Cardiac Biomarkers and Clinical Decision Making

New video discusses the importance of cardiac biomarkers

Click to watch video

In this video, hear from a former operating engineer at the White House who, despite an active lifestyle and basic good health, experienced sudden heart failure. In the context of his healthcare journey, the video highlights the role of cardiac biomarkers in clinical decision making and the diagnosis of a heart attack.

Diagnosed with advanced coronary artery disease, the patient underwent cardiac bypass surgery and was enrolled in a biomarker study during his postoperative course of treatment. “There’s no doubt that biomarkers have completely transformed how we care for our patients in cardiovascular medicine,” says the patient’s cardiologist.

Sauna: What are the Health Benefits?

Saunas have been used for hundreds of years and still continue to be popular today. Many people enjoy sitting in a sauna to unwind and relax.

Spending time in a sauna can feel good, and there may be additional health benefits to be had beyond relaxation.

Read more: Sauna: What are the Health Benefits?

Many people enjoy relaxing and unwinding in a sauna. Steam rooms involve high humidity and
moist heat as opposed to the dry heat of traditional Finnish saunas. It is vital to drink plenty of
water after using a sauna.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

The Best Medicine Against Cholesterol And High Blood Pressure

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that comes from two sources: your body and food. Excess cholesterol can form plaque between layers of artery walls, making it harder for your heart to circulate blood.

Plaque can break open and cause blood clots. If a clot blocks an artery that feeds the brain, it causes a stroke. If it blocks an artery that feeds the heart, it causes a heart attack.

Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases are among the leading cause of death and now kill more than 800,000 adults in the US each year. Two main reasons people have heart disease or stroke are high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Read more: The Best Medicine Against Cholesterol And High Blood Pressure

Source: herb-cookbook

Cesarean Delivery May Increase Risk of Childhood Obesity

Children born by cesarean delivery may have an increased risk of becoming obese, compared with their siblings born by vaginal delivery, says study. This finding may have significant implications for the almost 1.3 million cesarean births per year in the United States.

Cesarean delivery is the most common U.S. surgical procedure and accounts for one third of deliveries nationwide.

The most common risk to children born via cesarean delivery is respiratory problems, while increasing evidence suggests children may also have an increased risk of other adverse health outcomes as adults.

Read more: Cesarean Delivery May Increase Risk of Childhood Obesity

Cesarean delivery can increase a child's risk of obesity into adulthood, study finds.

Source: medicalnewstoday

All You Need to Know About Nephritis

To understand kidney problems such as nephritis, it's helpful to start with some background on what the kidneys are, and what they do.

The kidneys are two bean-shaped, fist-sized organs found just under the ribs on the left and right sides of the spine. They remove impurities and extra water from the blood, filtering 120-150 quarts of blood a day, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Each kidney consists of thousands of structures called nephrons, where the actual blood filtering takes place. In the nephron, a two-step cleaning process separates what the body needs to keep from what it can get rid of.

A filter called the glomerulus catches blood cells and protein, sending water and waste to a second filter, called a tubule. The tubule captures minerals. After that, what remains leaves the body as urine.

Read more: All You Need to Know About Nephritis

Nephritis can lead to kidney failure if not treated. There are various ways of preventing kidney damage
if someone has symptoms of nephritis. Monitoring blood pressure is important if kidney problems
develop.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Stroke Could be Better Predicted with Biomarker Discovery

Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death in the United States, affecting more than 795,000 Americans every year. But what if doctors were better able to predict who is likely to have a stroke, providing greater opportunity for prevention? Researchers have uncovered four biomarkers that could help do just that.

In a study published in the journal Neurology, researchers found that individuals who had higher levels of four inflammatory biomarkers in their blood were at greater risk for stroke than those with lower levels.

Study co-author Dr. Ashkan Shoamanesh, of McMaster University in Canada, and colleagues say that - while further research is needed to determine whether these biomarkers could be used in clinical practice - their findings could pave the way for better prevention and treatment of stroke.

Stroke occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain is reduced, causing brain cell death.

Read more: Stroke Could be Better Predicted with Biomarker Discovery

Researchers have pinpointed four biomarkers that they say could help predict stroke risk.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Gallstones Raise the Risk of Heart Disease by a Fifth

A new meta-analysis, using data from hundreds of thousands of individuals, finds that gallbladder disease and heart disease are more intertwined than previously thought. The reasons behind this connection are, as yet, unclear.

Gallstones are small, hard deposits that form in the gallbladder - an organ that sits below the liver.

In wealthier countries, they are a common occurrence, affecting 10-15 percent of all adults.

Gallstones are thought to be produced due to an imbalance in the makeup of bile - a digestive aid produced by the liver and concentrated in the gallbladder.

Although generally small and often symptomless, over the years, gallstones can grow to the size of pebbles.

Read more: Gallstones Raise the Risk of Heart Disease by a Fifth

Gallstones' links to heart disease run deeper than previously thought.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Hypertension Prevalence Higher in Lower-Income Countries for the First Time

In an analysis of global health differences in hypertension occurrence, researchers find that high blood pressure is more common in low- and middle-income countries for the first time.

High blood pressure is the leading preventable risk factor responsible for disease burden worldwide. Raised blood pressure - which can result in cardiovascular disease,heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease - was accountable for around 9-12 million deaths globally in 2013.

According to research published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, more than 30 percent of the adult population worldwide has high blood pressure, and 75 percent of those people live in low- to middle-income countries.

Previous reports have indicated that the prevalence of hypertension in low- and middle-income countries is on the rise, and is steady or decreasing in high-income countries. However, recent estimates of the differences between high blood pressure worldwide were unknown.

Read more: Hypertension Prevalence Higher in Lower-Income Countries for the First Time

For the first time in history, global hypertension is at an all time high in low- and middle-income
countries.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Could Magnesium Regulate Blood Pressure?

A round one third of adults in the United States have high blood pressure, only half of whom have their high blood pressure under control. New research, published in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension, identifies magnesium as a potential remedy.

With high blood pressure affecting around 70 million people in the U.S. and increasing the risk of two of the leading causes of death for Americans - heart disease and stroke - preventing or controlling blood pressure is an essential healthcare objective.

Labeled the "silent killer," due to often having no warning signs or symptoms, high blood pressure is a common and often dangerous condition.

A meta-analysis, funded by the Indiana University School of Medicine Strategic Research Initiative, details positive results that show an association between a daily intake of magnesium and a reduction in blood pressure.

Magnesium is already recognized as essential for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body.

Read more: Could Magnesium Regulate Blood Pressure?

A healthy diet rich in green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains could lower
blood pressure.

Source: medicalnewstoday

The Pathophysiology of Defective Proteostasis in the Hypothalamus — From Obesity to Ageing

Hypothalamic dysfunction has emerged as an important mechanism involved in the development of obesity and its comorbidities, as well as in the process of ageing and age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and Alzheimer disease. In both obesity and ageing, inflammatory signalling is thought to coordinate many of the cellular events that lead to hypothalamic neuronal dysfunction. This process is triggered by the activation of signalling via the toll-like receptor 4 pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress, which in turn results in intracellular inflammatory signalling. However, the process that connects inflammation with neuronal dysfunction is complex and includes several regulatory mechanisms that ultimately control the homeostasis of intracellular proteins and organelles (also known as 'proteostasis'). This Review discusses the evidence for the key role of proteostasis in the control of hypothalamic neurons and the involvement of this process in regulating whole-body energy homeostasis and lifespan.

Key points

• Specialized neurons of the hypothalamus control caloric intake and energy expenditure in response to hormonal, nutritional and neural signals that reflect the energy stores in the body
• Malfunction of the hypothalamus occurs in obesity and ageing, which leads to an imbalance between caloric intake and energy expenditure resulting in positive energy balance and reduced lifespan
• The excessive consumption of certain nutrients and ageing affect different aspects of proteostasis in selected neurons of the hypothalamus, contributing to neuronal dysfunction in obesity and ageing
• Inflammation is one of the most important outcomes of disturbed proteostasis to occur in the hypothalamus during obesity and ageing
• Several genetic and pharmacological approaches used to correct the defects of proteostasis and reduce inflammation have proven effective in reducing obesity and increasing lifespan in experimental models

Read more: The Pathophysiology of Defective Proteostasis in the Hypothalamus — From Obesity to Ageing

Figure 1: Control of energy balance and lifespan by the hypothalamic network. Neurons of the
medium hypothalamus respond to systemic signals of whole-body energy status. Blood levels of
insulin fluctuate acutely in response to carbohydrates present in food and chronically in response
to increased adiposity.

Source: Nature Reviews Endocrinology

Heart Attack Risk is Lower When Immune System is More Robust

Could a robust immune system protect against heart attack? After studying a group of patients with high blood pressure, researchers found those with higher levels of certain antibodies had a lower risk of heart attack - regardless of other risk factors. They suggest a blood test to measure antibody levels could help assess a person's risk of heart attack.

The study, from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, is published in the journal EbioMedicine. It describes how the team discovered a link between blood levels of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and reduced chances of having a heart attack.

Lead investigator Dr. Ramzi Khamis, a consultant cardiologist and clinical research fellow, says:

"Linking a stronger, more robust immune system to protection from heart attacks is a really exciting finding. As well as improving the way we tell who is at the highest risk of a heart attack so that we can give them appropriate treatments, we now have a new avenue to follow in future work."

Read more: Heart Attack Risk is Lower When Immune System is More Robust

The study found higher blood levels of an antibody called IgG were linked to lower risk of heart attack
in a group of people with high blood pressure.

Source: medicalnewstoday

How Much Salt is Too Much?

Salt intake has become a major health concern in the United States. An array of studies have claimed too much salt in the diet can increase the risk of serious illness, such as heart disease and stroke, prompting recommendations to lower salt intake. But how much is "too much" when it comes to salt consumption?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day - the equivalent to around 1 teaspoon of salt - as part of a healthy diet.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released earlier this year, however, found that around 90 percent of adults and children in the U.S. consume more than the recommended sodium intake, with most adults consuming more than 3,400 milligrams daily.

Read more: How Much Salt is Too Much?

Current guidelines recommend limiting salt intake to less than 2,300 milligrams daily.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Simple At-Home Test Developed To Detect Blood Clots

Researchers have developed a simple paper-based screening method that can help patients with blood clotting disorders perform regular tests from the convenience of their homes.

The screening test created by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) could be a game changer for patients with several life-threatening conditions, researchers said.

Patients with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, kidney disease and others who are at risk for blood clotting are especially vulnerable when blood-thinning medication levels get too weak or too strong, they said.

This imbalance can quickly lead to ischemic (clotting) or hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes if not detected in time.

"We have developed a blood screening device for patients on medications like Coumadin, warfarin or other blood thinners who need to monitor their blood-clotting levels on a regular basis," said Andrew Steckl, UC professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Read more: Simple At-Home Test Developed To Detect Blood Clots

The simple technology also help patients who have a known inherited blood clotting disorder detect
concerning levels early. (Representational Image)

Source: ndtv