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How heart disease can be prevented
Vitamin D deficiency may increase heart disease risk EYESIGHT
Are vitamin supplements actually bad for us?
Cold weather sensitivity is curable
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How heart disease can be prevented
There are various risk factors for heart disease. These include smoking, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, family history of coronary artery disease and, above all, a stressful life. The individuals having two or more risk factors fall in the category of a relatively high-risk group. For example, a smoker having family history of heart disease will be considered as a high-risk individual.
How important is the early detection of a heart disease and how can it be done?
It is pertinent to detect the coronary artery disease at an early stage so that the necessary precautions in the form of proper diet, exercise and risk modification can be taken to prevent the progression of the disease. This also helps to tackle the critical blocks with angioplasty/stenting/bypass well in time. The high-risk individuals having very high likelihood of coronary artery disease can undergo various kinds of tests on an outpatient basis. The procedure takes less than five minutes and the person can return to work/home within one hour. Which one is better —angioplasty/stenting or bypass surgery? The strategy of angioplasty with stenting or bypass surgery depends upon the coronary angiography findings, economic or social background, age factor, cost and risk benefit ratio, and it varies from patient to patient. Since the introduction of medicated stents, the treatment of coronary artery disease has virtually been revolutionalised. A number of patients could be saved from the bypass surgery, an option which is always available to patients. We can now treat more patients suffering from long blocks even in cases of diabetes with drug-coated stents. In the case of patients having more than one totally blocked arteries, critical multiple blocks in all the arteries, which are not uncommon in diabetics, bypass surgery is the preferred course. What are the problems with the drug-coated stents? Are these really good for heart patients? Drug-coated stents or drug-eluting stents or medicated stents are of great help to heart patients. With non-medicated stents (bare-metal stents) the recurrence rate used to be in the range of 25 per cent particularly in patients with long blocks and in diabetics, and we used to send such patients for bypass surgery, at times even very young patients, those in their thirties. With the invention of drug-coated stents, we are now treating complex coronary blocks. I am personally doing more than 1800-2000 angioplasties with stents every year and have found that the drug-coated stents for Indian patients, having long and multiple blocks, offer a big advantage. The recurrence rate is less than 5 per cent with properly implanted high quality drug-coated stents and good compliance on the part of the patient to take the prescribed medicines (aspirin, clopigorel) on a regular basis. However, because of the long-term use of anti-platelets, the cost remains a major pitfalls of drug-coated stents, and lot of research is being carried out to address this and other limitations. The incidence of heart disease is progressively increasing. How can it be prevented? Ideally, there should be mass screening programmes in the schools, colleges, universities and elsewhere along with the involvement of the media so that the common man knows all about the various risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, diabetes, family history of heart disease, sedentary and stressful lifestyle, etc. The importance of having a healthy lifestyle should be popularized through lectures, newspapers and TV programmes. This can also help to a large extent prevent the rising incidence of heart disease. The writer, a well-known cardiologist and Dr B C Roy Award winner, is Chairman of the Metro Group of Hospitals, Noida.
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Vitamin D deficiency may increase heart disease risk
New Delhi: A new study has revealed that chronic vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. According to the study, conducted by researchers at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University in Chicago, lack of sunshine during winter may diminish vitamin D levels in the body and harm cardiovascular health, reports
Xinhua. The study said that the body needs sunshine to produce vitamin D, but that process is slowed in the winter due to less daylight and spending more time indoors. The researchers reviewed a number of studies that linked vitamin D deficiency to heart disease. — ANI
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EYESIGHT Diabetes mellitus is a major cause of avoidable blindness in both developing and developed countries. India has almost 31.7 million diabetic patients at present as per the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. The number is going to increase day by day. Patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) are 25 times more likely to become blind than non-diabetics. Good sugar control arrests the development and progression of DR and decreases the visual loss. All diabetics — both type 1 and type 2 — are at risk. That’s why everyone with diabetes should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam done at least once a year. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get diabetic retinopathy. Scientific research worldwide continues to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of DR from which new effective therapies are emerging. Advancements in technology have also improved the instrumentation. People which were considered blind can also get back some vision. Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) has been used extensively to treat various complications of DR. The major indications are: l Non-clearing vitreous haemorrhage, l Macula-involving or macula-threatening tractional retinal detachment l Combined tractional-rhegmatogenous detachment. In a healthy eye, the vitreous is a clear, gel-like substance that fills the centre of the eye and helps give it form and shape. A vitrectomy is surgical removal of the cloudy, gel-like vitreous, and sometimes blood, from the centre of the eye. When the vitreous is removed, the eye regains its transparency, allowing light to travel to the retina and restore vision. Along with this, the surgeon may complete other things like to seal off leaky blood vessels using a laser procedure known as endophotocoagulation, to remove scar tissue from the retina, to flatten areas where the retina has detached from the eye wall, to repair tears or holes in the retina or macula (the central area of the retina responsible for sharp vision). Various clinical studies have shown that early vitrectomy in such cases of advanced DR is more beneficial in the long run as compared to deferred vitrectomy. Nowadays vitrectomy is combined with VGEF inhibitors which help in reducing intra-operative bleeds. The patients who had not taken good care initially and are blind because of advanced diabetic retinopathy should not lose hope. Viterctomy in such cases does give some ambulatory vision. Often there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, nor is there any pain. Don’t wait for symptoms. Be sure to have a comprehensive dilated eye exam done at least once a year. So, vitrectomy gives a ray of hope to such advanced diabetic patients. The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi. Email:
drmahipal@gmail.com
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Are vitamin supplements actually bad for us? Next time you visit your local chemist, pause in the aisle containing vitamin supplements, and take in the quantities and varieties of pills and potions on offer. Tiny boxes and bottles stretch as far as the eye can see, affirming that even in these cash-strapped times, the gorging of such "miracle cures" continues to be big business. But as the UK population continues to shell out millions annually on vitamin supplements, the scientific evidence supporting their efficacy is waning. Earlier this month, US scientists discovered that taking vitamins A and E does not lower your risk of cancer, one of the supposed major benefits of taking them. "There have been a number of previous studies that have suggested that vitamin E and vitamin C might be important in the prevention of cancer," says Dr Howard Sesso, one of those involved in the recent research. "The lack of an effect that we observe for vitamin E or C on cancer does convince us that these particular doses that we tested really have no role for recommendation for cancer prevention," continues the academic. The clinical trials he oversaw involved nearly 15,000 American men. Another recent study, part-funded by German chemicals firm BASF, whose products include vitamins, working in association with Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, discovered that there were no significant effects on rates of heart disease after taking vitamins E and C. Two months ago, a major trial studying whether vitamin E and selenium (which, among other things, helps regulate hormone metabolism in the thyroid) could lower a man's risk of prostate cancer ended amid worries that such treatments may do more harm than good. As if that were not enough, doctors at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre have warned that vitamin C seems to protect not only healthy cells, but cancer cells, too. —The
Independent
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Cold weather sensitivity is curable
With the advent of winter, most of us are happy to “see off” those sweltering hot days of summer. But for some cold weather brings in its own set of woes and miseries. People who are sensitive to cold temperature are major sufferers. Recurrent cough, cold and sinusitis are the most common ailments for such people. For some the sensitivity to cold weather is so high that even a whiff of cold air is enough to trigger an attack, which may last weeks or months. If you are one of those who suffer from months of miseries with cough, cold and sinusitis every winter, then homoeopathy offers a hope for you. It understands and cures this idiosyncratic combination of your cold sensitivity and the body’s propensity to develop such stuffy colds. This cold sensitivity can affect a person in many ways. It can range from simply feeling colder than others to respiratory issues like stuffy cold, sinusitis, chronic cough, bronchitis and asthma. Just a mild exposure to cold can trigger a complete sequence of events. There are patients who even at the least exposure to cold air — moving the hand out of the quilt at night or sleeping without a warm cap — can suffer weeks of incapacitation. Well, the extent to which one is affected varies a lot. It depends on their level of intolerance and other factors such as genetic tendencies, age, nature of jobs, etc. Homoeopathy has a great armoury to deal with cold weather sensitivity. To start with, Aconitum Napelus, commonly known as Aconite, is a great homoeopathic medicine to treat all infections that start with after an exposure to cold air. The advice for all those who suffer from cold weather sensitivity is to carry this medicine in your pocket. It is very useful in the first few hours of the exposure when the symptoms have just started showing — runny nose, headaches shivering, etc. A few doses of aconite will be sufficient enough to completely abort the attack of cold. Chronic stuffy cold and sinusitis are also very effectively treated with homoeopathy. Silicea kali Bichrome and Pulsatilla are some of the medicines that are very useful in treating these forms. Barking-type of cough that starts in small children suddenly after an exposure is best treated with Hepar Sulp and Spongia. People who have their feet sensitive to cold and can never seem to get them warm, homoeopathic medicines Calcarea Carb and Silicea can do wonders for them. The best part of homoeopathy is that it can help even those constitutionally sensitivity to cold weather. This is usually a prolonged treatment and requires a season or two before any sustainable results are achieved. The writer is a Chandigarh-based homoeopath. Email: vikas@drhomeo.com
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Brown rats found to carry heart disease-causing bacteria
Reported in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, the study report highlights the fact that over 20 species of Bartonella bacteria have been discovered since the early nineties. It further states that these bacteria are considered to be emerging zoonotic pathogens, as they can cause serious illness in humans worldwide from heart disease to infection of the spleen and nervous system. “A new species called Bartonella rochalimae was recently discovered in a patient with an enlarged spleen who had travelled to South America,” said Professor Chao-Chin Chang from the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. — ANI
Transfusion of fresh blood may reduce cancer recurrence
Washington: A new study conducted by Tel Aviv University researchers suggests that the use of fresh red blood cells in transfusions for cancer patients can improve long-term survival rates, and reduce the incidence of cancer recurrence. Reporting their findings in the journal Anesthesiology, the researchers highlight the fact that blood transfusion during certain cancer surgeries is associated with increased cancer recurrence and reduced survival rates, but why this happens is not well understood. Dr Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu and his university colleagues say that their study on rats may provide surprising insights that could open doors for important research in humans in the near future. — ANI
Living to be a 100 can be a
pretty depressing affair
Washington: Most elderly people, who make it to 100 years, suffer from depression that is poorly understood and under-diagnosed, according to a new study. The centenarians face numerous problems, including health, finance and death of a spouse or loved one, and many suffer from depression that has been under-diagnosed. “Centenarians are still rare, and depression hasn’t been studied thoroughly in this group,” said Adam Davey, a developmental psychologist in the College of Health Professions at Temple University. “We’ve found that it’s a very under-diagnosed condition among people over 100 years old, yet it’s one of the most easily treated forms of mental illness,” he added. — ANI
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Dr Purshotam Lal
Washington:
A new study suggests that brown rats, the biggest and most common rats in Europe, may be carrying the bacteria that can cause serious heart disease in humans.