RespiteMatch.com Health Blog

By Shanida Smith, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The most recent statistics from the American Heart Association reveals coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of death in the United States. There were more than half a million deaths in 2000 and there are more than one million new and recurrent cases of coronary attack each year. However, an elevated risk of two common CHD conditions does not mean you will definitely get them, but it does mean you can help prevent them.\\

A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself is severely reduced or stopped. The reduction or stoppage happens when one or more of the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle is blocked. This is usually caused by the buildup of plaque, a process called atherosclerosis. The plaque can eventually burst, tear or rupture, which creates a “snag” where a blood clot forms and blocks the artery. This leads to a heart attack.

The loss or alteration of bodily function that results from an insufficient supply of blood to part of the brain is called a stroke. For the human brain to function at peak levels, blood must flow through its many vessels. If blood flow is obstructed to any part, the brain loses its energy supply and becomes injured. If blood is obstructed for more than several minutes, the brain cells’ injury becomes permanent and tissue dies in the affected region.

People at high risk of heart attack and stroke have one or more factors: high blood pressure, smoking, abnormal cholesterol, family history and age (men 45 and older and women 55 and older). The latest research in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke focuses on vascular disease factors. Researchers are studying Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which lowers blood pressure; blood thinners, such as warfarin; anti-platelets, such as aspirin; beta blockers and; statins which lower lipids and elevate high-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as good cholesterol. New research also points to antibiotics and moderate alcohol consumption to reduce risk.

Roger Blumenthal, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at Johns Hopkins University, says large-scale studies of vitamins C, E, and other supplements have not reduced the risk. He says, “The non-traditional ways of lowering risks have been largely disappointing. People need to concentrate on reducing the basics.” Sidney Smith, M.D., chief of cardiology at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, adds, “Therapies have been pretty consistent over the last three to five years.”

Those therapies include controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. Diet and exercise can help control these levels and maintain an ideal weight. An exercise stress test, which can assess exercise tolerance and look for the presence of decreased blood flow to the heart in the absence or presence of chest pain, or an electron beam CT scan of the heart, which can assess the amount of advanced plaque in the heart arteries may help in your management.

Researchers are also studying new ways to identify people at high risk. One new way is to use magnetic resonance imaging. Barney Stern, M.D., a neurologist from Emory University, says sleep apnea was recently recognized as a risk factor for stroke. “During those phases, blood oxygen decreases while carbon dioxide increases,” he says, “The exchange can predispose a person to hypertension and cardiac rhythm disturbances.”

Dr. Smith says inflammation of coronary arteries may help doctors get a better idea of who is at risk by a blood test. Led by Paul Ridker, M.D., at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a multicenter trial involving 15,000 patients is about to begin. Participants in the study have C-reactive protein levels that otherwise would not qualify them for treatment to reduce heart attack and stroke risk. Results, if positive, may lead to a combination between CRP identification and the standard Framingham study, and may predict first heart attacks and strokes. When President Bush had his physical exam at the White House, his CRP level was checked along with his cholesterol.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information on reducing heart attack and stroke risk, please contact:

American Heart Association
(800) 242-8721
http://www.americanheart.org

American Stroke Association
(888) 478-7653
http://www.strokeassociation.org

National Stroke Association
(888) 787-6537
http://www.stroke.org

Sources:

Sidney Smith, M.D.
Chief of Cardiology
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Barney Stern, M.D.
Neurologist
Emory University

Roger Blumenthal, M.D.
Director of Preventive Cardiology
Johns Hopkins University

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov