From the monthly archives:
I would suggest that the alleged 15% risk of developing PTSD after a heart attack is a bit low and a blt misleading. Trauma essentially runs on a continuum, and heart attacks can run from mild to severe (and 50% of folks don’t even survive them.) Even a “mild” heart attack is traumatizing. Just because [...]
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Post-traumatic stress disorder can afflict those battling heart disease Harvard Health Publications (Undated) BOSTON, MA – Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t limited to soldiers or witnesses of a horrifying event. It can also appear after a heart attack, a stroke, or heart surgery. Not only does PTSD cause emotional and psychological distress, it may also [...]
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Carolyn Thomas, in her excellent blog about heart issues, writes: After my heart attack, while I was deep in the throes of a truly crippling depression, my doctor referred me to a cognitive behavioural therapist for help. She was an extremely perky person, and used to say things to me like: “I have a great [...]
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Depression And Anxiety Can Double Chances Of Heart Ailments ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2008) — Matters of the mind can affect matters of the heart. A new study by McGill University and Université de Montréal researchers has found that major anxiety and/or depression, can double a coronary artery disease patient’s chances of repeated heart ailments. This [...]
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The following article is an excellent review of the original studies involving depression, anxiety and prognosis after a heart attack. (Note, however, that it is from 2003.) The conclusion of the article bears repeating: “Treating symptoms of anxiety and depression in MI patients is an abiding imperative.” Anxiety, depression, and prognosis after myocardial infarction Is [...]
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This is the most thorough review article I have seen on psychological interventions after heart events. One of the interesting findings was that it was more effective to have interventions two months after the event rather than immediately. According to this article, fewer than 50% of people who have a cardiac event (which was not [...]
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My own experience with cardiac rehab several years ago was mixed; it felt safer after a heart attack to be in a hospital setting and have my heart monitored, and it was good to have a schedule to stick to. However, there was absolutely no attention paid to the psychological factors associated with heart disease [...]
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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 23, 2010 Caffeine consumption and incident atrial fibrillation in women. BACKGROUND: It is somewhat controversial whether caffeine consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). OBJECTIVE: We prospectively assessed the relation between caffeine intake and incident AF. DESIGN: A total of 33,638 initially healthy women [...]
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As a psychotherapist, I have spent much work life talking with folks about their lives. I certainly believe that it can be useful and meaningful. As a heart patient, I have found that the cardiology industry emphasizes drugs over lifestyle, facts over feelings. It is a disturbing trend that more and more people are being [...]
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Antagonistic People May Increase Heart Attack, Stroke Risk ScienceDaily Aug. 18, 2010 — Antagonistic people, particularly those who are competitive and aggressive, may be increasing their risk of heart attack or stroke, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers for the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the [...]
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As a cardiac patient badly mis-diagnosed on two occasions and almost killed from a medication overdose (to treat pain after inept surgery), I heartily endorse doctors and hospitals acknowledging their mistakes — it would have helped greatly in the healing process… But why do I have a feeling that medicine is frequently not about healing…. [...]
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Higher Exercise Capacity Equals Improved Survival in Older Adults Michael O’Riordan August 17, 2010 (Washington, DC) — Exercise capacity is inversely associated with all-cause mortality in older men, according to the results of a new study [1]. The survival benefit was observed among individuals able to participate in moderate daily exercise, such as brisk walking, [...]
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Mayo’s “Smart” Adult Stem Cells Repair Hearts ‘Landmark work’ moves beyond the bench August 16, 2010 ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic investigators, with Belgian collaborators, have demonstrated that rationally “guided” human adult stem cells can effectively heal, repair and regenerate damaged heart tissue. The findings — called “landmark work” in an accompanying editorial — appear [...]
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Red Meat May Boost Women’s Heart Disease Risk Eating fish, poultry, nuts and low-fat dairy lowers the chances, study shows Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter Eating fish, poultry, nuts and low-fat dairy lowers the chances, study shows. MONDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) — Women who eat a lot of red meat may be increasing their risk [...]
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Creatine Kinase-MB Wins at Predicting Cardiac Outcomes Ed Susman, MedPage Today August 16, 2010 Myocardium specific creatine kinase levels appear to provide a better prognosis of long-term outcomes for elective heart surgery patients than do measures of troponin, according to a prospective study. The study of more than 200 elective cardiac surgery patients followed for [...]
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New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College August 12, 2010 Elevated heart rate over time linked to significant risk of death Findings suggest patients and their doctors should track heart rate over time to uncover health issues An elevated resting heart rate that develops or persists during follow-up is associated with a [...]
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Brilliant idea. Let’s also put statins in the drinking water. Outlets Should Offer Free Statins With Junk Food Say UK Researchers MedPage Today 13 Aug 2010 Imagine this: order a cheeseburger and fries, and pick up a free cholesterol-busting statin tablet along with the other free condiments, that’s what a group of UK researchers suggests [...]
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August 12, 2010 | Mike Lisieski Cephalopods have quite a neat circulatory system …They have a closed circulatory system, meaning that their blood is contained within blood vessels, instead of just filling their body cavity. All other molluscs have an open circulatory system, where blood is still pumped by one or more hearts, but it [...]
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Colder Weather May Trigger Heart Attacks Study Links Drop in Temperature With Higher Risk of Heart Attacks By Bill Hendrick WebMD Health News Aug. 10, 2010 — A significant drop in temperatures may trigger heart attacks in elderly people, new research indicates. Scientists in the U.K. say they found that each drop in ambient temperature [...]
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The scaffold is built out of a flexible, biocompatible material with pores that support the fragile cardiac cells and allow access to blood and nutrients. The scaffold for heart repair includes channels, seen here as the larger holes, where the cardiac cells can fuse into long chains. (Credit: University of Washington) New Strategy to Fix [...]
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Thick Waist a Problem at Any Weight Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today August 09, 2010 It is probably prudent to inform patients that relatively consistent evidence now shows that a larger waist circumference is associated with higher mortality, independent of weight or BMI. Having a large waist circumference increases the risk of death [...]
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Crystal Phend, MedPage Today August 04, 2010 Poor cardiac output, even at the low end of normal, may accelerate the brain volume losses that come with age, researchers said. Cardiac index remained directly linked to total brain volume (P=0.02) after adjusting for age and other important factors and excluding those with cardiovascular disease, according to [...]
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New Gene Variants Linked to Lipid Levels By Michael Smith, August 04, 2010 In a genetic analysis of more than 100,000 people of European ancestry, researchers have found 95 common genetic variants — 59 of them previously unknown — that influence lipid levels by regulating nearby genes. Some of the variants are clustered near genes [...]
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This is of considerable concern for folks facing stent placement — severe problems 42% of the time within six weeks is a huge risk. Contrary to many people’s viewpoint who see stent placement as a minor operation, this suggests that it is a major invasion of the system that leaves it quite vulnerable Risks Rise [...]
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Scientific American Observations August 2, 1010 Industry-sponsored drug trials more likely to report positive results Katherine Harmon Drugs being counted as trials backed by pharmaceutical companies are more likely to report positive resultsClinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of new drugs are expensive investments for pharmaceutical companies and other funding organizations—and failures can [...]
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From Why Our Hearts Need Other Hearts Lisa Holland December 27, 2009 1. The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study, examined 131 women aged, 35 to 65 years, who were hospitalized for an acute coronary event. The study found that women with little or no social support were two and one half times more likely to [...]
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