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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

Firefighters warned about heart attack risk
Conclusion This randomised crossover trial aimed to assess whether putting out a fire has an effect on the biological signs of cardiovascular health of firefighters.  By simulating a fire fighting scenario the researchers found that exposure to these conditions increased tendency of the blood to clot, reduced the stretchiness of the blood vessel walls, and caused a slight increase in a marker of heart muscle damage. This trial is thought to be the first assessing this link. Whilst a randomised controlled trial is the best way of investigating this link, there are some limitations to consider. The trial included a con...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Are high-speed cyclists at risk from air pollution?
Conclusion This study may be of interest to those in the field of sports medicine. It calculates the speed that walkers, joggers and cyclists may travel at to minimise the pollution they potentially inhale. It also finds that these values turn out to be those that many pedestrians and cyclists would travel at in any case. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, this speed would go down as you go uphill because of the increased effort and breathing rate required. Fitter people who run or cycle fast for sport are, however, naturally likely to exceed this minimum speed requirement, both on the flat and speed gradients. This could pot...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 31, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Are broken bones, loneliness and poor sleep really hidden killers?
Conclusion As the researchers say, the WHO definition of health encompasses physical, mental and social wellbeing – not just the presence or absence of disease. But how often are these extra dimensions taken into account when assessing a person's health status? In this sample of older adults, just looking at their disease status puts the majority of them into an apparently "robust" health group. Yet when you consider the additional dimensions of psychological health and wellbeing, you seem to get a much better indication of those who were at higher or lower risk of dying or being incapacitated in the coming...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Medical practice Source Type: news

Smoking bans linked to fewer heart attacks and strokes
ConclusionThere is no doubt that tobacco smoking harms health and causes a great deal of disease and death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco is responsible for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.The question is whether smoking bans can help reduce the harm caused by tobacco. This summary of research suggests they can, particularly for people who are non-smokers. While it's hard to get good-quality evidence about the effects of smoking bans, comparisons of data from hospitals and national registries before and after a ban is helpful. However, we can't be sure the effects being measured are solely dow...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 4, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Being happy 'won't help you live longer' survey finds
ConclusionThis large prospective study aimed to assess whether happiness or related measures of wellbeing are associated with risk of death, after allowing for the influence of the poor health and lifestyles of people who are unhappy.The study found poor health was linked with unhappiness in middle-aged women. However, after allowing for this association and adjusting for the influence of other factors that may be associated, such as smoking and poor socioeconomic status, happiness and related measures of wellbeing do not appear to have any direct effect on death. This suggests that, as has sometimes previously been specu...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 11, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news

Living near an airport 'may be bad for your health'
Conclusion This study aimed to assess the link between pollution from air traffic and health outcomes. Researchers used a number of data sources, finding an association between levels of carbon monoxide and hospitalisation rates for respiratory and heart-related issues. Perhaps worryingly, these effects were observed at lower levels of carbon monoxide exposure than the allowed amounts found in Environmental Protection Agency mandates. However, this study does have a number of limitations: Air traffic data was only from passenger aircrafts. The focus was only on the population within 10km of the airport. We don't k...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 21, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Flu and freezing weather may be driving up winter death rates
Conclusion There are always more deaths in winter than other seasons, particularly among elderly people. But why these fairly dramatic spikes in the death rate have occurred is still not understood. It should be noted these figures are provisional, as there can be a delay in the ONS receiving the data. Although the media has focused on the likely cause being flu, the numbers provided are for all respiratory conditions. Cold weather can exacerbate many of these conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. For most fit and healthy people, flu is not a serious threat, but the elderly and those with...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news

Flu jab "may cut" stroke risk by a quarter
ConclusionThis research finds that, overall, having the flu vaccine reduced the risk of a person experiencing a stroke by about 25%. The reduction in risk seemed to be greatest within the first three months of vaccination, but remained for up to 12 months.  However, the effect lasted only if the vaccine was given early in the flu season (September to mid-November); giving the vaccine late in the flu season (mid-November to February) was not associated with significantly reduced risk.The research benefits from using data coded within the General Practice Research Database for England and Wales for almost 50,000 people with...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 21, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Aspirin at bedtime 'cuts' morning heart attack risk
Conclusion So far this study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Therefore it is not possible to fully assess the quality and methods of this study. Despite the media headlines, and the conclusions of the abstract, the researchers did not measure directly whether aspirin taken at bedtime reduced heart attacks. They measured whether it reduced two risk factors for heart attacks – blood pressure and platelet activity. Taking aspirin at bedtime had no effect on a person’s blood pressure compared with taking it in the morning. They did find that it reduced platelet reactivity, though, by 22 aspirin rea...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 20, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medical practice Source Type: news