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Source: NHS News Feed
Condition: Heart Disease
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Total 152 results found since Jan 2013.
Any type of physical exercise is good for the heart
Conclusion
This study shows that all physical activity, in any form, is good for us. This includes both recreational and non-recreational activities.
Don't be misled by some of the media: non-recreational activities like housework are not "better" than recreational activities like playing sports or going to the gym.
The fact that reduced risk was seen with non-recreational activity across all countries, but only seen with recreational activity in high-income countries was probably just because fewer people in lower-income countries play sports or go to the gym.
The researchers estimate that 8% of all deaths and...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news
Statins cut heart deaths in men by 28% finds study
Conclusion
This new analysis found that men without cardiovascular disease who were prescribed a statin were less likely to go on to develop heart disease or have a major cardiovascular event.
These findings from the five-year randomised controlled trial are useful – there's been a lot of debate about whether giving statins to people without any cardiovascular disease is helpful.
But it's harder to draw conclusions from the longer term results, as these were from a non-randomised observational period. Potential confounding factors – such as the men's attitude to medicine, risk and health – may have influenced the res...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 7, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news
One in 10 men aged 50 'have the heart of a 60-year-old'
"One-tenth of 50-year-old men have a heart age 10 years older than they are," BBC News reports. This is the finding of an analysis of 1.2 million people who used the NHS Heart Age Test.
The principle behind the test is that you can "age" your heart through unhealthy behaviour such as smoking and being obese.
Underlying conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which often have no noticeable symptoms, can also age the heart.
An obese smoker in their 50s who has high blood pressure and high cholesterol could have the heart of a 60- or 70-year-old.
The quick and simple test tells you the...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 4, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Results of global fats and carbs study not very relevant for UK
Conclusion
The results of the study have been presented in the media as if they overturn all current dietary guidelines. In the UK at least, that is completely misleading. The study results support the UK guidelines, having found that people who get around 50% of their calories from carbohydrates and 35% from fat, as recommended by Public Health England, were likely to live the longest.
There are some limitations to the study, not least that observational studies cannot prove cause and effect.
For example, the very low fat and high carbohydrate levels of diets found among some participants in the study might simply repres...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 30, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
'Fat but fit' people may still be at risk of heart disease
Conclusion
This large, valuable study confirms that – as has long been thought – an increased BMI is linked with an increased risk of heart disease.
It shows that people with an obese BMI had a higher risk of heart disease, even if they didn't have other risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, proving that body fat is an independent risk factor.
That said, this study does have some limitations. For example, definitions of being metabolically unhealthy aren't entirely consistent with other definitions of metabolic syndrome.
This was also only assessed at the start of the study, and risk factors may...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Source Type: news
'Exercise pill' could potentially help people with heart failure
Conclusion
The protein hCT1 caused heart muscles to grow in a more healthy way in rodents with heart failure. When treatment stopped, the heart went back to its original condition – something that does not happen when the heart grows in a dysfunctional way.
There is currently no cure for heart failure and treatment is only available for keeping symptoms under control. Therefore, this very promising early-stage research with potential for developing a drug for people with heart failure, has huge implications.
However, it is important to remember that as this is experimental laboratory research, there are many more stage...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Some types of vegetarian diet can raise heart disease risk
Conclusion
This large pooled cohort study seems to demonstrate an association between a healthy plant-based diet and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and an increased risk of heart disease with an unhealthy plant-based diet.
This adds to the evidence base supporting the possible benefits of healthy plant-based diets in protecting against certain illnesses. However there are some limitations to the research:
The cohort included only health professionals from the US so might not be representative of wider populations in the UK or elsewhere.
The study can't provide information on the benefits or otherwise of this d...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
Long working week 'may increase risk of irregular heartbeat'
Conclusion
This study draws together data from a large group of people to investigate whether working hours could be linked to AF.
It found people who work 55 or more hours a week had an increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat.
But before we jump to any conclusions, there are several important things to consider:
The number of people who developed AF during this study was small: only 1.24%. That's the absolute risk of AF. Even if working more than 55 hours a week does increase your risk of AF by around 40%, it would only be increasing it to something like 1.74% – which is still very small.
Only a small ...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news
Does coffee make you live longer?
Conclusion
This study, conducted on a large number of people across Europe, was backed up by similar findings in the US. It appears to show some association between people who drink higher amounts of coffee and a reduced risk of death.
But the "potentially beneficial clinical implications" need to be considered carefully for a number of reasons:
Although the analyses were adjusted for some confounding variables, there may be a number of other factors that differ between the groups that account for the differences in death, such as socioeconomic status, family history, other medical conditions, and use of medic...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
Cholesterol-lowering jab 'shows promise' for heart disease
Conclusion
This mouse study evaluated the potential of the AT04A vaccine to lower cholesterol levels and potentially reduce or prevent heart disease.
The results were promising, showing that mice given the vaccine produced antibodies against the enzyme that stops LDL cholesterol being cleared from the body. This resulted in reduced total and LDL blood cholesterol levels, as well as reduced atherosclerosis.
No major safety concerns or side effects were reported.
Following this research, AT04A has now moved on to a phase I clinical trial. A small number of people will be given the vaccine to see if it's safe for use in huma...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Being overweight, not just obese, still carries serious health risks
Conclusion
This impressively large global study demonstrates that the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide among both children and adults. It supports what has long been thought, that increased body mass index (BMI) contributes to a range of illnesses and is ultimately responsible for a large number of deaths, particularly from cardiovascular disease.
One potential limitation is the use of self-reported BMI or health outcome data in some of the studies, although the majority used a specific independent measurement so this is unlikely to have biased results too much.
It is also always difficult from observational d...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Source Type: news
Beta-blockers 'useless' for many heart attack patients, study reports
Conclusion
This study aimed to see whether beta blockers reduce mortality in people who've had a heart attack but who don't have heart failure or systolic dysfunction. It found no difference between those who were and those who were not given beta-blockers on discharge from hospital.
The authors say this adds to the evidence that routine prescription of beta blockers might not be needed for patients without heart failure following a heart attack.
Current UK guidelines recommend all people who have had a heart attack take beta blockers for at least one year to reduce risk of recurrent events. Only people with heart failure ...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 30, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news
'Fat but fit' still at higher risk of heart disease
Conclusion
The question of whether someone can be "fat but fit" has been much debated. If you're obese but exercise, eat well and don't have metabolic risk factors, the theory goes, you could be just as healthy as someone of recommended weight. This study suggests that may not be true.
It is definitely worth adopting a healthy lifestyle, whatever your weight. The study found that, the more metabolic risk factors people had, the more likely they were to develop heart disease, cardiovascular disease and so on. Metabolic risk factors do make a difference.
But in this large study, on average, people who were obese ...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 17, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Obesity Source Type: news
Review finds no link between dairy and heart attack or stroke risk
Conclusion
This large meta-analysis of cohort studies demonstrated no increased risk to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease or all-cause death from eating dairy products.
The review has strengths in its large size and the fact it was able to analyse different types of dairy product, such as high and low-fat and everyday products such as cheese and yoghurt.
However, there are a number of factors to consider:
The results of a systematic review are only as good as the quality of the underlying studies. These are all observational studies and it's possible that unadjusted health and lifestyle factors are having an...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news
Low-gluten diet linked to heart attack risk
Conclusion
This study has found that while overall gluten consumption in people without coeliac disease may not be related to heart disease risk, avoiding whole grains (wheat, barley and rye) in order to avoid gluten may be associated with increased heart disease risk.
This study has several strengths, including its large size, the fact that data was collected prospectively and diet assessed at several time-points, the long period of follow up, and that it took into account a wide range of potential confounders.
As with all studies of this type, it is possible that other factors may affect the results. However, the researc...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 4, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
