Early adolescence is the time that patients with congenital heart disease should establish preparing for the move from pediatric to adult medical care, says a new American Heart Association scientific report. Congenital heart disease, which happen before birth, is the most general type of birth defect. Most of these heart disorders are comparatively mild and treatable. The mass of children born with a congenital heart defect survive into adulthood and live usual lives, but many need specialized and ongoing medical treatment. That's why a smooth transition from pediatric to adult medical care is so significant and needs to be a joint attempt between the doctor, the patient and the patient's family.
The transition should begin when the patient is 12 to 14 years old, according to the scientific report, released Feb. 28. "It's not as simple as receiving the name of a new doctor and going to see them when a patient turns 18," Dr. Craig Sable, co-chair of the report committee and director of echocardiography and cardiology fellowship training at George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D.C., said in an American Heart Association news release. "There are several steps associated with the transition process that require to be started at a very young age, so that by the time these children become adults the procedure is well under way," Craig explained.
In people with heart disease, the use of blood pressure lowering medications can be useful, even in those who do not have high blood pressure, new research suggest. The study establish that when people without high blood pressure were given blood pressure drugs, their risk of congestive heart failure, stroke, all-cause humanity and a combination of cardiovascular disease outcomes were decreased. "If someone has had a previous heart attack or other cardiovascular event, and their blood pressure is in the usual range, they are still at risk of future cardiovascular events.
There may be an further benefit to giving an anti-hypertensive medication to these folks," said study author Angela M. Thompson, a doctoral research fellow in the department of epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health. "Current treatment suggestion advise treatment when the blood pressure is over 140/90 mm/Hg, but our study shows that you can get benefits even when the blood pressure is below that," Thompson explained. In information, the risk for cardiovascular disease begins at 115 mm/Hg of systolic pressure, according to background information in the study.
In addition, in adults 55 years and older, the lifetime risk of rising hypertension is more than 90 percent, the study noted. The study, which was funded by Tulane University and the National Institutes of Health, was published in the March 2 matter of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Cardiovascular disease is the foremost cause of death in the United States, according to background information in the study. About 54 percent of strokes and 46 percent of heart disease cases occur in people who have blood pressure levels in the usual range, the study reported.
Washington University School of Medicine scientists have found that cardiac death can be predict by the method in which the heart respond to an early on beat in the left ventricle. Lead author Phyllis K. Stein and her colleagues found that an irregular response to an early beat from the heart's major pumping chamber can identify high-risk patients, even those who have no other signs of suffer from cardiovascular disease. The paper, which was published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, full the researchers' efforts to study patient response to ventricular premature beats (VPB).
These beats occur when the ventricle get an inappropriate signal that tells it to beat when it should not. This domino effect in the heart pump less blood to the body than it should. While a fit organ compensates by slowing down the heart rate, an abnormal response may point out cardiovascular disease. "It's a clear test of whether the autonomic nervous system, which control your heart rate, can adapt to a challenge," Stein explained. The Centers for Disease Control and avoidance report that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.
Incorporating foods with omega-3 fatty acids into your diet may help avoid gum disease, according to a recent study conduct by Harvard researchers. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination review, researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health were competent to link the intake of two specific omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA with minor levels of the gum disease periodontitis in participant. This infectious, chronic disease causes gum tissue to divide from the teeth, leading to the accumulation of bacteria. In severe cases, it can finally cause bone and tooth loss.
“This is significant because are regularly taken supplement in the U.S., and yet we haven’t had very many side effects reported,” said Asghar Z. Naqvi, and teacher in medicine at the Medical School and the lead author of the study. “However, I don’t think that the average reader should start attractive omega-3’s to avoid gum disease,” he added. Medical School Associate Professor Kenneth J. Mukamal, who is also a senior writer of the study, agreed with Naqvi’s conclusion, but added that a alteration in diet would not hurt. “While a single cross sectional study isn’t enough to make people change their diet, it is previously suggested by the American Heart Association to eat at least two fatty fish meals a week,” Mukamal said. “This would fit well within the range of eating in which we saw junior levels of periodontitis.”
Slated to be published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the study marks the start of a more strong exploration of the subject. Naqvi is currently following up on the study with a randomized test trial to see if the answer can be replicated in a more “rigorous” experiment. Naqvi said that if these follow-up trials prove that omega-3 fatty acids actually reduce the risk of periodontitis, the benefits would span beyond only lessening the disease’s prevalence. “Because some of the complication of periodontitis are cardiovascular, further confirmation of these findings will have additional significance, because cardiovascular diseases are pretty much the number-one reason of mortality worldwide,” Naqvi said.
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