PREVENTIVE HEART CARE TIPS

TONED MILK KEEPS HEART HEALTHY

Toned milk or fat free milk helps to keep the heart healthy and protected from strokes or other heart diseases — stated a a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Scientists from several universities in the United States and Norway measured the kidney function of more than 5,000 older adults in the age group of 45 to 84. They reached the conclusion that a low or no intake can indicate poor kidney function and an extremely high risk for cardiovascular disease. People consuming more low-fat milk and milk products had lower ACR, or healthier kidney function.

The researchers found that adults who drink at least one serving of low-fat milk or milk products have 37 per cent lower odds of poor kidney function linked to heart disease than those who do not drink regularly. Health Insurance is important.

The study also suggested that the nine essential nutrients, including protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium and calcium found in milk may contribute to milk's potential heart health benefits. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend drinking three glasses of low fat or fat free milk each day.

COFFEE DRINKING MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE

A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, coffee drinking may reduce a person’s risk of dying from heart disease. The study conducted by a team of researchers led by Esther Lopez Garcia of Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, in Spain, indicated that long term coffee consumption may have some beneficial effects rather than the detrimental ones as believed earlier.

The study was based on study conducted on 84214 women and 41736 men over a 20 year period from 1986-2004. The subjects of the study filled out questionnaires on their coffee drinking habits as well as diet, smoking and general health.

The study found that women who consumed 2-3 cups of regular caffeinated coffee a day had a 25% lower risk of heart disease and an 18% lower risk of death by causes other than cancer or heart disease, as compared to non coffee drinkers. Men who drank 3 cups of coffee a day did not show any higher or lower risk. Earlier reports had a mixed bag about the health benefits and side effects of coffee drinking.

Surprisingly, caffeine was not the link as people who drank decaffeinated coffee also showed a lower death risk than those who didn’t drink coffee at all. The study could find no link between coffee drinking and cancer either.Even in this economy health insurance is a must. Don't leave home without it, and visit InsureLane for free

DO YOU KNOW THE SYMPTOMS OF HEART ATTACK?

According to a new US study, the heart attack treatment is the most effective when it is given within an hour after the symptoms occur, but many people with heart disease do not know the symptoms of a heart attack.

Kathleen Dracup and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing studied 3,522 patients, who had previously suffered a heart attack or had undergone a procedure, such as angioplasty, for heart disease, in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The researchers found that 44 percent of them had poor knowledge about the symptoms of heart attack. They said, the lack of knowledge about the range of heart attack symptoms as measured in the study, is shocking.

According to researchers, those who suffer a heart attack have a better chance of surviving if treatment begins within one hour, but most patients are admitted to the hospital 2-1/2 hours to three hours after symptoms begin.

The study concluded that shorter hospital stays and a move to outpatient treatment have decreased the amount of patient’s knowledge about heart attack symptoms, which include nausea and pain in the jaw, chest or left arm.

HEART PATIENTS SHOULD AVOID TRAFFIC POLLUTION

Heart patients should avoid traffic pollution, stated a recent US study. According to the study, traffic pollution can hinder heart’s ability to conduct electrical signals. The researchers at Harvard University said that people who have serious coronary artery disease could have problems from the tiny particles emitted from air pollution as well as the black carbon from exhaust fumes that could cause ST segment depression. This usually indicates an inadequate supply of oxygen and blood flow to the heart.

Published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the study was based on the electrocardiograms of 48 patients who had been hospitalized for heart attack, unstable angina or deteriorating symptoms of coronary heart disease over the period of a year. The subjects wore special monitors that intermittently checked for ST-segment depression during the study period.

According to lead researcher Dr. Diane R. Gold, an associate professor of medicine and environmental health at Harvard University and her team, with an increase in the particles and black carbon in the air, a corresponding increase was seen in instances of ST-segment depression. The effects were the most within the first month after hospitalization and for patients who had been hospitalized for a heart attack or had diabetes.

"Our study provides additional rationale to avoid or reduce heavy traffic exposure after discharge, even for those without a heart attack, since traffic exposure involves pollution exposure as well as stress," said Gold.

SECOND-HAND SMOKE PLUS ALCOHOL INCREASE THE RISKS OF HEART DISEASE

Second-hand smoke plus alcohol increase the risks of heart disease nearly 5-fold. According to a study conducted at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), exposure to cigarette smoke combined with alcohol consumption cause the greatest degree of cardiovascular disease.

The study was led by Scott Ballinger, associate professor in the UAB Department of Pathology. The contributors to the study also included researchers at the Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health at the University of California, Davis. Grant support came from the National Institutes of Health.

The study, published in the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine, revealed that exposure to cigarette smoke and alcohol increases artery lesions. Artery lesions are a common problem in heavy smokers and a key sign of advancing cardiovascular disease.

Scott Ballinger said, “The study points to a greater need to understand the negative biological impact of single or multiple risky behaviours, and the compounding effect of environmental hazards such as second-hand smoke.".

The research was conducted on mice exposed to smoky air and fed with a liquid diet containing ethanol, over five week period. The researchers found that the mice had a 4.7-fold increase in artery lesions compared to mice that breathed filtered air and ate a normal solid diet.

“Our study shows that exposure to cigarette smoke when combined with alcohol consumption caused the greatest degree of cardiovascular disease development compared to either action or exposure alone,” Ballinger added.

While measuring the artery lesions in the study the researchers also focussed on other signs of advancing cardiovascular disease like DNA damage and oxidative stress in key heart tissues.