Sudden Cardiac Death | SilverScorpio.Com

As pot belly expands, sudden cardiac death risk shrinks

March 17, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 17 (ANI): Being skinny confers no advantage when it comes to the risk of dying suddenly from cardiac causes, say researchers.

In fact, boffins at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that non-obese heart failure patients – including overweight, normal and underweight patients – had a 76 percent increase in risk of sudden cardiac death compared to obese heart failure patients. Normal and underweight patients showed a startling 99 percent increase in risk for sudden cardiac death compared to obese patients.

The results have been presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta.

The study, by researchers from one of the world’s leading groups on sudden cardiac death, is the first to assess the relation between BMI and the risk of sudden cardiac death.

“This study is important because it not only answers questions regarding the risk of sudden cardiac death in different types of heart failure patients, but poses several new questions that need to be explored,” said corresponding study author Ilan Goldenberg, M.D., research associate professor of Medicine in the Cardiology Division. “Why do obese heart failure patients see a risk advantage? Why do normal weight patients have a significantly different risk profile than those who are slightly overweight? These are important questions that may have treatment implications in the future.”

To reach the conclusion, researchers at the University’s Heart Research Follow-Up Program examined the risk of sudden cardiac death in 1,231 patients who had suffered at least one prior heart attack and had been diagnosed with a low ejection fraction, a measurement of how much blood is pumped from the heart with each beat. Their analysis found that decreased BMI or body mass index was associated with a large increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death. These findings highlight the “obesity paradox,” a phenomenon long recognized by cardiologists that, once afflicted, obese heart failure patients fare better than their slimmer counterparts.

“When we started this study we were hoping the data would disprove the obesity paradox,” said Bonnie Choy, co-lead author and a second year medical student at the University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry. “Our study is the first to create and analyze subcategories within non-obese patients, looking at overweight, normal and underweight patients, but even with this advanced analysis we still the saw an inverse relationship between BMI and sudden cardiac death.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Answers Questions, body mass index, boffins, Cardiac Causes, Cardiology Division, death risk, Goldenberg, heart failure, heart failure patients, heart research, Low Ejection Fraction, Pot Belly, research associate professor, risk profile, rochester medical center, study author, sudden cardiac death, treatment implications, University of Rochester, university of rochester medical center

Olympians should face tests for hidden heart problems

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 14 (ANI): Athletes who participate in worldwide sports events like the Olympics should be screened for hidden heart problems – and potential disqualification if any are detected, claims a collection of studies, one of which was conducted by an Indian origin researcher.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ordered to conduct the studies into the practicality and effectiveness of such tests.

There have been a number of seemingly healthy athletes, who have dropped dead from “sudden cardiac death”, including the Spanish footballer Antonio Puerta two years ago and British rower Scott Rennie in March this year.

Many of the heart problems that trigger such deaths can be detected through physical examination, electrocardiograms and by taking a medical history, as laid out in the “Lausanne recommendations” created under the auspices of the European Society of Cardiology.

The new studies have indicated that implementing these recommendations can help save lives.

In one such study, researchers applied the protocol to 371 Dutch athletes aged 12 to 35 over two years.

Of the 55 who were referred for additional testing, 10 had an underlying cardiovascular problem, and three were restricted from further participation in sport

“Everybody who plays sports needs to be aware that there are certain conditions that may be silent, that could result in a fatality,” New Scientist quoted Sanjay Sharma, a cardiologist at King’s College Hospital in London, who led one of the studies, as saying.

The study has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. (ANI)

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New therapy prevents heart failure

June 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 24 (ANI): Scientists have suggested a new therapy that will help in preventing heart failure or deaths in patients with heart disease.

The study showed a 29pct reduction in heart failure and mortality risk in patients who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) compared to patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).

The new generation of cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) was designed to stop dangerous, life-threatening heart rhythms and improve the heart’s contraction, thereby enabling the device to improve survival and prevent heart failure.

The MADIT-CRT (Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy) involving more than 1,800 patients showed that defibrillator along with cardiac resynchronization device reduced deaths by nearly one-third in patients with mild heart failure.

“Now we can prevent sudden cardiac death and inhibit the development of heart failure, thus improving survival and outcome in patients with heart disease,” Dr Arthur Moss, professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who led the MADIT-CRT trial.

“There is a very large population of patients with heart disease who will benefit from this combined therapy,” he added.

The results of the trial were released by the University of Rochester Medical Center and Boston Scientific, the study’s sponsor. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: boston scientific, cardiac resynchronization therapy, contraction, crt, dangerous life, deaths, Defibrillator, heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythms, implantation, June 24, madit, mortality risk, moss, new generation, rochester medical center, sudden cardiac death, University of Rochester, university of rochester medical center

Why certain arterial plaques result in deadly heart attack, stroke

May 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 6 (ANI): Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center say that they have gained significant insights into why certain arterial plaques in any given individual eventually lead to an acute blood clot, a heart attack, a stroke, or even sudden death.

The researchers also claim to have identified a key protein that may promote the conversion from benign to dangerous plaques.

While a vast majority of atherosclerotic lesions are relatively harmless, some two percent of all plaques turn out to be problematic.

What separates the average blood vessel plaque from those that are at high risk for triggering the development of dangerous – even fatal – blood clots, is the “billion dollar question,” says lead researcher Dr. Ira Tabas.

Dr. Tabas believes that the real danger from the fatty deposits lies not with their size, but with what lies underneath the surface of the deposit. The researcher says that rumblings in the core of a deposit, which contains dead cells, can break open the plaques.

Once the plaque ruptures, a blood clot in the lumen of the artery can form.

“It is this sudden clotting that restricts blood flow and can cause a heart attack, stroke, or sudden cardiac death,” Dr. Tabas says.

“Just about everybody in our society has atherosclerosis by the time we reach 20. So the wave of the future in treating atherosclerosis will be in preventing harmless lesions in young people from becoming dangerous ones, or soothing dangerous plaques so they don’t rupture as we age,” Dr. Tabas adds.

During the study, the research team found that when a specific gene was deleted in two separate strains of atherosclerosis-prone mice, the dangerous plaques were much smaller.

Dr. Tabas has revealed that the gene encodes a protein that is part of a cell stress reaction that can lead to cell death.

The researcher says that the findings of this study raise the possibility that drugs designed to quiet this form of cellular stress might be useful in treating heart disease.

Dr. Tabas, however, concedes that it may take years before such a therapy is available.

The study has been published in the journal Cell Metabolism. (ANI)

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10 genes linked with sudden cardiac death identified

March 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 23 (ANI): Scientists, co-led by an Indian-origin researcher, have identified 10 genes associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD), which is usually caused by irregular heart rhythms.

Goncalo Abecasis, associate professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says that scientists are now closer to understanding what causes SCD and who may be its victim.

Abecasis co-led the study with Aravinda Chakravarti of Johns Hopkins to identify genetic defects associated with sudden cardiac death.

The researchers identified 10 genes associated with changes in the so-called QT interval duration, which measures the length of time the heart takes to contract.

A QT interval that’s too long or too short can cause serious problems, including arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

The QT interval can be seen on an electrocardiogram monitor- it’s a certain portion of the line that waves or spikes up and down when the heart contracts.

Abecasis said that the genes were interesting for several other reasons.

He said that changes in the QT interval were one of the common side effects that made pharmaceutical companies to cancel new drugs that are under development.

The discovery could help identify individuals at risk of complication, and can eventually help the industry develop drugs that avoid that complication altogether.

Abecasis said that the genes also confirmed existing medical theory.

A number of the 10 genes help regulate human potassium channels in the heart muscle, which confirms that idea that the balance of sodium and potassium moving in and out of the heart muscle is important.

Abecasis said: “There’s a couple where we don’t really now what they do, so we’re hoping maybe they will give us an interesting lead into other things.”

The researcher added: “Each gene we identified can produce a small alteration in the QT interval. Individuals with too many genes predisposing to a long or short QT interval are likely to be most at risk of sudden cardiac death.” (ANI)

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Being depressed could break your heart, literally

March 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 10 (ANI): Relatively healthy women with severe depression are at increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death (SCD) and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD), says a new study.

In the study, boffins found that much of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cardiac events was mediated by cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking.

“It’s important for women with depression to be aware of the possible association between depression and heart disease, and work with their health care providers to manage their risk for coronary heart disease,” says William Whang, M.D., M.S., Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Medical Center, and lead investigator of the study.

“A significant part of the heightened risk for cardiac events seems to be explained by the fact that coronary heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, and smoking were more common among women with more severe depressive symptoms,” the expert added.

To reach eth conclusion, Dr. Whang and his colleagues prospectively studied 63,469 women from the Nurses Health Study who had no evidence of prior heart disease or stroke during follow-up between 1992 and 2004.

Self-reported symptoms of depression and use of antidepressant medication were used as measures of depression. To best identify those with clinical depression, researchers specifically examined women with the most severe symptoms defined by a validated 5-point mental health index score of less than 53 or regular antidepressant use.

The study found that women with more severe depressive symptoms or those who reported taking antidepressants were at higher risk for SCD and fatal CHD. In particular, women with clinical depression were more than twice as likely to experience sudden cardiac death.

Surprisingly, this risk was associated more strongly with antidepressant use than with depressive symptoms.

“These data indicate the link between depression and serious heart rhythm problems may be more complex than previously thought,” says Sanjiv M. Narayan, M.D., F.A.C.C., University of California, San Diego, who co-authored the accompanying editorial with colleague, Murray Stein, M.D. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: cardiac events, cardiovascular disease risk, cardiovascular disease risk factors, clinical depression, columbia university medical, coronary heart disease, coronary heart disease risk, coronary heart disease risk factors, Disease Chd, disease risk factors, health care providers, heart disease risk, heart disease risk factors, index score, mental health index, nurses health, severe depression, sudden cardiac death, symptoms of depression, university medical center