Beetroot for treating heart failure

Beetroot juice supplements may enhance exercise capacity in patients with heart failure, according to a new proof-of-concept study. The study examined the impact of dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice supplements on the exercise capacity of eight heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, a condition in which the heart muscle doesn't contract effectively and can't get enough oxygenated blood to the body.

Researchers found that the beetroot supplement resulted in significant increases in exercise duration, peak power and peak oxygen uptake while exercising. The improvements were not accompanied by any changes in the breathing responses of the patients, and there was no change in their exercise efficiency, a measure of how much external work a person gets for a certain input of energy.

Abnormalities in aerobic exercise responses play a major role in the disability, loss of independence and reduced quality of life that accompany heart failure, elevations in ventilatory demand and decreases in peak oxygen uptake are highly predictive of mortality in patients with heart failure. Dietary supplementation may be a valuable addition to treatment for exercise intolerance among heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction.
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Breast cancer therapies linked to heart failure

According to American Heart Association, women should consider the risks and benefits of any therapies that may hurt hearts during breast cancer treatment, patients should have a conversation with their doctor about the side effects of the treatment. Some treatments for different types of cancer may pose heart risks, but they are growing more common for breast cancer patients.

Side effects can include abnormal rhythms, valve problems or heart failure, where the heart slowly weakens and can't pump effectively. Symptoms may not appear until long after treatment ends.
Herceptin and similar drugs for a specific type of breast cancer can cause heart failure. Sometimes it's temporary and goes away if treatment is stopped, but it can be permanent.

Radiation can affect arteries and spur narrowing or blockages. Other drugs can lead to abnormal heart rhythms or artery spasms, which can cause chest pain and possibly lead to a heart attack. Some research suggests that powerful new drugs that harness the immune system to fight cancer may in rare cases cause heart damage, especially when used together.

Certain chemotherapies such as doxorubicin, sold as Adriamycin and in generic form, might be less risky if given more slowly, rather than all at once. Some research suggests that a drug called dexrazoxane may minimize damage if given to women with advanced breast cancer who are getting high doses of doxorubicin.

Cancer patients should make sure doctors are monitoring their heart before, during and after breast cancer treatment. Common risk factors of breast cancer are: obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and eating of junk food.
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Links between migraine and cardiovascular problems

Migraine is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular problems including heart attacks, stroke, blood clots and an irregular heart rate. Migraine should be considered a potent and persistent risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases in both men and women. Previous studies have suggested a link between migraine and stroke and heart attacks, particularly among women.

Researchers from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark and Stanford University, USA set out to examine the risks of heart conditions including heart attacks; stroke; peripheral artery disease (narrow arteries which reduce blood flow to limbs); blood clots and fast and irregular heart rates in people who experience migraines compared with people who don't. The researchers collected patient data from the Danish National Patient Registry over a 19 year period, from 1995 to 2013.

They compared data from over 51,000 people who had been diagnosed with migraine with over 510,000 people who were migraine free. For each person with migraine, they matched 10 people of the same age and gender who were migraine free. The average age for migraine diagnosis was 35 years, and 71% of participants were women. Over a period of 19 years, the researchers found that migraine was positively associated with heart attack, stroke, blood clots and irregular heart rate.

For example, for every 1,000 patients, 25 patients with migraine had a heart attack compared with 17 migraine free patients and 45 patients with migraine had an ischaemic stroke (blood clot in the brain) compared with 25 migraine free patients. These associations persisted after taking account of body mass index and smoking. No meaningful association was found with peripheral artery disease or heart failure.

The associations, particularly for stroke, were stronger in the first year of diagnosis than the long term, in patients with migraine aura-warning signs before a migraine, such as seeing flashing lights.
People with migraine often use anti-inflammatory drugs, which are associated with increased risks of heart problems, while immobilisation related to migraine attacks may increase the risk of blood clots.

They note that current guidelines do not recommend use of anti-clotting drugs such as aspirin to treat migraine, but call on clinicians to consider whether patients at particularly high risk of heart disease would benefit from anticoagulant treatment. Migraine should be considered a potent and persistent risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases.
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Ogivri for cancer treatment

Food and Drug Administration approved Ogivri (trastuzumab-dkst) as a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab) for the treatment of patients with breast or metastatic stomach cancer (gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma) whose tumors overexpress the HER2 gene (HER2+).
Ogivri is the first biosimilar approved for the treatment of breast cancer or stomach cancer and the second biosimilar approved treatment of cancer.

Common expected side effects of Ogivri for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer include headache, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, infection, congestive heart failure, difficulty sleeping (insomnia), cough and rash. Common expected side effects of Ogivri for the treatment of HER2+ metastatic stomach cancer include low levels of certain white blood cells (neutropenia), diarrhea, fatigue, low levels of red blood cells (anemia), inflammation of the mouth (stomatitis), weight loss, upper respiratory tract infections, fever, low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), swelling of the mucous membranes (mucosal inflammation), common cold (nasopharyngitis) and unusual taste sensation (dysgeusia).

Serious expected side effects of Ogivri include worsening of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Patients should stop taking Ogivri if cardiomyopathy, life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), swelling below the skin (angioedema), inflammation of the lungs (interstitial pneumonitis) or fluid in the lungs (acute respiratory distress syndrome) occur. Patients should be advised of the potential risk to a developing fetus and to use effective contraception.
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Links between protein and heart failure

Study on two specially bred strains of mice showed how abnormal addition of the phosphate to a specific heart muscle protein may sabotage the way the protein behaves in a cell, and may damage the way the heart pumps blood around the body. Different people may have more or less altered phosphorylation that might help patients who may benefit from targeted therapies.

A form of heart disease known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction-the amount of blood squeezed out when the heart contracts impairs the heart's ability to quickly and efficiently relax between the heart beats and overworking the organ. Common symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, but those with the form in which the ejection fraction is preserved at baseline have particular difficulty when they try to increase their activity or exercise.

Heart failure with preserved
ejection fraction does not respond well to common heart failure medications. The condition is common in adults, though some children with genetic disorders of heart muscle proteins share features of this condition. Heart failure was associated with changes in heart muscle cells through altered phosphorylation in the heart muscle protein cardiac troponin I cTnI, which regulates heart contraction.

Researchers examined the function of the mouse hearts through echocardiography as well as measurements with tiny catheters placed in the heart compared to mice without this altered phosphorylation. At baseline the mice with hyperphosphorylation on this specific site experienced a longer time to heart relaxation and lower left ventricular peak filling rate (depressed diastolic function), but the amount of blood ejected during contraction was normal.

The researchers then stimulated both strains of mouse hearts with adrenaline to assess the impact of increased demand on the hearts. The mice with hyperphosphorylation had very limited ability to increase the ejection of blood from the heart compared to the controls in response to adrenaline. However, the mice with hyperphosphorylation did show some improvement in relaxation, though relaxation remained slower than controls at peak drug effect.

Researchers then subject both sets of mice to brief periods of reduced oxygen flow to the heart and then restored the flow of oxygen, they discovered that the hearts of mice with hyperphosphorylation were protected from this form of stress.
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Blood cancer gene could prevents heart failure

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death across the globe. Most of these deaths are caused by a heart attack-myocardial infarction where the blood flow to the heart is acutely blocked causing irreversible damage to the heart muscle.

People may survive a heart attack, but the damage that has occurred to the heart muscle can develop to heart failure – a debilitating condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body.

The gene Runx1 increases in damaged heart muscle after a heart attack. Mice with a limited capacity to increase Runx1 gene activation were protected against the adverse changes that lead to heart failure.

The Runx1 gene has been extensively studied in the context of its role in leukaemia and normal blood cell development, however until now its role in the heart was unknown.
Now researchers believe that the increased expression of the Runx1 gene, which happens after a heart attack, contributes to adverse changes in the shape and pumping action of the heart.
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High BMI and blood pressure cause heavy heart

Being overweight or obese creates damaging changes to the structure of the heart, the direct damage that carrying extra weight has on the heart's weight and size, and implicates a range of other modifiable risk factors including high blood pressure.

Researchers measured the effects of a range of lifestyle risk factors, including blood pressure, smoking status, body mass index BMI, exercise, cholesterol, alcohol intake and diabetes, on the four chambers of the heart. They discovered that risk factors could all have varying effects on the heart, but an overall increased heart weight was linked to overweight and obesity.

There is a link between high BMI and heart disease, this increases blood pressure, cholesterol and the risk of developing diabetes, which are all independent risk factors for heart disease. BMI and blood pressure led to heavier and bigger hearts, which increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks.

Being overweight, sedentary lifestyle, eating junk foods and having high blood pressure on the structure and function of the heart for a long period of time may lead to heart disease and heart failure which may leads to irreversible heart damage.
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Cold weather increases heart failure

Hospitalization and death in elderly patients with heart failure could be associated with changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. Elderly with heart failure should avoid fog and low cloud in the winter to prevent heart failure. Weather changes can affect the health of vulnerable people; heat waves and cold spells have been shown to increase disease and even lead to death in some people.

Researchers assessed some people aged 65 years and older that had been diagnosed with heart failure. The participants were followed for two years. During this time, the researchers measured the mean temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and air pollutants in the surrounding environment and studied the data to see if there was an association.

The results showed a higher risk of hospitalization or death in the winter period of the year compared to the summer period, they also found that the risk of heart failure incident increased with increase in atmospheric pressure.
A drop of 10°C in the average temperature over seven days, which is common in several countries because of seasonal variations, is associated with an increased risk in being hospitalized or dying of heart failure of about 7 percent in people aged over 65 diagnosed with the disease.

 The study suggests that exposure to cold or high-pressure weather could trigger events leading to hospitalization or death in heart failure patients. This means that they should avoid exposure to fog and low cloud weather in winter as they often accompany high pressure.
The study reveals the impact of changes in temperature and air pressure on heart failure patients. Exposure to cold or high-pressure weather could trigger events leading to hospitalization or death in heart failure patients.
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Working for long hours causes irregular heartbeat

According to the latest research, working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of developing serious heart problems.

Long hours of work increases the risk of irregular heartbeat by 40 per cent than those that work for normal hours or less while long shifts increase the risk of stroke.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm problem, it is affecting many people and can lead to stroke, heart failure and dementia. Researchers discovered that long working hours are associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

Common cause of cardiovascular disease are older age, male sex, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight, smoking and sedentary lifestyle.
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Asthmatic children may develop heart failure

Asthma makes the left ventricle of the heart to become thick which can cause the heart muscle to lose elasticity and fail to pump blood.

Researchers examined patients with heart disease and analyzed their asthma history. After a 10 year follow-up, those with asthma had a higher left ventricular mass compared to those without asthma.

Researchers discovered that the risk of heart failure was stronger in patients with high and raised blood pressure.
Because the left side of the heart has to work harder to pump blood round the body.

The left side of the heart becomes enlarged when blood pressure is too high or when you have a health condition that causes the heart to work harder.

 High blood pressure and an enlarged left side of the heart increase the risk of a heart attack than normal-sized heart.
Change of lifestyle and medical treatment can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in asthmatic patients.

Asthmatic children may have heart problems later in life. Thickening of the
heart's left ventricles can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, and may lead to heart failure.

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Belle fat and your health

The size of your belly fat could be used to measure your chances of having heart failure and type 2 diabetes.
Thickness of the fat around the abdomen could be used to detect the likelihood of suffering from obesity.

Abdominal obesity is linked to heart failure and metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers said Electrical Impedance Tomography EIT imaging could be used to get more accurate measurements of the thickness of the fat around the abdomen.

Result of the measurement could allow doctors to make more accurate evaluations about the potential risk of conditions linked to abdominal obesity.

High deposition of fat tissue in the abdominal area has been associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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Diesel pollution can damage your heart

Diesel fumes alter the structure of the heart and increases risk of cardiovascular diseases.

They found those who lived in areas of high diesel air pollution were more likely to have an enlarged chamber on the left side of their heart.

If this left ventricle becomes too big the heart loses pressure and power.
This means it cannot pump as much blood, raising the risk of heart attack, heart failure and death.

Experts are aware of the impact of diesel fumes on human health, including the risk of asthma, dementia and cancer.

Exercise aids healing process

Exercise has a positive effect on more than 85 per cent of physical and functional capacity indicators in patients suffering from more than 20 diseases.

It boosts patients' strength, balance, and ability to walk and complete everyday tasks. Being active prevents many diseases and aids healing process.

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, conducted a review of the effects of exercise therapy on 22 of the most common chronic diseases, including arthritis, heart failure, Alzheimer's disease and certain cancers.

This was then compared against patients doing no exercise or receiving standard care. Exercise has a positive effect on 86 per cent of physical performance and functional capacity indicators.

Exercise is a safe way to improve functional capacity and reduce disability in patients with chronic diseases.

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Heart failure linked to early menopause

Early menopause occurs when a woman reaches the end of her reproductive age early.

More than a decade after 28,519 women had experienced the menopause, an analysis revealed 5.2 per cent of them had been admitted to hospital with heart failure.

Women who never gave birth were also found to be more at risk of diastolic heart failure, a problem affecting the left side of the heart.

Shorter reproductive duration is associated with increased risk of heart failure might be due to the increased coronary heart disease associated with early menopause.





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Aspiring not effective for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients

Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is a condition of irregular heartbeat, it can leads to cardiovascular events like: stroke, blood clots and heart failure.

The most common treatment for A-fib patients is prescribing anticoagulants, or blood thinners. Some people with A-fib may also have a catheter ablation - a medical procedure that uses energy to damage a small part of heart tissue, thus stopping abnormal electrical signals from traveling through the heart.

Some of the risks associated with cardiac catheter ablation include bleeding or blood vessel damage.

However, as Dr. Jared Bunch - the lead author of the new research - explains, when patients with A-fib have had an ablation and also have a low risk of stroke, physicians prefer to treat them with aspirin instead of blood thinners in order to further reduce the risk of stroke.

In the new study, Dr. Bunch and his colleagues examined the effect of long-term aspirin use on patients with A-fib who underwent an ablation.

Putting their new research into perspective, Dr. Bunch explains, "What was unknown was if aspirin was a safe and effective stroke prevention treatment after an ablation in lower-risk AF [atrial fibrillation] patients.

Aspirin has no benefit for stroke prevention in patients with A- fib. The study examined 4,124 patients with A-fib over a period of 3 years. The participants had a low risk of stroke, and they had undergone catheter ablation.

Dr Bunch and colleagues discovered that patients that used aspiring were significantly more likely to have gastrointestinal and genitourinary bleeding than those who took anticoagulants such as warfarin, or compared with those who did not receive any treatment.

New drug for heart attack damage

Heart attack can leads to heart failure. During heart attack, heart suffers enlargement and scarring. Hormone
used by body builders can prevent scarring and enlargement of heart after attack.

Cork University Hospital examined 50 heart attack patients and discovered that the heart of those that used higher dose of IGF1 -( insulin-like growth factor) prevented them from experiencing heart failure.

Different people were selected to use two different low doses of IGF1, after using the drug, their scans results shows that 16 people that used the drug did not have enlargement of heart muscle and scarring after two months.

Repairing the heart after attack can prevent heart failure, and this will prevent sudden death of affected people, the research has been recognized and peer reviewed by the European Society of Cardiology.