. Delirium can include agitation, confusion and hallucinations. It may last days or weeks and can delay discharge from hospital or even increase the risk of complications and dying after surgery. Delirium is distressing for family members and increases the burden of care on nursing staff. Previous research has shown that it occurs more frequently in patients who are chronic drinkers and elderly. But in the current study, age was not a risk factor and merely drinking in the week before surgery increased the risk. The study, published in the B.C. Medical Journal, was conducted by six local physicians and a medical student. It was based on the charts of 38 patients who were admitted to St. Paul's for open heart bypass and/or valve surgery over a two-week period - Star Phoenix

The CBHF Mascot competition (UK)

Have you ever dreamt of walking out at Wembley? Enter the CBHF competition for your chance to live that dream! As part of the 'Get Girls into Football Week', you can win a once in a lifetime chance to be an away mascot at the Senior Men's England team v Slovenia at Wembley on Saturday 5 September 2009, courtesy of The Football Association. If you are between 7 and 12 years old you could win the chance to walk out onto the pitch at Wembley with the Slovenian payers at the beginning of the match

Boy, 10, drives grandfather to hospital (USA)

"A 10-year-old boy drove his grandfather to the hospital last week when the grandfather suffered a heart attack. Lonnie Lee of Roswell said he had incredible chest pains and knew he was having a heart attack, and that his body was telling him that time was up and that he needed to go to the ER immediately. So he asked his grandsons, Nathanael and Rion, to help get him to the hospital. Nathanael, 10, steered as his grandfather operated the pedals." - KRQE

Heart disease to cost economy $18b (Australia)

Heart attack and chronic chest pain will cost the Australian economy an estimated $18 billion this year - a burden that could be avoided. The figure covers a range of costs from hospital bills through to lost productivity resulting from 90,000 new cases of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). ACS is a preventable disease, The Heart Foundation's Professor Derek Chew said at the launch of new Access Economics research on Wednesday. "If we all exercised more, if we all controlled our cholesterol, stopped smoking, all those sorts of things, it is estimated that 90 per cent of those heart attacks would not occur," Professor Chew said. The study estimated there will be just over 87,500 ACS events in 2009 - split between approximately 55,000 heart attacks and 32,500 chest pain events. Most of these will occur in men (61 per cent) and they will lead to 10,000 deaths - 9News

Intensive in-hospital support doubles likelihood of smoking cessation in heart patients

Patients admitted to hospital with coronary artery disease are twice as likely to quit smoking after receiving intensive smoking cessation support compared to minimal support, found a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The study, a randomised clinical trial, compared intensive intervention with minimal intervention and found that patients admitted for open heart surgery (coronary artery bypass grafts) had significantly higher long-term abstinence rates at 1 year compared with those admitted for heart attacks (acute myocardial infarctions.) Other factors that contributed to successful long-term smoking cessation included absence of a previous heart attack, postsecondary education and at least some smoking restrictions at home. The intervention used in the study resulted in the highest rates of 1-year confirmed smoking cessation in previous tests in the US. - Science Centric