Tag Archives: Cardiovascular disease

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Tagged as aging, caffeine, Cardiovascular disease, coffee, longevity

August 29, 2022 · 11:14 pm

What to know about cardiovascular disease symptoms – AHA

Symptoms of cardiovascular problems run the gamut. Some – like chest pain during a heart attack or a droopy face during a stroke – are sudden and severe, while others last years with varying intensity. Factors such as sex, cognitive function and depression can complicate the recognition or diagnosis of symptoms, according to the American Heart Association.

In a new report, experts detail the latest knowledge on cardiovascular disease symptoms with the goal to improve patient care and identify where more research is needed.

“Symptoms are a big part of how we assess a patient when they come to see us in clinic and how we make decisions about what the best treatment is for an individual,” said Megan Streur, a nurse practitioner at the Heart Institute at UW Medical Center in Seattle. “But at the same time, there’s a lot that we still don’t understand about the variability of symptoms in the same condition across different individuals.”

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Filed under cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular health, cardiovascular risk

Tagged as Cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular health, cardiovascular risk factors, chest pain, Cognitive Function

August 9, 2022 · 11:03 pm

You should take blood pressure in both arms – AHA

Taking blood pressure readings from both arms and using the higher reading would more accurately capture who has high blood pressure – and is at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and death – than relying on readings from a single arm, new research suggests.

Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com

While current recommendations call for using the higher arm reading, there was previously no evidence in the scientific literature to support the practice, which isn’t routinely followed, according to the study. The findings appeared this week in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

“If you are only doing one arm, you can’t know which is the higher-reading arm,” said lead study author Christopher Clark, a clinical senior lecturer in primary care at the University of Exeter Medical School in Devon, England. “And if you don’t catch high blood pressure, you can’t treat it. We can now support the adoption of using the higher reading from both arms.”

Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Blood pressure is considered high if the systolic reading – the top number – is 130 mmHg or more, or the diastolic reading – the bottom number – is 80 mmHg or more. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.

In a 2019 scientific statement detailing proper blood pressure measurement, the AHA recommended taking readings from both arms during an initial patient visit and using the arm with the higher reading for measurements at subsequent visits. The statement also called for making sure to use the proper cuff size based on the patient’s arm circumference, among other guidance.

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Tagged as blood pressure, Cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular health, high blood pressure

February 5, 2019 · 12:03 am

Waist-stature ratio can indicate risk of cardiovascular disease even in healthy individuals – Study

I have just run across another study that backs up the blog mantra of eat less; move more; live longer and its corollary use it or lose it.

Health experts have warned for years that men and women with excess abdominal fat run a greater risk of developing cardiovascular problems. However, individuals with abdominal or central obesity are not the only ones in danger, according to a new study, reported by Elton Alisson | Agência FAPESP

The study found that physically active men who were not overweight but whose waist-stature ratio (WSR) was close to the risk threshold were also more likely to develop heart disorders than individuals with lower WSRs. Continue reading →

Filed under abdominal fat, cardio exercise, cardiovascular health, Exercise, exercise benefits

Tagged as abdominal fat, Cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular health, Exercise, Exercise Benefits

May 27, 2018 · 5:53 pm

Exercise combats addiction – Study

As far as I am concerned when it comes to the benefits to our body and brain from exercise, the hits just keep on coming. The University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions reports the following good news.

Summary: Researchers report, in animal models of addiction, daily aerobic exercise alters the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain.

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Daily aerobic exercise altered the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the brain. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

New research by the University has identified a key mechanism in how aerobic exercise can help impact the brain in ways that may support treatment — and even prevention strategies — for addiction.

Also known as “cardio,” aerobic exercise is brisk exercise that increases heart rate, breathing and circulation of oxygen through the blood, and is associated with decreasing many negative health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. It also is linked to numerous mental health benefits, such as reducing stress, anxiety and depression. Continue reading →

Filed under anxiety, cardio exercise, dealing with stress, depression, Exercise, exercise benefits

Tagged as anxiety, Cardiovascular disease, dealing with stress, depression, Exercise, Exercise Benefits

November 18, 2017 · 12:03 am

Exercise increases brain size, new research finds

Here is another source of the same facts I have been reporting in this blog for some years now. Your brain gets as much benefit from your cardiovascular exercise as your body.

Aerobic exercise can improve memory function and maintain brain health as we age, a new Australian-led study has found.

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In a first of its kind international collaboration, researchers from NICM and the Division of Psychology and Mental Health at the University of Manchester in the UK examined the effects of aerobic exercise on a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and other brain functions.

Brain health decreases with age, with the average brain shrinking by approximately five per cent per decade after the age of 40.

Studies in mice and rats have consistently shown that physical exercise increases the size of the hippocampus but until now evidence in humans has been inconsistent. (my emphasis)

Filed under aging brain, brain, brain function, brain health, cardio exercise, cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular health, Exercise, exercise and brain health, exercise benefits, Healthy brain

Tagged as brain, brain health, cardio, Cardiovascular disease, Exercise, Exercise Benefits

September 27, 2017 · 12:08 am

Exercise can make cells healthier, promoting longer life – Study

Eat less, more more; live longer remains the mantra of this blog. Now comes MedicalPress with a study confirming the move more segment.

Whether it’s running, walking, cycling, swimming or rowing, it’s been well-known since ancient times that doing some form of aerobic exercise is essential to good health and well-being. You can lose weight, sleep better, fight stress and high blood pressure, improve your mood, plus strengthen bones and muscles.

“Whether muscle is healthy or not really determines whether the entire body is healthy or not,” said Zhen Yan of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “And exercise capacity, mainly determined by muscle size and function, is the best predictor of mortality in the general population.”

But why? Yan might have some answers. He and colleagues at UVA are peering inside the cell to understand, at a molecular level, why that workout – like it or not – is so vital to the body. They found that one important benefit involves the cellular power plant – the mitochondria – which creates the fuel so the body can function properly.

Filed under aging, brain, Exercise, exercise and brain health, exercise benefits, living longer, longevity, successful aging

Tagged as aging, brain health, Cardiovascular disease, Exercise, Exercise Benefits, mitochondria

August 28, 2017 · 12:08 am

Brain activity may predict stress-related cardiovascular risk – AHA

I have written numerous posts on the brain, stress and relaxation. This study seems to be an amalgam of them all. If you want to read further on any of them, punch the word into the S E A R C H box at the right and have at it. There is a lot of information available.

A pattern of brain activity that occurs during psychological stress may predict bodily reactions, such as surges in our blood pressure, that increase risk for cardiovascular disease.
People who have exaggerated responses to stressors, like large rises in blood pressure or heart rate, are at greater risk of developing hypertension and premature death from cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

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The brain may have a distinctive activity pattern during stressful events that predicts bodily reactions, such as rises in blood pressure that increase risk for cardiovascular disease, according to new proof-of-concept research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Continue reading →

Filed under aging brain, American Heart Association, brain, brain damage, brain function, brain health, dealing with stress, stress, stress reduction

Tagged as brain, brain health, Cardiovascular disease, stress, stress relief

February 20, 2017 · 1:13 pm

Gluten-free diet may increase risk of arsenic, mercury exposure

I’m sure you have encountered friends and acquaintances who are going ‘gluten-free.’ I have observed, I don’t think imagined, a certain smugness about the announcement. Like they have elevated themselves above the masses. Well, It turns out maybe not.

People who eat a gluten-free diet may be at risk for increased exposure to arsenic and mercury – toxic metals that can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurological effects, according to a report in the journal Epidemiology.

Gluten-free diets have become popular in the U.S., although less than 1 percent of Americans have been diagnosed with celiac disease – an out-of-control immune response to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

A gluten-free diet is recommended for people with celiac disease, but others often say they prefer eating gluten-free because it reduces inflammation – a claim that has not been scientifically proven. In 2015, one-quarter of Americans reported eating gluten-free, a 67 percent increase from 2013.

Gluten-free products often contain rice flour as a substitute for wheat. Rice is known to bioaccumulate certain toxic metals, including arsenic and mercury from fertilizers, soil, or water, but little is known about the health effects of diets high in rice content. (my emphasis)

Filed under arsenic, gluten-free, gluten-free diet, mercury

Tagged as arsenic, cancer, Cardiovascular disease, gluten-free, mercury

December 19, 2016 · 4:41 am

Running actually reduces some inflammation – Study

Running may also slow the process that leads to osteoarthritis

As regular readers know, I ride my bike nearly daily, here in Chicago. A hundred years ago, it seems, I ran daily. I stopped running because I enjoy bike riding more.

We all know that running causes a bit of inflammation and soreness, and that’s just the price you pay for cardiovascular health. You know; no pain, no gain.

Running

Well, maybe not. New research from BYU exercise science professors finds that pro-inflammatory molecules actually go down in the knee joint after running.
In other words, it appears running can reduce joint inflammation.“It flies in the face of intuition,” said study coauthor Matt Seeley, associate professor of exercise science at BYU. “This idea that long-distance running is bad for your knees might be a myth.” Continue reading →

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Filed under arthritis, inflammation, osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis pain, running

Tagged as Cardiovascular disease, Exercise, inflammation, osteoarthritis, running, weight, weight-bearing exercise

November 4, 2016 · 10:02 pm

How Cardiovascular Exercise Helps the Brain

In view of Thanksgiving being right around the corner and holiday parties soon after, I thought it propitious to show you this again.

Tony

Filed under aging brain, brain, brain exercise, cardio exercise, Exercise, exercise benefits, New York Times

Tagged as brain, Cardiovascular disease, Exercise, Exercise Benefits, New York Times

August 18, 2016 · 12:50 am

Sitting too long may raise heart disease risk – AHA

In December 2013 I posted for the first time on the dangers of sitting too long. “I must confess I was amazed to learn that simply sitting for long periods could be as the headline says, “Hazardous to Your Health and Longevity.” So, it’s not enough to exercise regularly, you also need to make sure that you don’t sit immobile for long periods….” That was the first sentence in the post Too much sitting can be hazardous to your health and longevity.

Now comes the American Heart Association saying, “Being sedentary is not just a lack of exercise, it is a potentially independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

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“Regardless of how much physical activity someone gets, prolonged sedentary time could negatively impact the health of your heart and blood vessels,” said Deborah Rohm Young, Ph.D., director of behavioral research at Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena and chair of the new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

“According to the statement, sedentary behavior may be associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, impaired insulin sensitivity (linked to diabetes) and an overall higher risk of death from any cause. (my emphasis)
Continue reading →

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Tagged as American Heart Association, Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Exercise, sitting, sitting too long

July 16, 2016 · 3:44 am

13 Curious facts about bones – Infographic

It’s important to remember that our bones are living tissue as much as our muscles. We need to work them with weight bearing exercise throughout our lives. Aerobic work is fine for our cardiovascular system, but get some weight work in regularly. Happily, going for a walk is weight bearing exercise.

To read more benefits of walking – Check out my Page – Why you should walk more.

Tony

Filed under bone health, bones

Tagged as bone health, bones, Cardiovascular disease, Exercise, healthy bones, weight, weight-bearing exercise

May 1, 2016 · 8:12 am

More Bad News about Inadequate Sleep

I created the Page – How Important is a good night’s sleep? more than eight years ago after taking a course on sleep. My opening sentence is “Sleep is one of the under-appreciated aspects of our daily lives.” Arianna Huffington’s book The Sleep Revolution is one of Amazon’s bestsellers.

Now comes the University of Helsinki reporting on the damage too little sleep does to the
blood vessels.

Getting too little sleep causes changes in the metabolism of cholesterol, demonstrates a study conducted at the University of Helsinki. According to the results, long-term sleep loss may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.

Lack of sleep has previously been found to impact the activation of the immune system, inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism and the hormones that regulate appetite. Now University of Helsinki researchers have found that sleep loss also influences cholesterol metabolism. Continue reading →

Filed under good night's sleep, sleep deprivation

Tagged as Blood, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, sleep, sleep deprivation, Sleep Team Helsinki

November 17, 2015 · 6:24 pm

Moderate Coffee Drinking May Cut Premature Death Risk – Harvard

I am a coffee drinker in moderation, so I only worry about the effects of caffeine on me. I have heard horror stories of ‘caffeine headaches’ that die hard coffee drinkers get. So I pretty much limit myself to decaf. I was happy to learn the latest from Harvard on coffee drinking.

People who drink about three to five cups of coffee a day may be less likely to die prematurely from some illnesses than those who don’t drink or drink less coffee, according to a new study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues. Drinkers of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee saw benefits, including a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, type 2 diabetes, and suicide.

“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation,” said first author Ming Ding, a doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition. “That could explain some of our findings. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.”