Posts Tagged "Heart disease"

People with sleep apnea may have a higher risk of hearing loss, according to a new study.

The research, which was presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 2014 International Conference, found that of the 13,967 participants sampled, about 10 percent had at least moderate sleep apnea. These patients had a 31 percent increased risk of high frequency hearing impairment, a 90 percent increased risk of low frequency hearing impairment and a 38 percent increased risk in combined high and low frequency hearing impairment after controlling for other causes of hearing loss and potentially confounding factors like age and sex.

“The mechanisms underlying this relationship merit further exploration,” lead author Dr. Amit Chopra, M.D., of the Albany Medical Center in New York, said in a statement. “Potential pathways linking sleep apnea and hearing impairment may include adverse effects of sleep apnea on vascular supply to the cochlea [part of the inner ear] via inflammation and vascular remodeling or noise trauma from snoring.”

Snoring is caused by relaxed throat muscles narrowing the airways during sleep, leading to sound-causing vibrations. Sleep apnea, while it may also include some snoring, results in temporary pauses in breathing, sometimes up to hundreds of times a night.

Chopra pointed out that people with sleep apnea “are at an increased risk for a number of comorbidities, including heart disease and diabetes,” both good reasons to seek treatment for the condition. The current study did not account for how sleep apnea treatment might affect the link to hearing loss.

Researchers at the conference also presented findings linking acute respiratory failure to sleep apnea. They found that the majority of acute respiratory failure patients, defined as having needed mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours, met sleep apnea criteria.

Source: Huffington Post

A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked; we sometimes refer to it as a “brain attack.” Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing the risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death.

In the United States, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death, killing over 133,000 people each year, and a leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability. Stroke can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of race, sex or age.

High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke. However, other risk factors include:

• Atrial fibrillation
• Diabetes
• Family history of stroke
• High cholesterol
• Increasing age (esp. over 55)
• Race (black people have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke than white people)
• Heart disease
• Lifestyle factors (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise)

 Women are twice as likely to die from stroke than breast cancer annually. The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in the United States in 2010 is $73.7 billion.

Learning the signs of stroke are crucial, because time is of the essence when a stroke is occurring. Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability, or death. Recognizing the symptoms and acting FAST to get emergency medical attention can save a life and limit disabilities.

To learn more, see the National STROKE Association‘s fact sheet or the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Cancer Control Month celebrates advances in the fight against cancer. These include all aspects of prevention, early detection, and treatment of this devastating disease.

The best way to fight cancer is to find cancer cells early and get rid of them. The earlier cancer is found, the better the prognosis.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, after heart disease. Today, about half of all men and about 1 in every 3 women will develop cancer at some point in their lives.

However, cancer rates and deaths have been on the decline since the 1990s. We now know ways to prevent cancer from developing. One third of all cancers detected will be related to obesity or being overweight, physical inactivity, and nutrition choices.

While everyone is at risk for cancer, some factors cause certain people to be at greater risk. Age is the greatest risk factor for cancer, with 77% of cancers being detected at age 55 or older. Smokers, heavy drinkers, the physically inactive, those with a poor diet, and those who have had prolonged and unprotected exposure to sunlight are also all at an increased risk for different types of cancers.

At PHC, we provide the most intensive and thorough cancer screening available. Our preventive executive physicals include tests designed to catch cancer in its earliest stages. Each patient receives a personalized program of studies tailored specifically for individual risk factors, including family history. This April, celebrate Cancer Control Month by scheduling your executive physical as soon as possible!

Read more information here.

We’ve all been told to eat our vegetables, and even if we don’t like it, we know they’re good for us. But a new study shows just how good for our longevity they may be.

Seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day can lower your risk of dying by an astonishing 42%, according to a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. The more fruits and vegetables the participants ate, the less likely they were to die at any age, and the protective benefit increased with consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends anywhere between one to two cups of fruit daily and one to three cups of vegetables daily, depending on age and gender. Their slogan follows, “Fruit and veggies — more matters.” Australia advises eating two portions of fruit and five of vegetables, and in the U.K., the slogan is: “5 a day.”

When compared with consuming less than one portion of fruit and vegetables a day, the risk of death by any cause was reduced by 14% by eating one to three portions; 29% for three to five portions; 36% for five to seven portions; and 42% for seven or more. Eating seven or more portions also specifically reduced the risk of dying from cancer by 25%, and heart disease by 31%.

“The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age,” lead study author Oyinlola Oyebode, of University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, said in a statement. “Vegetables have a larger effect than fruit, but fruit still makes a real difference. If you’re happy to snack on carrots or other vegetables, then that is a great choice, but if you fancy something sweeter, a banana or any fruit will also do you good.”

The study is the first to associate eating fruits and vegetables with all-cause, cancer and heart-disease deaths in a nationally representative population, and to quantify the benefits by portions. Researchers looked at results from the Health Survey for England between 2001 and 2013, which detailed the eating habits of 65,226 people.

Source: Time

A new study links consumption of more sugary foods with a higher risk of death from heart disease. The assessment is the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that “too much sugar does not just make us fat, it can also make us sick,” according to health policy professor Laura Schmidt at the University of California, San Francisco.

Schmidt wrote a commentary accompanying the new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The study focuses on sugar added to foods as opposed to those occurring naturally in fruits and vegetables.

Those who ate the most added sugar – making up more than one-fifth of their daily calories – were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who ate a healthy diet with less than 10 percent added sugar. Soda, energy drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages were the biggest sources.

One can of soda contains about 140 calories, or about 7 percent of an average, 2,000-calorie diet. The researchers used data from a large, ongoing national study on all kinds of health issues.  Thousands of people across the country answer questions about their diet and other health behaviors and get a physical.  The researchers also check to see if participants show up in national death records.

While other studies have looked at the link between added sugar and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more, “this paper is the first to look at death from heart disease,” said nutrition professor Rachel Johnson at the University of Vermont, “so, sort of the ultimate end point.” Johnson heads the nutrition committee for the American Heart Association but was not involved with this research.

“Most of us consume much more [added sugar] than healthy diets recommend,” said study co-author Quanhe Yang, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found the average American consumed about 15 percent of the day’s calories as added sugar.

“Compared with people in the lowest consumption group, you have roughly a 30 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease,” Yang said. Add one can of soda a day, however, and the risk goes way up.

“If you just [drank] one can of sugar sweetened beverage, you may put yourself into another category, which is doubling your risk of cardiovascular mortality,” he added.

New York City is trying to limit the size of sodas, but is fighting a legal challenge.  Mexico has recently imposed a tax on soda and other sugary foods.  Johnson said state and local governments in the United States also are considering taxes as a way to discourage consumption.

“I think we’re going to continue to see a lot of policy initiatives around how do we make the healthy choice the easy choice for people,” she added.

Many of these initiatives face opposition from those who see them as restricting individual freedom.

Source: Voice of America

The month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge about prevention. Heart disease, including stroke, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. However, heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.

At the Center, we provide extensive screening for your heart, going far beyond what a typical physical may entail. We catch heart disease at its earliest stages and help you manage your choices to ensure that your heart stays healthy for years to come.