   
Exercise Essential To Stop 2nd Heart
Attack
It is commonly accepted that exercise is good for your
health, especially in terms of your heart. Many people
understand that exercising is a good way to prevent heart
attacks, but a new study indicates that exercising is also
vitally important in preventing a second heart attack from occurring
in people who have already had one heart attack.
The study was conducted by the University of Texas School of
Public Health and is published in the journal Circulation. Over
400 people who had had heart attacks participated in the study
by completing health surveys once per year for five years. Of
these, 150 had second heart attacks. However, those who adopted
an exercise program had a 60% lower risk for a second heart
attack than those who did not exercise. People who increased
their exercise programs after having a heart attack had a 78%
lower risk for a second heart attack.
Vitamin E Is Good For The Heart
There have been many studies in recent months that have shown
the benefits of taking vitamin E. One of these indicates that
vitamin E is especially helpful in lowering the risks of heart
problems for people with Type 1 diabetes.
In a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition (volume 72, pages 1142-1149, November 2000),
researchers from the University of Antwerp in Belgium write
about the benefits of vitamin E. Participants in their study
were divided into two groups: 22 participants were given 168 mg
of vitamin E three times a day for one year, and 22 other
participants were given a placebo for six months and then 168 mg
of vitamin E for six months.
Researchers found that after three months, blood samples from
the people who were taking vitamin E contained LDL
("bad") cholesterol that was less likely to oxidize
than the LDL in the people who were not taking the vitamin. When
LDL becomes oxidized, it becomes much more likely to build up in arteries, which
increases risks of heart disease. People with Type 1 diabetes have high
blood sugar levels, and are therefore at a greater risk for LDL
oxidation.
Within three months of taking vitamin E, blood levels of the
vitamin rose two to four times. Blood levels of the vitamin
returned to normal three months after the participants stopped
taking it.
Is Pigging Out Hazardous To Your Heart?
The idea that your diet effects your heart is old news.
However, a recent study puts a twist on that by indicating that
the size of your meal is just as important.
At the meeting in New Orleans of the American Heart
Association on November 14, researchers from Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston presented information that is especially
timely in light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The study
involved 1,986 men and women who had had heart attacks.
Responses to a health survey indicated that 158 of these had
eaten a large meal within the 26 hours prior to their heart
attack. In addition, 25 of the participants had eaten a lot just
two
hours before they had a heart attack.
The researchers found that an unusually large meal increases
the risk for heart attack by ten times in the hour following the
meal. The risk is four times as great after two hours, and is
reduced completely after about three hours. While briefly
increasing the risk for heart attack might not really matter
when a person does not have other health problems, it may be
significant for people already at risk because they have high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes.
Kids With Obesity At Risk For Type 2
Although Type 2 diabetes is sometimes called
"adult-onset" diabetes, there has been an
ever-increasing diagnosis of the disease in American children.
Researchers indicate that the largest predictor of the disease
in kids is obesity.
Doctors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study of 688 rural children between the
ages of 11 and 14. The study, which was presented at the annual
scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in New
Orleans, focused on the three major heart disease risk factors
that can lead to insulin resistance. These factors include high
insulin levels, high blood pressure, and high levels of
triglyceride fats or low levels of HDL ("good")
cholesterol.
Researchers found that the children with only one of these
risk factors were two to six times more likely to be obese than
those without the risk factors. Those with two of the risk
factors were eight to fourteen times as likely to be obese.
Researchers also found that the children who were obese were 53
times more likely to have insulin resistance (meaning that they
had all three risk factors) than those who were not obese.
It is fairly typical for people to have insulin resistance
for up to ten years before they are diagnosed with Type 2
diabetes. Researchers hope that the study will increase
awareness of the dangers of obesity and the need for regular
exercise, particularly in children.
Drinking Wine Under Doctors'
Orders?
The idea that wine may be beneficial to your health is a
long-held belief, popular in many countries around the world. A
recent study lends credence to the idea by indicating that
mortality rates can be effected by the type and quantity of
alcohol consumed.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Copenhagen
Center for Prospective Population Studies in Denmark, and is
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 133, pages
411-419, September 19, 2000). Over 13,000 men and 11,400 women
participated in the study, all between the ages of 20 and 98.
During the course of the study, 4,833 participants died.
Researchers found that light drinkers who did not drink wine had
a risk for death from all causes of .90, or 10% lower, as compared with
nondrinkers. However, those who did drink wine had a relative risk of
death of .66, or 34% lower. Also, heavy drinkers who did not drink wine had a
higher risk for death from all causes than heavy drinkers who
did drink wine. Wine drinkers had a much lower risks
for death from both coronary heart disease and cancer than those who
did not drink wine at all.
The researchers believe that the study indicates that
drinking wine appears to decrease the risk of dying, with
reductions in both coronary heart disease and
cancer.
Dialysis Dilemma For
Elderly
One of the problems faced by elderly people involves being
able to access the healthcare coverage that they need without
discrimination. Because many medical treatments are so costly,
healthcare providers sometimes give younger people priority over
older people. However, a recent study indicates that denying
dialysis to older people is not justified in terms of
cost-effectiveness or quality of life.
Doctors at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
recently published the results of their study in The Lancet
(volume 356, pages 1543-1550, November 4, 2000). The study
lasted for one year, and involved 221 people over the age of 70
who were on dialysis due to advanced kidney failure.
The researchers found that the survival rate of the elderly
study participants was similar to that of younger people. The
participants had a 71% survival rate when they started dialysis,
and an 81% survival rate once they'd been in the study for three
months. This is compared to the survival rates of people in an
earlier study who were an average of 15 years younger, and had
rates of 63% and 85%. The researchers also found that those in
the study had a quality of life that was similar to peers who
were not on dialysis.
Although dialysis is an expensive form of treatment, costing
around $31,200 per year, it is no more expensive than the
treatments used to treat advanced kidney disease. The cost of
dialysis was slightly higher for the elderly study participants
than for younger people, but the elderly participants also had lower
rates of using other medical treatments and being
hospitalized.
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