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Source: NHS News Feed
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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.
Can a 'microwave helmet' really detect strokes?
Conclusion
This study has shown that haemorrhagic strokes could potentially be distinguished from ischaemic strokes by analysing microwave scattering measurements.
While the two types of stroke can already be accurately diagnosed by CT or MRI scans in hospital, the “microwave helmet” development is important because it could potentially be used before someone arrives in hospital. This would avoid any time delay and allow people with ischaemic stroke to receive the anti-clotting medication that they need as soon as possible, potentially reducing the extent of damage the stroke causes.
The technique isn’t perfect ye...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 17, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medical practice Source Type: news
'Nine out of 10 strokes preventable,' claims study
Conclusion
This valuable research aims to clarify which preventable risk factors are associated with stroke risk – knowledge that could have an effect on addressing this important global health problem.
The study's strengths are that it is based on a large sample size of nearly 27,000 people from 32 countries and of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
The researchers made careful attempts beforehand to calculate how many participants they would need to include to be able to reliably detect differences in risk factors.
There was little missing data across the total sample – for the various different risk factors as...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medication Source Type: news
Air pollution linked to silent strokes
Conclusion
This cross-sectional study has suggested a link between exposure to small particles in the air (one form of pollution) and the presence of "silent stroke" in older adults – small areas of damage to the brain tissue that are not severe enough to cause obvious symptoms.
There are a number of limitations to be aware of when assessing the results of this study:
While there was an association between particulate matter in the air and total brain volume, this was no longer statistically significant after taking into account whether people have conditions such as high blood pressure, which can also affec...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 24, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news
Deep-fried Mars bars – unhealthy, but no killer
Conclusion
This study found no significant differences in cerebrovascular reactivity (the body’s ability to respond to breath holding by increasing blood flow to the brain) after eating either a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge.
When the researchers analysed men and women separately, they found no significant differences in cerebrovascular reactivity after eating a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge. However, when the researchers compared men with women, they found a significant difference, although whether there is any clinical significance to this finding is unclear.
The researchers point out that there are limitations to ...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Obesity Source Type: news
Deep-fried Mars bars: unhealthy, but no killer
Conclusion
This study found no significant differences in cerebrovascular reactivity (the body’s ability to respond to breath holding by increasing blood flow to the brain) after eating either a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge.
When the researchers analysed men and women separately, they found no significant differences in cerebrovascular reactivity after eating a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge. However, when the researchers compared men with women, they found a significant difference, although whether there is any clinical significance to this finding is unclear.
The researchers point out that there are limitations to ...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Obesity Source Type: news
Could exercise be as effective as medication?
Conclusion
The researchers found that there are very few trials that directly compare exercise with drug therapy for any condition. They were only able to find enough trials to be able to analyse results for four major conditions.
They found that exercise reduced death rates for people after a stroke (although this analysis has limitations and should be interpreted cautiously), and that drug therapy with diuretics improved death rates for people with heart failure. They did not find any difference between exercise and drug therapy for death rates after a heart attack or in people with pre-diabetes.
There were several limit...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 2, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news
Statins side effects are minimal, study argues
ConclusionThis meta-analysis pooled results from 29 studies and has shown a very small increased risk of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. This is the same as the decreased risk of any cause of death in people taking statins, compared to placebo, to prevent a heart attack or stroke.The researchers point out some limitations to the meta-analysis: Each study did not report on all of the side effects, meaning that for each category of side effect, the number of participants differed. The side effect categories were only included if at least 500 people had reported suffering from it. This means there may be numerous other si...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 13, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news
Salt cuts have 'saved lives,' says study
Conclusion
This UK study used serial cross-sectional data collected as part of the Health Survey for England, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, and the Office for National Statistics between 2003 and 2011. It found that average blood pressure and salt intake fell significantly, and there was a reduction in the number of deaths from stroke and heart disease.
The researchers only looked at people who were not taking blood pressure medications or other drugs that might affect blood pressure. After adjusting for some relevant confounders, there was still a significant decrease in blood pressure between 2003 and 2011 (sys...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 15, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news
Migraines linked to increased heart disease risk in women
Conclusion
This study shows a strong link between migraine and cardiovascular disease, extending the link already found between migraine and stroke. However, many questions remain.
We don't know if the results are relevant to men who have migraines, as all the people in the study were women. We also don't know if the results apply to non-white populations, as most of the women in the study were white.
Previous studies on stroke have shown that the group at highest risk is who get an "aura" before a migraine – sensation(s) that tells them the migraine is on its way.
But this study did not ask people about aura...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news
Risk of aspirin-related bleeding is higher in the over-75s
Conclusion
This valuable cohort study helps to quantify the extent of bleeding risk in people taking aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Aspirin is well known to carry bleeding risk – particularly in older adults – but this study suggests the risk may be higher than previously thought. The researchers say that for adults under the age of 75, the annual bleeding risk at around 1% is similar to that suggested by previous trials, as is the ratio of bleeds to the number of cardiovascular events. However, this risk increases for older adults, especially for major bleeds of the stomach and upper diges...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Source Type: news
Fruit may be good for you, but don’t ditch the statins
Conclusion
The study adds to evidence that fresh fruit is likely to be good for our cardiovascular health, although we can't be sure from this study that it definitely prevents deaths, heart attacks or strokes. Observational studies cannot prove that one factor causes another, even when they are as big as this study, because other unmeasured factors could be responsible for the results. In this case, a major potential confounder that the researchers failed to take into account was whether the participants were taking any medication – they only excluded people taking blood pressure tablets.
The link with statins, made by ...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 7, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Regular activity may help some people stay 'fat and fit'
Conclusion
As people often say, if exercise was a medicine, it would be hailed as a miracle cure. This study suggests that what we already know about the benefits of exercise may extend to reducing risk of cardiovascular disease for middle aged and older people, even if they are overweight or obese.
But the study has some limitations. This type of study can't prove that one factor – exercise – is responsible for the lower risk of heart attack and stroke among overweight or obese people who exercise more. It's possible that other factors are important – for example people's income may be linked to their opportuniti...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 2, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Doctors launch new tool to measure your 'heart age'
“People are being urged to find out their "true" heart age in order to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes,” BBC News reports. Doctors have put together a new risk calculator called JBS3 that can tell you the real “age” of your heart.
Risk calculators for cardiovascular diseases or CVDs (conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels) are nothing new. The “granddaddy” of risk calculators – the Framingham risk calculator – has been available for years.
But this new JBS3 calculator has the benefits of:
being easily accessible online
providing what is thought to be an accurate risk es...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 27, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs QA articles Source Type: news
Following UK dietary advice may cut heart disease risk
Conclusion
This study showed that following dietary recommendations closely for 12 weeks can reduce blood pressure by a significant amount, which is likely to cut the chances of having a heart attack or stroke for an average healthy middle-aged person. The diet also affects cholesterol levels, but the overall effect of this may be modest.
The study appears to have been carefully conducted to avoid biasing the results. The researchers gave butter or margarine spread and cooking oil to people in both groups, for example, and asked everyone to fill out food diaries, as well as taking urine samples for nutrient analysis.
Thi...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 19, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
