Heart Care Archives - MyMedicPlus

Top10 Health Benefits of Walking 30 minutes Daily

Raj @ Mission — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 19:00:52 +0000

1. It can reduce Stress and Depression

2. Boost Immunity

3. Improves Heart Health

4. Increases lung capacity

5. Burns Fat

6. Promotes bone and joint health

7. Strengthens Muscles

8. Regulates blood pressure

9. Controls cholesterol levels and diabetes

10. Delays aging

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5 Ways To Manage Your Stress.

Raj @ Mission — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 19:39:51 +0000

If you having stress and just want to divert yourself from it than below are 5 ways you can follow and get rid of stress.

1. Physical Activities

It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins.
It reduces negative effects of stress.
It’s meditation in motion.
It improves your mood.

2. Spending Time with Friends/Family

Friends prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends can also: Increase your sense of belonging and purpose. Boost your happiness and reduce your stress.

3. Listen To Music

Music can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the body. Upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life. A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your muscles, making you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day. Music is effective for relaxation and stress management.

4. Getting Enough Sleep

How Can Sleep Reduce Stress? Sleep is a powerful stress reducer. Following a regular sleep routine calms and restores the body, improves concentration, regulates mood, and sharpens judgment and decision-making. You are a better problem solver and are better able to cope with stress when you’re well-rested.

5. Meditation

“Meditation, which is the practice of focused concentration, bringing yourself back to the moment over and over again, actually addresses stress, whether positive or negative.” Meditation can also reduce the areas of anxiety, chronic pain, depression, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Thankyou!

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Cardiovascular Drugs Market Report, 2019-2026 | Growth, Trends and Forecast

mymedicplus — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:42:37 +0000

Source – https://cheshire.media/

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Cardiovascular Drugs Market Report has recently added by Value Market Research, this surveillance report establishing the facts based on current scenarios, historical records from 2019 to future forecast up to 2026. This report explicit data of various outlooks such as market share, size, growth rates, and industry opportunities and offering an economical advantage for business success. It furnishes a 360-degree overview of the competitive landscape of the global industries. Porter’s Five Forces Model analysis has been used to understand the industry’s structure, strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and challenges in front of the businesses. Moreover, the report also highlights a sudden occurrence of COVID-19 impact on the cardiovascular drugs market to improve future capacities and other developments.

The research report also covers the comprehensive profiles of the key players in the market and an in-depth view of the competitive landscape worldwide. The major players in the cardiovascular drugs market include Pfizer, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Merck & Co., Sanofi S.A., Novartis AG, Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Bayer AG. This section includes a holistic view of the competitive landscape that includes various strategic developments such as key mergers & acquisitions, future capacities, partnerships, financial overviews, collaborations, new product developments, new product launches, and other developments.

Market Dynamics

The driving force for the cardiovascular drug market is the increase in awareness about the effects of these medications. This is resulting in boosted demands for CVD drugs, demands that are reinforced by poor air quality, an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and rising levels of social unrest. However, cardiovascular diseases carry a heavy economic burden, which acts as a grave challenge for the cardiovascular drug market. With the increase in aging popular across the globe, there is a considerable need for innovation and development of new drugs, thereby generating lucrative business prospects for the manufacturers. The progress of regenerative medicine as an emerging field of scientific research is foreseen to drive the CVC market.

The report covers Porter’s Five Forces Model, Market Attractiveness Analysis and Value Chain analysis. These tools help to get a clear picture of the industry’s structure and evaluate the competition attractiveness at a global level.

Additionally, these tools also give inclusive assessment of each application/product segment in the global market of cardiovascular drugs.

Market Segmentation

The entire cardiovascular drugs market has been sub-categorized into disease, drug class and distribution channel. The report provides an analysis of these subsets with respect to the geographical segmentation. This research study will keep marketer informed and helps to identify the target demographics for a product or service.

By Disease

Cardiac Arrhythmias
Arteriosclerosis
Acute Coronary Syndrome
Myocardial Infarction
Coronary Artery Disease
Peripheral Artery Disease
Hyperlipidaemia
Hypertension
Cardiac Failure Diseases
Thrombosis
Others

By Drug Class

Anti-Hyperlipidemics
Anti-Fibrinolytic
Anti-Hypertensive
Anti-Arrhythmic
Anti-Coagulants
Others

By Distribution Channel

Hospital Pharmacies
Retail Pharmacies
Online Pharmacies

Regional Analysis

This section covers regional segmentation which accentuates on current and future demand for cardiovascular drugs market across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Further, the report focuses on demand for individual application segment across all the prominent regions.

About Us:

Value Market Research was established with the vision to ease decision making and empower the strategists by providing them with holistic market information.

We facilitate clients with syndicate research reports and customized research reports on 25+ industries with global as well as regional coverage.

The post Cardiovascular Drugs Market Report, 2019-2026 | Growth, Trends and Forecast appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Global Cardiovascular Devices Market to Rise at 6.4% CAGR and Reach USD 82.20 Billion by 2026; Rising Awareness and Increasing Demand for Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Will Promote Market Growth, says Fortune Business Insights™ Key Prominent Players Covered in the Cardiovascular Devices Market Research Report Are Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Abbott, Medtronic, Cordis, LivaNova PLC, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation and other key market players.

mymedicplus — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:36:52 +0000

Source – https://www.globenewswire.com/

Pune, Nov. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to the report, the cardiovascular devices market size was USD 49.90 billion in 2018 and is projected to rise at a CAGR of 6.4% between 2019 and 2026. The global market size is prognosticated to reach USD 82.20 billion by 2026 on account of the increasing cases of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, congenital heart disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and others.

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

October 2019 – BIOTRONIK announced the launch of the PK Papyrus Covered Coronary Stent in the United States, for usage in the emergency treatment of acute coronary perforations.
May 2019 – Medtronic announced the launch of the Telescope Guide Extension Catheter, a newly designed catheter for the additional backup support and the access to distal lesions, which will enable the support of the complex coronary cases where the distal lesions were not accessible.
October 2017 – Abbott announced the introduction of the next generation of the most widely used heart stent for people suffering from coronary artery disease in Europe called the XIENCE Sierra, which is the newest generation of drug-eluting XIENCE stent.

Rising Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases to Boost Market

The most important factor driving the market is the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. This, coupled with the advent of advanced technological diagnostics for the diagnosis of heart diseases, is creating lucrative growth opportunities. Besides this, the increasing awareness and initiatives taken by regional governments are expected to propel the cardiovascular devices market growth. Additionally, major investments are made to cater to the rising demand for cardiovascular surgical devices, and this will help the market gain momentum in the forecast period.

However, the market may be negatively impacted by the inability of vendors to invest in research and development of cardiovascular systems following its inefficiency with reimbursement models. Nevertheless, the advent of advanced safety and remote monitoring in the latest devices is likely to create lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the long run.

Presence of Major Vendors Strengthening North America Market Share

Geographically, the global cardiovascular devices market is widespread into the regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Among these, North America is holding the major cardiovascular devices market share, followed by Europe.

This is on account of the presence of major manufacturers in Canada and the U.S. On the other side, the market in Asia Pacific is likely to earn significant cardiovascular device market revenue on account of the rise in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the regulatory scenario of the market.

Major Companies Aiming to Expand Product Portfolio Will Intensify Market Competition

As per the 2018 records, three companies are holding the maximum cardiovascular devices market share, namely Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic, and Abbott. High revenue generation from these companies is attributable to the strong product portfolio, including heart valves, advanced stents, and other cardiovascular products.

Cardiovascular devices market manufacturers are emphasizing on cardiopulmonary production, which will further help to earn high revenues, especially from previously untreatable patients.

Quick Buy – Cardiovascular Devices Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102418

List of Significant Cardiovascular Devices Companies are as follows:

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation
Siemens Healthcare GmbH
B. Braun Melsungen AG
Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.
Abbott
Medtronic
Cordis (Cardinal Health)
LivaNova PLC
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (GE Healthcare)
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
Boston Scientific Corporation
Others

Global Cardiovascular Devices Market Segmentations:

By Device Type

• Diagnostic and Monitoring Devices

o Electrocardiogram (ECG)

o Remote Cardiac Monitoring

o Others

• Therapeutic and Surgical Devices

o Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD)

o Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Devices

o Catheter

o Stents

o Heart Valves

• Others

By Application

• Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

• Cardiac Arrhythmia

• Heart Failure

• Others

By End User

• Hospitals

• Specialty Clinics

• Others

By Geography

• North America (U.S. and Canada)

• Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, and Rest of Europe)

• Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)

• Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America)

• Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC and Rest of Middle East & Africa)

SECONDARY DATA SOURCES THAT WE REFER TO:

Annual reports, investor presentation, SEC filings, and press releases of companies operating in the market
Studies published by relevant associations MedTech Europe; American College of Radiology; Cancer Council Australia; Japan Hospital Association, etc.), government sources (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare, Japan; National Health Service, England, etc.), international organizations (World Health Organization, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Eurostat, etc.), and articles published by Research Gate, NCBI, etc.
Website, reports, and press releases of end user facilities – Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgery Centres, Clinics
Industry journals and paid databases

SECONDARY RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED TO DERIVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

Details such as revenues, market share, strategies, growth rate, product & their pricing by region/country for all major companies
Details in relation to prevalence, incidence, patient numbers, distribution of patients, average price of treatment, etc.
Number of end user facilities by region/country and average annual spending or procurement of devices by type of end user facility
Number of procedures and average price of procedures
Replacement rate and pricing of capital equipment
Market dynamics in relation to the market under focus – Drivers, restraints, trends, and opportunities
Market & technological trends, new product developments, product pipeline.

Have a Look at Related Reports:

Medical Transcription Software Market Share & Industry Analysis, By Deployment (Cloud/Web-Based and Installed/On-Premises), By End User Facility (Hospitals, Diagnostic Centers, Clinics, and Others), By Type (Voice Capture and Voice Recognition), By End User (Radiologists, Surgeons, Clinicians, and Others), and Regional Forecast 2019-2026

Bovine Lactoferrin Market Share Trends & Industry Analysis, By Product (Spray-dried, and Freeze-dried), By Application (Infant Formula, Pharmaceuticals, Dietary Supplements, Food, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Knee Replacement Market Share & Industry Analysis, By Procedure (Total Knee Arthroplasty, Partial Knee Arthroplasty, and Revision Arthroplasty) By Implant Type (Fixed Bearing, Mobile Bearing, and Others) End-user (Hospitals, Orthopedic Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Electrophysiology Devices Market Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Ablation Catheters, Diagnostic Catheters, Mapping Systems, Accessories & Others), By Application (Atrial Fibrillation, Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), Ventricular Tachycardia, and Others), By End User (Hospitals & ASCs, and Specialty Clinics & Diagnostic Centers), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Vaccines Market Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Recombinant/Conjugate/Subunit, Inactivated, Live Attenuated and Toxoid), By Route of Administration (Parenteral and Oral), By Disease Indication (Viral Diseases and Bacterial Diseases), By Age Group (Pediatric and Adults), By Distribution Channel (Hospital & Retail Pharmacies, Government Suppliers and Others) and Region Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.

At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges.

The post Global Cardiovascular Devices Market to Rise at 6.4% CAGR and Reach USD 82.20 Billion by 2026; Rising Awareness and Increasing Demand for Cardiovascular Surgical Devices Will Promote Market Growth, says Fortune Business Insights™ Key Prominent Players Covered in the Cardiovascular Devices Market Research Report Are Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Abbott, Medtronic, Cordis, LivaNova PLC, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation and other key market players. appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Himachal Pradesh imposes night curfew in Shimla, 3 other districts amid rise in COVID-19 cases

mymedicplus — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:44:54 +0000

Source – https://english.jagran.com/

Shimla | Jagran News Desk: The Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government on Monday announced its decision to impose a night curfew in four districts — Mandi, Shimla, Kullu and Kangra — of Himachal Pradesh in wake of the rising coronavirus cases in the state.

In its order, the state government said that the night curfew will be imposed from November 24 to December 15 in the four districts, adding that 50 per cent Class 3 and Class 4 are allowed to attend their respective offices till December 31.

The Himachal Pradesh government has also increased the fine for not wearing masks to Rs 1,000 and prohibited all kind of rallies in the state.

“It has also been decided that winter closing Institutions would remain closed from January 1 to February 12, 2021. However, online studies would continue even during the winter time,” the state government said.

The decision has been taken in wake of the coronavirus crisis in the state. According to information available at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website, the deadly pathogen has infected over 34,000 and claimed more than 500 lives in Himachal Pradesh so far.

Meanwhile, nearly 28,000 have recovered from the infection in the state, said the Health Ministry, adding that the active number of coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh is 7,034.

Himachal Pradesh govt to conduct survey to identify COVID-19, other patients

With a surge in coronavirus cases across the state, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to conduct a survey to identify COVID-19 tuberculosis, leprosy, sugar and high blood pressure patients.

The Himachal Pradesh government has informed that around 800 teams having two members each has been formed which will conduct the survey across the state from November 25 to December 27.

“Himachal Pradesh government will conduct a door-to-door survey to identify the patients of COVID-19, tuberculosis, leprosy, sugar and high blood pressure between November 25 and December 27. Eight hundred teams having 2 members in each team have been constituted,” said the state government, as reported by news agency ANI.

Posted By: Aalok Sensharma

The post Himachal Pradesh imposes night curfew in Shimla, 3 other districts amid rise in COVID-19 cases appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Does Smoking Raise Blood Pressure?

mymedicplus — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:41:20 +0000

Source – https://www.verywellhealth.com/

Smoking raises your blood pressure in the short term and over a long period of time, putting both young and old smokers at high risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), compared to those who do not smoke.

A longitudinal study of nearly 29,000 people, ages 36 to 80 found that smoking not only raises blood pressure over time, but also puts you at higher risk of developing atherosclerosis, a chronic, progressive disease in which plaques build up in the walls of arteries. The study cites smoking as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.1

Smoking activates your sympathetic nervous system, which releases chemicals that swiftly increase blood pressure. Long-term smoking contributes to the development of chronic hypertension by accelerating arterial aging, or how quickly the arteries become damaged.

What Is Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)?

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the pressure on the walls of your arteries is higher than normal. Hypertension refers to how hard blood is pushing on the walls of the artery.

Too much pressure on the walls of our blood vessels, especially over a long period of time, can cause them to rupture or put you at higher risk for stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and kidney failure. Therefore keeping a normal blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg for adults is recommended.

The top number, systolic blood pressure, is a measure of the force on your artery walls when your heart squeezes out blood and the bottom number, diastolic blood pressure, measures the force on the wall of your arteries at rest or in between beats.

Effects of Smoking on Your Cardiovascular System

Cigarette smoking is a major preventable cause of premature cardiovascular disease, with the risk particularly high in people with hypertension. Cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke because it adds to the damage done to the blood vessels by high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

Chronic smoking also stiffens the arteries making them less flexible as blood passes through them. As a result the body has to work harder to move blood through the body in cigarette smokers.2

Smoking is also particularly dangerous in those with high blood pressure because cigarette smoke damages the kidneys and increases the likelihood of experiencing severe blood pressure spikes called malignant hypertension or a hypertensive emergency.

Malignant hypertension occurs when your blood pressure is at or over 180/120 mmHg.3 At this level, organ damage can occur, therefore malignant hypertension is an emergency and should be treated immediately by a healthcare professional.

Nicotine, the addictive chemical found in combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products, has been found to acutely increase blood pressure through its effects on the sympathetic nervous system.4 Therefore all people, especially those who already have hypertension, should quit smoking as soon as possible.

Many people, including cigarette smokers, are unaware that they have high blood pressure because the symptoms are nonspecific and therefore can be attributed to many other medical conditions.

High Blood Pressure Symptoms

High blood pressure symptoms include:

Headaches
Nose bleeds
Confusion
Blurry vision or other vision problems
Chest discomfort or pain
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Feelings of anxiety
Shortness of breath
Irregular heartbeat
Pounding sensation in your chest
Blood in urine

Dangers of High Blood Pressure

As previously mentioned, high blood pressure puts you at higher risk of developing:

Malignant hypertension
Essential hypertension
Kidney disease
Heart attack
Stroke

Other complications include:

Metabolic syndrome
Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
Sexual dysfunction
Peripheral artery disease

If you experience any symptoms of high blood pressure, call 911 or visit the nearest emergency hospital right away to help avoid these life-altering and sometimes fatal complications.

Some research has also found that smoking may blunt the effects of blood pressure medication such as amlodipine thereby reducing the drug’s ability to mitigate high blood pressure and stiffening of the arteries.5

Does Quitting Smoking Lower Blood Pressure?

Quitting smoking along with making small changes to your habits like eating a low sodium diet, getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and limiting alcohol intake can lower your blood pressure by 10 to 20 mmHG or more.

Quitting earlier is best to avoid irreversible damage to our blood vessels but even if you are a longtime smoker it is never too late to quit. Smoking also increases your risk of other conditions like lung cancer, COPD, and emphysema so the health benefits of quitting are enormous.

In the United States, the estimated number of tobacco smokers has dropped, as a result of tobacco-control efforts, from 45.1 million smokers in 2005 to 36.5 million smokers in 2017.6 That number is expected to continue to drop although the rise in use of smokeless tobacco has caused some opposition.

Prevention

The most effective way to prevent hypertension is to eliminate unhealthy habits like smoking. Not only does smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke raise your blood pressure, but it also puts you at a higher risk for heart attack and stroke. The only way to be sure that you are not being negatively impacted by smoking is to avoid it altogether.

Although much progress has been made, far too many young people use tobacco. Even more troubling, the rates of decline for smokeless tobacco have stalled or risen as of late. This is of particular concern because nicotine addiction can prolong tobacco use and lead to severe health complications.

As a result, the medical and public health communities cannot emphasize enough the importance of discouraging all forms of tobacco use in young people.

A Word From Verywell

Oftentimes there are no obvious symptoms of hypertension hence why it is often called a silent killer, underscoring the importance of knowing your risk factors for developing hypertension and adopting a healthy positive routine that includes healthy eating and exercise.

Taking high blood pressure seriously and following your doctor’s treatment recommendations can lower your risk of serious complications and make a big difference in your overall health.

Hypertension can impact anyone and it is not always the result of unhealthy habits like cigarette smoking. If you experience high blood pressure symptoms, contact a healthcare professional immediately. While there is no cure for hypertension, most causes can be managed effectively through lifestyle changes and medication, when needed.

The post Does Smoking Raise Blood Pressure? appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Towards a new understanding of cardiovascular risk in diabetes

mymedicplus — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 09:41:20 +0000

Source – https://pharmaphorum.com/

A new post-hoc analysis from Novo Nordisk of their SUSTAIN 6 and PIONEER 6 studies into semaglutide is looking to help ‘individualise’ treatment for diabetes patients by better predicting their cardiovascular lifetime risk. We spoke to lead study investigator, Utrecht University’s Dr Jan Westerink, to find out how he sees the results being used in daily practice.

The heightened risk of cardiovascular disease remains a pressing concern for type-2 diabetes patients, and one that many healthcare systems have not quite got a handle on yet.

Dr Jan Westerink, assistant professor of internal medicine, University Medical Center, Utrecht, believes that one issue is that the guidelines for addressing cardiovascular risk are too rigid, and don’t take into account each patient’s individual circumstance.

“People always say that patients and doctors should share decision making and discuss treatments with one another, but in reality, most of us just follow the guidelines.

“The problem is, if you have a high risk of cardiovascular disease, the guidelines might suggest that you are given statins and told to take them for the next 50 years, with no discussion at all.”

But Dr Westerink believes there needs to be more room for nuance and an understanding of lifetime risk.

“If you start taking a diabetes treatment with cardiovascular benefits whilst you’re relatively young, you will benefit more than a person who started taking it in their 70s.

“It’s like starting a savings account; if you start young then the benefits will be a lot greater than if you started at a higher age.”

“By using the results of the analysis on individual patient cases, we can show that with the use of semaglutide added to standard of care, some patients will have less than one year’s worth of benefits, and some patients will have more than two years. The mean benefit there would be 1.7 years, but it’s very different for each individual patient.”

But current guidelines do not always take into account this type of reasoning.

Applying a new model

To help understand the lifetime risk of developing CVD and how diabetes drugs like semaglutide can affect this for individual patients, Novo Nordisk conducted a post-hoc analysis by applying the Diabetes Lifetime-perspective prediction (DIAL) of cardiovascular risk model to data from two of Novo Nordisk’s phase 3 trials into semaglutide – SUSTAIN 6 and PIONEER 6.

This model was specifically developed for use in people with type 2 diabetes for lifetime risk prediction of cardiovascular events as well as the years free from cardiovascular disease gained from an intervention.

It was based on data from 389,366 people with type 2 diabetes in the Swedish National Diabetes Registry and externally validated across multiple geographical regions.

Prediction models like this are recommended to help prediction and prevention of cardiovascular disease by leading cardiology associations, including the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

“As a lifetime risk model, it estimates your life expectancy without cardiovascular disease, whilst also taking into account that you have a risk of dying from other causes,” Westerink, who was lead investigator of the analysis, says.

The two studies included 6,480 people with type 2 diabetes with high cardiovascular risk aged between 50-90 years.

The analysis showed that the addition of semaglutide to standard of care may extend life without a cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke, in people with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk for up to 3 years, with the average being 18 months.

The results also showed a 20% risk reduction in ten-year risk of experiencing cardiovascular events for participants receiving semaglutide compared to standard of care alone.

With semaglutide, the average number of years during which participants did not experience a cardiovascular event was extended by 7-35 months across all age groups (50 – 90 years), with the greatest benefit seen in people aged between 50 -65 years and with high cardiovascular risk.

The team then took the MACE hazard ratio from the trial cohort – 0.76 – and applied it to patient-level lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease events derived from the DIAL model. From that, they were able to calculate the return on investment from lifetime use of semaglutide for individual patients.

For example, for a specific patient, a 61-year old man with type 2 diabetes and a history of cardiovascular disease, the DIAL model showed that adding semaglutide to standard of care reduced the 10-year risk of having a cardiovascular event by 21% and provided almost two-and-a-half years (29 months) free of cardiovascular events.

“What we found is that, as expected, if you have a large population and you calculate absolute benefits in all those individual patients and you make a histogram, you can see that they have a very wide distribution,” says Dr Westerink.

“Although there’s an average hazard ratio of 0.76 and a 20% risk reduction when looking at every patient, not everybody’s got to benefit to the same extent.”

Logical treatment

Dr Westerink hopes that insights like this could lead to recommendations for diabetes treatment becoming more personalised, based on each individual patient’s lifetime risk.

He adds that the most important aspect of this approach is its simplicity and logic.

“I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t understand the concept when they hear it,” he says. “The only problem at the moment is that it’s not what doctors are taught to do. Everybody feels that they shouldn’t give older patients certain kinds of drugs, or that they shouldn’t just tell young people to improve their lifestyle and not medicate them at all. In reality, we know that’s not really how it’s supposed to work, and that’s what makes this approach so logical.”

Dr Westerink hopes that eventually this approach will be included in international guidelines, although he acknowledges that changing practice will take “a different way of thinking” from doctors. For example, they might be required to do more in-depth interviews with patients to be able to accurately predict risk.

Westerink adds that individualising treatment in this way could ultimately lead to higher adherence.

“It lets the patient take the lead in their own treatment and lets them know exactly why they are taking a drug,” he says.

The post Towards a new understanding of cardiovascular risk in diabetes appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Food insecurity linked to higher cardiovascular death risk

mymedicplus — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 09:38:18 +0000

Source – https://www.therahnuma.com/

New York, Nov 9 (IANS) Increasing rates of food insecurity are independently associated with an increase in cardiovascular death rates among adults between the ages of 20 and 64, say researchers.

According to the study, about 10 per cent of adults in the US are considered food insecure, meaning they lack immediate access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.

In addition, the stress from not knowing where their next meal will come from or regularly consuming cheap, processed foods may have an adverse impact on cardiovascular health.

“This research shows food insecurity, which is a particular type of economic distress, is associated with cardiovascular disease,” study author Sameed Khatana from University of Pennsylvania in the US.

“It illustrates that cardiovascular health is tied to many things,” Khatana added.

Researchers accessed county-level data on cardiovascular death rates and food insecurity rates that occurred from 2011 to 2017, among adults age 20 to 64, and those 65 years old and older.

In their analysis, researchers examined cardiovascular mortality trends in the US by average annual percent change in food insecurity.

They assessed the relationship between changes in food insecurity and cardiovascular death rates, after adjusting for variables including changes in demographics, employment, poverty, income, health insurance and other factors already known to affect cardiovascular risk.

Overall, food insecurity rates for the entire country declined significantly (from 14.7 per cent to 13.3 per cent) between 2011 and 2017.

The level in which food insecurity changes was a significant predictor of death for people between the ages of 20 and 64.

The findings showed that cardiovascular death rates remained much higher among the elderly than younger people.

According to the researchers, for every one per cent increase in food insecurity, there was a similar increase in cardiovascular mortality among non-elderly adults.

The study is scheduled to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 202, virtually from November 13-17.

The post Food insecurity linked to higher cardiovascular death risk appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Air pollution accounts for premature deaths from cardiovascular disease

mymedicplus — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:36:55 +0000

Source – https://www.news-medical.net/

In a current opinion article “Reduction of environmental pollutants for prevention of cardiovascular disease: it’s time to act”, published in the European Heart Journal this week.

A group of international environmental researchers from the University Medical Center of Mainz (Thomas Münzel and Andreas Daiber), from the University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (Mar Miller), the Diet, Genes and Environment, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark (Mette Sørensen).

The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany (Jos Lelieveld) and the Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA (Sanjay Rajagopalan) summarized the epidemiologic and mechanistic evidence in support of an association between noise and air pollution with cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and recommended comprehensive mitigation measures.

Environmental risk factors are increasingly recognized as important determinants of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

While the contribution of high cholesterol, diabetes, arterial hypertension, obesity and smoking are well established, the contribution by factors such as noise and air pollution to cardiovascular disease are often not acknowledged, despite the recognition that they represent the two most common and pervasive environmental risk factors globally.

Recent data indicate that air pollution attributable premature deaths approach 9 million per year globally (mostly cardiovascular causes), accounting for a loss of life expectancy that rivals that of tobacco smoking. The health burden due to noise pollution is mostly based on loss of healthy life years, amounting to several 100 Mio. of disability adjusted life years per year.

In particular with respect to air pollution, 90% of the world population lives in an environment with air pollution levels higher than 10μg/m3, being recommended by the WHO.

The European levels air pollution limits for PM 25 μg/m3 is 2.5 fold higher than the WHO limit and a reduction of the air pollution limits down to the WHO recommendation mainly due to a phase out of fossil fuel use could prevent around 400.000 to 500.000 thousand excess deaths of Europeans. Thus, we urgently need to reduce these limits.”

Thomas Münzel, Researcher, University Medical Center of Mainz

The environmental stressors such as air pollution and noise pollution cause primarily cardiovascular disease such as chronic coronary artery disease, stroke diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension but also neurological diseases and thus represent per se cardiovascular risk factors that can be positively influenced not by doctors or patients themselves but rather by politicians by introducing noise and air pollution limits that protect us from adverse health effects caused by these environmental stressors, “the lead author Münzel comments.

The author team proposes mitigation maneuvers for to protect from air pollution induced health side effects such as active personal exposure mitigation with home air cleaning and personal equipment such as N95 respirators while face masks are not effective in ?

ltering PM2.5, Modification of human behavior to reduce passive exposures such as advising patients with pre-established cardiovascular disease to continue to remain >400 m away from major roadways to avoid exposure to traffic pollutants is a reasonable measure, despite the current lack of strong evidentiary support.

Although a variety of over the counter drugs and medications have been shown to mitigate association between air pollution and surrogates, almost none can be recommended to protect against air pollution mediated adverse health effects at this time.

With respect to noise pollution the team suggests for road traffic noise that the sound generated by the contact between the tires and the pavement is the dominant noise source, at speeds above 35 km/h for cars and above 60 km/h for trucks.

Therefore, changing to electric cars will result in only minor reductions in road traffic noise. Generally applied strategies for reducing road traffic noise include noise barriers in densely populated areas, applying quiet road surfaces, and reducing speed, especially during nighttime. Furthermore, there is a great potential in developing and using low-noise tires.

As many of these mitigation methods result in only relatively small changes in noise a combination of different methods is important in highly exposed areas.

For aircraft noise, mitigation strategies include to minimizing overlapping of air traffic routes and housing zones, introduction of night bans, and implementation of continuous descent arrivals, which require the aircraft to approach on steeper descents with lower, less variable throttle settings.

For railway noise, replacing cast-iron block breaks with composite material, grinding of railway tracks and night bans, are among the preferred strategies for reducing noise.

Lastly, installing sound-reducing windows and/or orientation of the bedroom towards the quiet side of the residence can reduce noise exposure.

To this end Münzel further proposes that “increased awareness of the health burden posed by the risk factors such as noise and air pollution and their incorporation in traditional medical guidelines will help propel legislation to reduce them and significantly improve cardiovascular health.”

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Analysis of Breast Cancer Routine Scans Can Predict Cardiovascular Disease Risk

mymedicplus — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:33:19 +0000

Source – https://www.cancernetwork.com/

A recent study found that automated analyses of CT scans for patients with breast cancer can predict which patients are likely to develop cardiovascular disease in the future.

According to research that was presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference, automated analyses of routine scans for patients with breast cancer can predict which women have greater than a 1 in 4 risk of eventually developing cardiovascular disease.

The research suggests that women who have recently been treated for breast cancer have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is greater than the risk of dying from breast cancer in some groups of patients.

“We’ve seen great improvement in breast cancer survival, thanks in part to better treatment,” Professor Helena Verkooijen, of the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, said in a press release. “However, treatments have side effects and some treatments – such as radiotherapy and certain types of cancer drug – can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In my opinion, treating breast cancer means finding the right balance between maximising chances of tackling the tumour, while minimising the risks of side effects, including the risk of cardiovascular disease.”

The study analyzed around 14,000 patients with breast cancer treated with radiotherapy between 2005 and 2016 in 3 hospitals across The Netherlands. The researchers followed the cohort of women for an average of 52 months to identify if any of them developed cardiovascular disease.

In terms of calcifications found in patients, 5% of women with no calcifications went on to be hospitalized or die from cardiovascular disease. For women with a score between 1 and 10, 8.9% were hospitalized or died. More, a score of 11-100 saw women hospitalized or died 13.5% of the time. Finally, for women with a score of 101-400 it was 17.5% and in women with a score above 400, it was 28.3%.

When taking into account age and the year a patient was diagnosed, researchers found a 3.7 times greater risk of cardiovascular disease for patients with a score of 400 or above compared to women with no calcifications.

The researchers implemented a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, which calculates the amount of calcium in the walls of the heart’s arteries, which is known to be a strong indicator of high risk factor for cardiovascular disease. They then developed a deep learning algorithm to gauge the presence and extent of coronary artery calcifications from CT scans, allowing the researchers to automate the process.

“We believe this is the first time anyone has conducted a large-scale study like this,” said Verkooijen. “We’ve shown that we can use routine CT scans to indicate which breast cancer patients are most likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Now we need to do more research to find out what can be done to help minimise this risk, for instance whether patients’ cardiovascular health should be monitored or treated.”

Computer analysis of CT scans was able to spot patients at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, which researchers suggested could allow for ample steps to be taken to minimize that risk.

The team of researchers are working to utilize their technique for cardiovascular risk prediction in radiotherapy units across The Netherlands. For patients who took part in the research and were found to have increased risk of cardiovascular disease, they will be offered further cardiovascular screenings and lifestyle advice, while their scores will be used to plot a breast cancer treatment course.

The post Analysis of Breast Cancer Routine Scans Can Predict Cardiovascular Disease Risk appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Can Vertigo Be a Symptom of Dehydration?

mymedicplus — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 07:07:18 +0000

Source – https://www.healthline.com/

Dehydration and vertigo
How it happens
Other symptoms
Remedies
Prevention
Other vertigo causes
Bottom line

Water is vital to our health and well-being. In fact, about 60 percentTrusted Source of our body weight is made up of water.

Dehydration happens when you lose more water than you take in. When this happens, your body doesn’t have enough water to effectively carry out critical tasks like breathing, digestion, and other essential functions.

Although you can become dehydrated simply by not drinking enough water, it can also happen due to:

being sick with a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea
increased sweating from exercise or from being out in hot, humid weather
excess urination, which can happen due to conditions like diabetes or by taking certain medications, such as diuretics or certain blood pressure medications

There are several symptoms of dehydration. One of these is dizziness which can be felt in several different ways, including as a spinning sensation known as vertigo.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at vertigo due to dehydration and other symptoms to look out for. We’ll also explore the steps you can take to prevent dehydration.

Can dehydration cause vertigo?

Dehydration can lead to dizziness. When you’re dizzy, you may feel:

lightheaded
unsteady
woozy
faint

If you’re dehydrated, it’s also possible that you could experience a specific type of dizziness known as vertigo. When you have vertigo, you feel as if you or your surroundings are spinning. Other sensations associated with vertigo include:

floating
swaying
tilting

When you experience dizziness or vertigo, you may also feel:

nausea
the need to sit or lie down
worsening symptoms when you stand or move

However, it’s important to note that there are other conditions besides dehydration that can cause vertigo, such as inner ear problems and migraine.

How does dehydration lead to vertigo?

You may be wondering why vertigo happens when you’re dehydrated. Let’s examine this in more detail.

When you’re dehydrated, your body doesn’t have enough fluids to function effectively. This can have an impact on many parts of your body, including your circulation.

People who are dehydrated often have reduced blood pressure or lower blood volume. When this happens, blood may not reach your brain in the way that it should. This can lead to feelings of dizziness or vertigo.

Most of the time, the dizziness caused by low blood pressure isn’t a vertigo-like feeling. Instead, low blood pressure due to dehydration typically causes a lightheaded feeling, like you’d pass out if it got worse.

But there may be instances where low blood pressure could cause the spinning sensation of vertigo. It’s just not as common as feeling lightheaded.

What are the other signs of dehydration?

Some other dehydration symptoms to watch out for include:

Thirst. Feeling thirsty is your body’s way of telling you that you need to drink more fluids.
Reduced urination. When you’re dehydrated, your body will signal your kidneys to retain fluids. Because of this, you’ll likely urinate less frequently.
Dark urine. If you’re well-hydrated, you urine is typically clear or pale yellow. Dark urine indicates that your urine has become more concentrated.
Constipation. Your large intestine (colon) is responsible for absorbing water from your food. When you don’t have enough fluids, your stools may become harder and more difficult to pass.
Dry mouth, lips, or skin. As your body loses fluids, you may notice dryness, flaking, and cracking of your lips and skin.
Fatigue. Being dehydrated makes it harder for your body to carry out its normal functions. Because of this, you may feel lethargic or more tired than usual.
Headache. Headache due to dehydration is pretty common. A small 2004 studyTrusted Source found that 1 in 10 study participants experienced headache due to dehydration. This was relieved by drinking water.

What should you do if you think your dizziness is caused by dehydration?

If you’re feeling dizzy due to dehydration, you can take the following steps to help ease your symptoms:

Rehydrate. Try to replenish lost fluids as soon as possible. Focus on drinking water. Sports drinks or oral rehydration solutions can also be helpful for restoring lost electrolytes.
Sit down. Move into a sitting position until your feelings of dizziness pass. When you begin to feel better, get up slowly.
Move slowly. Remember that dizziness and vertigo can increase your risk of falling. If you must move, do so slowly. Try to hold onto something in case you lose your balance.
Avoid certain activities. Some activities can be dangerous when you’re feeling dizzy. Avoid driving, operating machinery, or climbing up onto anything.

When to seek medical attention

There are some warning signs to watch out for that could be an indication that dehydration has become more serious. Seek immediate medical attention if you or a loved one:

has a rapid heart rate
feels confused or disoriented
has trouble walking or moving around
has diarrhea or vomiting that lasts longer than 24 hours

Severe dehydration can cause serious complications, such as:

urinary and kidney problems
seizures due to low levels of sodium and potassium
heat exhaustion or heatstroke
hypovolemic shock, a life threatening condition that’s caused by low blood volume

Dehydration can be treated in a hospital with intravenous (IV) fluids and electrolytes.

How to prevent dehydration

The following tips can help you stay hydrated throughout the day.

Get enough water

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, there are no specific recommendations on daily water intake.

However, according to the Mayo Clinic, drinking 8 glasses of water per day is a reasonable goal for most people.

Additionally, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine notes that an adequate daily fluid intake is:

2.7 liters (91 ounces) each day for women
3.7 liters (125 ounces) each day for men

Your daily fluid intake doesn’t just include the water you drink but also fluids that you get from other foods and beverages, such as:

fruits with high water content like watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, and oranges
vegetables with high water content, such as lettuce, cabbage, and celery
low-sodium broths and soups
beverages like fat-free milk, herbal tea, juices, and sports drinks

Keep water on hand

Try to always have ready access to water. If you find that you often forget to hydrate, it may be helpful to make a habit of carrying a reusable water bottle with you.

Having water easily available is especially important when:

you’re exercising
the weather is hot or humid
you’re doing anything to make you sweat more than usual

Hydrate more when you’re ill

If you become sick with fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, be sure to drink additional fluids. Don’t wait until you’re already feeling dehydrated to have a drink of water.

Other causes of vertigo

There are other potential causes of vertigo. Many of these causes involve problems with your inner ear, which helps control your sense of balance. Inner ear conditions that can cause vertigo include:

benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a condition where changes in the positioning of your head can lead to brief periods of vertigo
Meniere’s disease, a rare inner-ear condition that involves tinnitus and hearing loss
labyrinthitis, an inflammation of the fluid-filled passages of your inner ear
- vestibular neuritis, an inflammation of the vestibular nerve in your inner ear
Other conditions that can also cause vertigo include:
- migraine
- stroke
- multiple sclerosis
- head injuries
- brain tumors
- certain types of medication, such as seizure and epilepsy medications and salicylates

The bottom line

One of the potential symptoms of dehydration is dizziness. You may feel lightheaded or woozy. In some cases, you may also feel as if you or your surroundings are spinning or tilting. This is known as vertigo.

If you’re dehydrated and dizzy, try to drink fluids right away. Carefully move into a sitting position to avoid falling. When your dizziness passes, be sure to get up slowly.

You can prevent dehydration by taking in fluids throughout the day. You’ll need to hydrate more during exercise, in hot or humid weather conditions, and when you’re sick. If you or a loved one is severely dehydrated, be sure to get immediate medical care.

The post Can Vertigo Be a Symptom of Dehydration? appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

House Call: Know Your Diabetes by Heart

mymedicplus — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 06:53:48 +0000

Source – https://www.wdtv.com/

Type 2 diabetes is one of the seven major risk factors for heart disease that you can control. Patti Cook, RN, BSN, diabetes education coordinator, joins us to explain that you can take control, as November 4-10 is National Diabetes Education Week.

1). If you are a diabetic, what can you do to arm yourself against the risk of heart disease?

People with type 2 diabetes have double the risk of heart disease. If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have other conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and unmanaged blood glucose (called blood sugar). These also increase the risk for heart disease, but managing these can help decrease your risk. Arm yourself with the facts.

· Understand the risk for heart disease.

Talk to your doctor regularly about whole body health and your next steps.

· Trade unhealthy for healthy behaviors. Eat right and keep moving.

2). What is the connection between Type 2 diabetes and heart disease? Why does diabetes more than likely lead to heart disease?

Adults with diabetes are two times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people without diabetes. The combination of high blood pressure and diabetes drastically increases your risks of a heart disease. Managing your blood pressure is one way to lower your risk of heart disease. That is why it is vital to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. High blood pressure is anything above 120/80 mmHg.

3. What are some questions that we should be asking our health care provider about diabetes and heart disease?

The following are questions are important; however, there are certainly other questions to consider asking your doctor:

· What can I do to lower my risk for heart disease and stroke?

· Do any of my medications help me manage my risks for heart disease or other complications?

The post House Call: Know Your Diabetes by Heart appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

High blood pressure while you sleep raises risk of heart attack, stroke

mymedicplus — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 06:48:43 +0000

Source – https://www.studyfinds.org/

TOCHIGI, Japan — People who have high blood pressure while asleep are more likely to suffer cardiovascular disease, especially heart failure, in the future, a new study reveals. In fact, researchers at Jichi Medical University in Japan warn that even when a patient’s daytime blood pressure is within normal ranges, they are still more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.

Medical practitioners typically use in-office and daytime blood pressure measurements to determine a patient’s hypertension medication needs and dosages. But many patients may have undetected high blood pressure while sleeping, also known as nocturnal hypertension, scientists say.

“Nighttime blood pressure is increasingly being recognized as a predictor of cardiovascular risk,” says lead author Professor Kazuomi Kario, a professor of cardiovascular medicine, in a statement to the American Heart Association. “This study provides much more in-depth information about the cardiovascular risk associated with high nighttime blood pressure and different nighttime blood pressure phenotypes than have been reported previously.”

Patients’ blood pressure monitored during the day and while sleeping

For the study, data was collected from 6,359 adults from across Japan between 2009 and 2017. Nearly half of the study participants were male, and more than half were at least 65 years old. The patients all had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, and three-quarters of them were taking blood pressure medications. None had symptomatic cardiovascular disease when the study began.

Researchers measured daytime and nighttime blood pressure levels using an at-home, wearable monitor. Measurements were taken for at least 24 hours at a time, and device data were periodically downloaded at a health care clinic. Participants were instructed to self-report their daily activities along with sleep and wake times in a diary. A

Almost every participant recorded 20 daytime and seven night-time automated blood pressure measurements. Follow-ups occurred annually via phone or clinic visit, with total follow up ranging from two to seven years.

Researchers analyzed the rates of cardiovascular disease events, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and death, among the participants. The occurrence and timing of heart events in relation to blood pressure variations was analyzed to determine whether there were any associations.

In all, participants experienced a total of 306 cardiovascular events, including 119 strokes, 99 diagnoses of coronary artery disease, and 88 diagnoses of heart failure.

‘Significant, independent risk factor for cardiovascular events’

Authors say that an abnormal reading, or a systolic blood pressure measuring 20 mm Hg above a person’s daytime systolic reading, is significantly linked to the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Similarly, participants with an abnormal circadian pattern, which occurs when sleep blood pressure exceeds daytime readings, were at particular risk of developing heart failure and had a greater risk of experiencing any heart disease event.

Excessive reduction of blood pressure during sleep may also be detrimental. Patients with well-controlled hypertension showed a significantly increased risk of stroke when nighttime systolic pressure took extreme dips.

“Results indicate that nighttime systolic blood pressure was a significant, independent risk factor for cardiovascular events,” says Kario. “The study highlights the importance of including nighttime blood pressure monitoring in patient management strategies and will hopefully encourage physicians to ensure that antihypertensive therapy is effectively lowering blood pressure throughout the 24-hour dosing period.”

But the authors note that their study is not without limitations.

Ambulatory data were obtained once at the start of the study. However, no information was available regarding the contributions of subsequent changes in ambulatory blood pressure levels up until the time of diagnosis of a cardiac event. The study also focused on systolic, rather than diastolic, measurements due to the older age of the participants.

The authors say study evaluations did not include echocardiograms, thus preventing some degree of differentiation for types of heart failure.

The new research is published in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

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Hypertension in Women: How the Symptoms and Risk Factors Vary

mymedicplus — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 06:11:07 +0000

Source – https://www.news18.com/

Hypertension is assumed to be more prevalent in the male population. However, experts suggest that it affects both the genders equally.

A recent study published in the Journal of Hypertension indicates that there is a direct association between social ties and risk of hypertension in women. The longitudinal study including more than 28,000 people between the ages of 45 and 85 years found that women with a small social circle and limited social participation (less than two social activities in a month) are more likely to get hypertension than women who had better or more social interactions. Hypertension risk was also found to be higher in widowed women than married women.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is assumed to be more prevalent in the male population. However, experts suggest that it affects both the genders equally. In fact, after a certain age, women are more prone to the condition than men and the former have several very unique risk factors for high blood pressure both in the pre and post-menopausal age.

Unique risk factors

According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure is not directly related to gender. However, pregnancy, menopause and use of birth control pills are some unique factors that put women at a higher risk of hypertension.

Research suggests that women who smoke, have a genetic predisposition to hypertension or are overweight are highly likely to have high blood pressure on regular use of birth control pills.

Similarly, pregnant women often experience high blood pressure. If you have had a history of hypertension, you may have to consult your doctor before trying to conceive since high blood pressure can harm both the baby and the mother.

Gestational hypertension develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy; you may develop this type of hypertension even if you never had the condition before. And then there is pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication wherein the woman has high blood pressure and limb swelling and protein in urine. Pre-eclampsia can be life-threatening for the mother and preterm delivery is the only way to resolve it.

Finally, after menopause, when the estrogen levels drop, a woman’s chances of developing hypertension increases significantly. Studies suggest that a combination of various factors including individual genetics, body mass index (BMI) and increased sympathetic nervous system activity are responsible for this spike in risk. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the flight and fight response. It increases blood pressure, decreases intestinal motility and accelerates heart rate.

Difference in symptoms

As per the European Society of Cardiology, hypertensive women experience more arterial stiffness, atrial fibrillation and heart failure in older age than hypertensive men. Since they have a smaller diameter of arteries, aneurysms in women rupture at a much smaller size than in men.

Hypertension is said to be a silent killer. Usually, it does not show any symptoms unless there is organ damage. However, in some young and middle-aged women, the condition can also be symptomatic. Such women report some of the following symptoms:

Headache
Blurred vision
A feeling that the bra is too tight
Chest pain due to stress or continuous pain in chest that often travels up the shoulder and left arm or jaw
Hot flushes
Excessive sweating day and night
Sleep disturbance
Tiredness

A lot of these symptoms are associated with stress or menopause. Experts suggest that if you notice these symptoms, it is best to consult a doctor, especially if you have a family history of hypertension.

For more information, read our article on High blood pressure.

Health articles on News18 are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

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Guava Health Benefits: Control Blood Pressure, Boost Immunity And Much More With This Winter Fruit

mymedicplus — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 06:04:16 +0000

Source – https://doctor.ndtv.com/

Guava Fruit Benefits: Guava contains properties beneficial for your overall health in several ways. This winter, enjoy this fruit and enjoy the many benefits. Read here to know some of these.

HIGHLIGHTS

Guava is loaded with vitamin C which can help boost immunity
Eating guava can help you lose weight as it is loaded with fibre
Guava leaves are also loaded with several medicinal properties

Winter season is almost here. With the temperature falling, it is important to maintain a healthy diet. Eating healthy according to the season can help you stay fit. Every season offers different fruits and vegetables. Eating seasonal fruits can offer your essential nutrients and help you stay fit. Guava is one of the fruits that are commonly available during the winter season. This fruit is loaded with several health benefits. Guava is also beneficial in several chronic health conditions. Not just the fruit, guava leaves are also loaded with certain health benefits. Here are some reasons why you should not miss the goodness of guava this winter season.

Guava health benefits you need to know

Both guava and guava leaves can help you manage blood sugar levels. According to studies, guava leaves can help reduce blood sugar levels. This fruit is loaded with fibre which helps in diabetes management. If you are a diabetic, you can consult your doctor to understand how much guava is safe to consume.

2. May lower blood pressure

High blood pressure can put you at a higher risk of heart disease. The presence of potassium and fibre in guava reduces blood pressure numbers. Choose a healthy diet and lifestyle to maintain healthy blood pressure numbers.

Also read: What Happens To Your Blood Pressure During Sleep? Expert Explains The Reasons Behind Fluctuations

3. Aids in weight loss and digestion

Guavas are loaded with fibre. High fibre content promotes digestion and bowel movements. It can help reduce constipation. Foods high in fibre keep you full for longer and make you consume fewer calories contributing to weight loss.

4. Boosts immunity

Vitamin C plays a significant role in boosting immunity. Guava contains a good amount of vitamin C which ensures healthy functioning of the immune system. This winter you can control the risk of various ailments with this wonder fruit.

Also read: Guava Health Benefits: Here’s Why Health Experts Are Talking About Vitamin C-Rich Amrud

5. Beneficial for skin

Guava contains antioxidants that can protect your skin against ageing. Vitamin C also plays a role in maintaining and boosting overall skin health.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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