Men Lead A Better Quality Of Life After A Stroke Than Women

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center find that men lead a better quality of life than women after have a stroke. Three months after suffering a stroke, the study shows that women were more likely than men to report problems with mobility, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression.

According to the American Heart Association. women face higher risk of stroke than men with 1 out of 5 women experiencing a stroke sometime in her life. They also note that 55,000 more women than men suffer from a stroke each year. It is the 3rd cause of death for women while it is the 4th for men.

A stroke is a condition when blood to the brain is cut off. Because of this, the brain is deprived of oxygen and immediately starts to deteriorate. Stroke victims suffer physical impairment, mood and behavioral swings, and bouts of depression afterwards. Rehabilitation is a long journey for stroke victims

Quality of life refers to the well being of a person. With regards to healthcare, it includes the physical and mental health perceptions, functional status, social support, and socioeconomic status.

American Heart Association Releases 2014 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update

The American Heart Association (AHA) with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies compiled the 2014 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update. The report is the only source for current prevalence data on cardiovascular health and is published in the journal, Circulation.

The AHA statistical report updates statistics on heart disease, stroke, other vascular diseases and their risk factors.

With one in six deaths in the US resulting from heart disease, it is the number one cause of death in the U.S. Stroke is the 4th ranking cause of death in the US with one in nineteen deaths.

Miracle Anti Cancer Molecule JQ1 Found To Also Protect and Treat Heart Failure

A protein molecule previously known to have anti-cancer properties have recently been discovered to also be able to treat and protect against heart failure.

JQ1, initially developed as a male contraceptive drug, has shown potential to treat cancer and even HIV. It does this by inhibiting cells from behaving abnormally (as shown on the embedded video).

JQ1 attacks by targeting the BRD4 cancer-causing gene. Studies show that for specific blood and lung cancers like myeloma and leukemia, JQ1 mitigates the early growth of the cancerous cells.

The same researchers have also recently discovered that JQ1 also inhibits the growth of bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins. BET proteins are responsible in activating genes that contribute to heart failure.

Protein GDF-11 Reverse Aging of the Heart

Richard T. Lee, M.D., and Amy Wagers, PhD, Harvard Stem Cell Institute Principal Faculty members, have identified a protein that can restore the enlarged, weakened hearts of aging mice to the size and functional status of the hearts of healthy young mice.
Credit: B. D. Colen/Harvard University

Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have discovered that the protein GDF-11 have a restoring effect on the aging process of the heart. The GDF-11 protein can restore enlarged, weakened hearts back to its young and healthy status as evidenced in their experiments with hearts of young mice.

Age related disease are harder to treat since there is little or no treatment available aside from constant monitoring and regulating the targeted function. One such disease that is age related is diastolic heart failure.

Diastolic heart failure is the decline of performance of one or both ventricles of the heart during its relaxed phase (diastole). During diastole, the heart is filled with incoming blood that is being returned from the body through the inferior vena cava (IVC) and superior vena cava (SVC) to the right atrium and from lungs through pulmonary veins to the left atrium.

In Diastolic heart failure, the ventricle does not fill properly with blood because of thick and rigid walls or that the ventricle cannot relax. Age is one of the common risk factors for the disease and there is no treatment for this except for therapy targeting the affected ventricle.

With the discovery of the effect of GDF-11 to the heart, age-related heart disease such as diastolic heart failure may one day be treated.

Diabetes Patients Taking GLP-1 Based Medication Has Reduced Risk of Heart Failure

GLP-1 and Diabetes
Credit:Wikipedia

A study shows that diabetes patients taking a class of medication targeting the GLP-1 hormone has a reduced risk of heart disease.

Diabetes is one of the most serious health problems around. In the next 20 years, diabetes is expected to affect nearly 552 million people globally.

There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is a commonly hereditary condition where the immune system starts to attack insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin is needed by the body to regulate the blood sugar levels in the bloodstream.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common of the two types. It accounts for 95% of cases of diabetes. In Type 2 diabetes, there is not enough insulin produced by the body or that the insulin produced is being rejected by the cells.

The growth of cases of Type 2 diabetes is generally associated with the rise of obesity. Every 10 seconds, 3 people will be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Every 10 seconds, 1 person will die from it due to complications arising from it.

Heart disease, kidney failure, and stroke are the top diabetes related complications. There is no cure for diabetes. The disease can only be managed through glucose monitoring, insulin injections and other medications that help regulate blood sugar levels.

One medication used by diabetes patients to manage diabetes are DPP-4 inhibitors. DPP-4 inhibitors prevent DPP-4 (Dipeptidyl peptidase-4) from breaking down a hormone called GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1).

GLP-1 is a hormone released from the gut that travels to the pancreas and allows the increased production of insulin when glucose levels starts rising.

GLP-1 also holds back the production of a hormone called Glucagon. Glucagon encourages the liver to convert glucose reserves into active glucose. By holding back the production of glucagon, the levels of glucose in the bloodstream are minimized.

GLP-1 does not live long as DPP-4 breaks down the hormone. By inhibiting DPP-4, GLP-1 hormones lasts longer and insulin production and glucagon reduction continues.

AHA News: Women's Awareness of Heart Disease On The Rise But Still Needs Improvement

According to a study by the American Heart Association, women's awareness of the risks of heart disease has doubled in the last fifteen years. But for minorities and younger women, that does not seem to be the case.

Heart disease is a growing concern among adults. In the United States, 18% of the adult population consider heart disease a major health problem. According to the American Heart Association, each year, around 785,000 in the US suffer their first heart attack.

The AHA's Go Red For Women campaign (now on its 10th year), encourages women to be aware of the risk for heart disease and provides tools to lead a heart healthy life. Go Red For Women has lots of ways to participate in helping all women make healthy choices.

AHA Infographic: Stroke By The Numbers

The American Heart Association released Heart and Stroke Infographics to help spread the word about heart disease and stroke. These infographics visually represent information that can help educate the public on the prevention and treatment of heart related conditions.

The Stroke By The Numbers Infographic focuses on the stroke statistics in the United States as well as the reaction statistics of people at risk or experiencing a stroke attack. Stroke by the Numbers emphasizes the importance of being aware of the disease as well as identifying risk factors involved with it.

Stroke is Preventable, Treatable, and Beatable: A Stroke Infographic By The AHA and ASA

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), stroke is the leading cause of long term disability among adults in the U.S. Every 40 seconds, someone suffers a stroke. In the U.S alone, 795,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death with someone dying of a stroke every four minutes. It kills about 128,000 people annually.

But stroke can be prevented. Statistics from the AHA and ASA show that 80% of strokes can be prevented. By simply lowering blood pressure by an average of 10 mmHg on both systolic and diastolic, the risk of a stroke and ischemic heart disease goes down by about 50%.

Also monitoring daily sodium intake and limiting it to just around 1500 mg of sodium per day can also help.

This infographic from the AHA and the ASA summarizes all this info in a visual way.

AHA Study Shows Eating Flavonoid Rich Berries Reduce Heart Attack Risk in Women by 30%

A study released by the American Heart Association shows that women who ate at least three servings of blueberries and strawberries per week reduce their risk of a heart attack by 30%.

Flavonoids are organic chemicals that are found in plants. These nutrients have beneficial effects on the human body. Chemicals that are found naturally in plants are called phytochemicals.

Berries, tea, apples, soy food, and red wine are some of the food that are rich in flavonoids.

The Zutphen Elderly Study, the Seven Countries Study and a cohort study in Finland show that consuming flavonoid has an inverse effect with coronary disease. Results of the study show that people who consumed about five to six cups of flavonoid-rich tea per day had a lower death rate from heart disease than people with a low intake of flavonoids.

The link between flavonoids and coronary heart disease like atherosclerosis (the accumulation of fat deposits in the arteries), may be due to the antioxidant properties of flavonoids. Flavonoids also have been shown to inhibit the aggregation and adhesion of platelets in blood, which may be another way they lower the risk of heart disease. Soy foods which contains isoflavones (a major flavonoid category) have been reported to lower plasma cholesterol and also to have effects similar to estrogen.

American Heart Association Infographics on Heart Disease

The American Heart Association released a series of infographics to disseminate information about stroke and heart disease. The series focused on risks and statistics about the disease.

The two infographics posted are about the facts and risks of heart disease as illustrated by numbers and statistics. There is also has a PSA video on heart attack featuring Elizabeth Banks.

The mission of the American Heart Association is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The infographics are part of AHA's drive to educate and raise awareness on the dangers of heart disease and the steps to lead a healthy life.

The release of these AHA infographics are designed towards a fast and easy to understand means of spreading information without overcomplicating it.

Infographics are becoming a popular way to spread and explain information, data, or facts about a particular topic. They are graphic visual representations of these. The process of creating infographics can be referred to as data visualization, information design, or information architecture.

Virulent Form of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) Bacteria May Protect Against Stroke and Cancer

Researchers suggest that an especially virulent strain of the gut bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)may protect stroke and some types of cancer.

A stroke is a disease where blockages (called clots) in the artery obstruct the flow of blood to the brain. Without the blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to it, brain cells start to die and may cause permanent damage.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The most popular type of stroke are Ischemic strokes. 87% of all strokes are of this type.

The American Heart Association defines it as an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. This is due to the development of fatty deposits lining the vessel walls. This condition is called atherosclerosis.

Depending on what part of the brain is affected, cognitive and physical activities deteriorate. If the stroke affects the right side of the brain the following may occur:

• Paralysis on the left side of the body
• Vision problems
• Quick, inquisitive behavioral style
• Memory loss

If the left brain is affected, the person may experience the following:

• Paralysis on the right side of the body
• Speech/language problems
• Slow, cautious behavioral style
• Memory loss

There are some cases where the stroke targets the brain stem. This would result in having both sides of the brain are affected. Patients who experience this would experience total paralysis from the neck down and would be unable to speak.

Treatment for stroke victims should be immediate. The patient must be in the hospital where anti-clot medication is administered within 3 hours of experiencing symptoms.

Long term treatment requires physical, cognitive, and psychological therapy as well as medication to avoid future strokes.

Being Aware and Preventing Heart Disease: An Infographic From The American Heart Association

The American Heart Association's mission is to build healthier lives free of heart disease.

As the saying goes, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With medical advancements on cardiovascular care, nothing beats taking good care of the heart. Knowing the risk factors, the steps to preventing heart disease, as well as making an effort to follow these steps can greatly improve one's well-being and lead a healthy life.

This is the first of a series of infographics released by the American Heart Association to promote heart care awareness: What Are My Chances Of Getting Heart Disease - 3 Questions.

American Heart Association Names Top 10 Advances in Heart Disease and Stroke Research for 2012

Since 1996, the American Heart Association has been compiling a list of the years top 10 major advances in heart disease and stroke research. They recently released the top 10 advances in heart disease and stroke research for 2012.

The American Heart Association advocates healthy living to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. They publish a standard for providing basic and advanced life support, including standards for proper performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Technological especially medical advances in heart disease and research has grown leaps and bounds. With this, progress in the care, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease has also improved.

From 1999 to 2009, the death rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD) went down by 33%. But despite the decline, CVD still takes the lives of more than 2,150 Americans each day, an average of 1 death every 40 seconds.

In the same period, the death rate caused by stroke went down 37% and the actual number of stroke deaths declined by 23%. Stroke is still the 4th leading cause of death in the United States and the 1st leading cause of disability.

The AHA recently released the top 10 advances in heart disease and stroke research for 2012. These are:

1. Extended CPR saves lives
2. Converting “non beating” heart cells into “beating” heart cells
3. Biopsied heart cells improved heart function and reduced scars
4. “Disconnecting” the kidneys might be the key to treating high blood pressure
5. Progress for children in transplant bridging and Kawasaki Disease
6. Why children and adolescents should “just say no” to sugary drinks
7. Global impact: ECHO screening for rheumatic heart disease
8. Devices for stroke
9. Ideal cardiovascular health practices lead to longer life, lower risk
10. Bypass surgery vs. drug-coated stents for diabetes patients

A more detailed overview of the topics are covered below.