Tag Archives: British Heart Foundation

Government, Health, Medical, Research, Science, Society

Health risk for women in their 30s who do not exercise…

HEART RISK

A major study has found that a lack of exercise puts younger women at far greater risk of heart attacks than smoking or being obese.

Researchers found inactive women in their 30s are almost 50 per cent more likely to develop heart disease in their lifetime than those who are fit.

The team has now called on governments to launch public health campaigns on the importance of exercise, arguing it would have a far greater impact on reducing heart disease deaths than drives to discourage smoking or promote healthy eating.

The scientists looked at the records of 32,541 women aged 22 to 90, including details about lifestyle and whether they had heart disease. Armed with this data, they used a mathematical formula to work out their risk of heart disease during their lifetime based on whether they were inactive, were smokers, had hypertension (high blood pressure) or were obese.

A lack of exercise was found to pose the greatest risk to women across all age groups.

Those in their early 30s who were classed as inactive were nearly 50 per cent more likely to suffer from the condition in their lifetime than active women.

The risk decreased slightly with age. Inactive women in their late 40s were 38 per cent more at risk, falling to 28 per cent in the late 50s.

By comparison, the risk was 40 per cent for women smokers in their 30s and 30 per cent for the obese. Although obesity and being unfit are closely linked, the researchers from the University of Queensland pointed out that many slim women are inactive.

The latest UK figures show a quarter of women are classified as inactive, while just over half do the recommended two and a half hours of physical activity a week.

Heart disease, which includes heart attacks and strokes, is by far the biggest killer in Britain, claiming 82,000 lives a year.

Experts have previously claimed that exercising can halve the risk of getting the condition because it lowers the blood pressure, reduces cholesterol which blocks arteries, and improves circulation.

Professor Wendy Brown, one of the team’s lead researchers, described inactivity as the ‘Cinderella risk factor’ for heart disease. She said: ‘Our data suggests that national programmes for the promotion and maintenance of physical activity across the adult lifespan, but especially in young adulthood, deserve to be a much higher public health priority for women than they are now.’

The study’s findings, first published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, concluded: ‘Continuing efforts to reduce smoking rates in young adult women are warranted… however, from about age 30, the population attributable risk for inactivity outweighs that of the other leading risk factors, including high Body Mass Index, which is currently receiving much more attention.’

A spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘We already know physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease. Interestingly, this study shows its dominant influence on heart disease amongst women, and suggests a greater need to promote regular physical activity… It is important to remember that heart disease is linked to other factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.’

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

An alternative to statins for those at risk of heart disease…

ALN-PCS CUTS ‘BAD’ CHOLESTEROL

For those patients unable to take statins, a new type of cholesterol-lowering drug could help those at risk of heart disease, new research has revealed.

The treatment referred to as ‘ALN-PCS’ cuts the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol by more than half – a reduction similar to statins.

Experimental findings from the first tests in humans do show the potential benefits of an agent that works in a different way to statins. The drug blocks production of a protein that destroys receptors that normally clear harmful LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.

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The first trial has involved 32 volunteers with high LDL (or ‘bad ‘cholesterol). People from this group were then randomly assigned to receive either an injection of ALN-PCS or a saline placebo.

A single dose of the drug cut LDL levels by as much as 57 per cent. The research findings have been published in the medical journal, The Lancet. The researchers suggest that the bigger the dose, the greater reduction in LDL.

Kevin Fitzgerald, a trial investigator from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, was integral to developing the new treatment. He says the drug – which would likely be developed in tablet form – could be used for the one in five heart disease patients intolerant or resistant to statins, or even to enhance their effects.

ALN-PCS works by blocking the production of the cholesterol regulator PCSK9 – a protein that destroys low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that normally clear LDL cholesterol from the blood.

Genetic research has shown previously that mutations’ resulting in a rise in PCSK9 activity does lead to a major increase in LDL cholesterol. This contributes to the build-up of plaque inside blood vessels, while genetic variants that cause a reduction in PCSK9 activity are known to lower cholesterol dramatically.

The 32 volunteers selected for the trial, aged between 18 and 65 years old, were deemed to have raised cholesterol levels ranging from between mild to moderate. The volunteers were randomly assigned to receive injections containing one of six doses of ALN-PCS, or saline.

For those given the highest dose of ALN-PCS, LDL cholesterol dropped up to 57 per cent – with an average of 40 per cent overall – compared with the results from those who had taken the saline placebo.

Professor Peter Weissberg is medical director at the British Heart Foundation. He said:

… People with extremely high cholesterol are at increased risk of a heart attack and this approach could offer new hope for those who are resistant to statins.

… These initial results add to growing evidence that blocking the action of a certain protein can dramatically lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

… More research is now needed to confirm this approach is both safe and effective at preventing heart attacks in the long term before it becomes widely available.

According to further research in the United States, statins may also help keep the mouth as well as the heart healthy. Significantly reduced levels of inflammation associated with gum disease were found in patients taking statin pills for heart conditions.

Dr Ahmed Tawakol, the study leader, and from the Harvard Medical School, said gum and heart disease were often ‘co-existing inflammatory conditions’ and that their chemical biologies ‘may be intertwined’.

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Britain, Health, Medical, Research, Science

A simple surgical operation to cure high blood pressure…

CLINICAL TRIALS START FOR TREATING HYPERTENSION

British scientists believe they could cure millions of patients with hard-to-treat high blood pressure and hypertension.

A simple operation would involve removing a small cluster of nerves in the throat linked to blood pressure regulation.

Researchers from Bristol University are extremely hopeful the measures could help some 2.5 million individuals with hypertension that cannot be controlled by medication.

While scientists have already started a clinical trial on 20 people with high blood pressure – following successful laboratory tests on rats – if the trials prove to be successful and is given the go-ahead, the surgical procedure could be available within three years as a ‘relatively simple’ day treatment for adults. The novel approach successfully ‘cured’ the condition in laboratory rats.

The carotid body is one of the body’s smallest organs but acts as a sensor that detects changes in gas levels in the blood. Sometimes, however, it can become overactive.

The carotid body is one of the body’s smallest organs but acts as a sensor that detects changes in gas levels in the blood. Sometimes, however, it can become overactive.

Known as the silent killer, high blood pressure or hypertension affects a third of adults and significantly raises the odds of heart attacks, strokes and other potentially fatal conditions if left untreated.

At the moment, there is no effective remedy for individuals who do not respond to conventional drug therapies.

But scientists at Bristol’s School of Physiology and Pharmacology identified a key organ in the development of high blood pressure – the carotid body.

It consists of a tiny cluster of nerve cells that sit on the side of the two branches of the carotid artery in the neck, each the size of a grain of rice.

Despite being one of the body’s smallest organs, it has the highest blood flow of them all – reflecting its importance as an early warning device for the brain if there is any change to oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood.

In some cases, it is thought the carotid body becomes overactive and sends a message to the brain to keep blood pressure high. Scientists involved in removing the organs in rats with hypertension found that blood pressure fell and remained low.

The study, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, and first published in the journal Nature Communications, said the animals suffered no adverse side-effects either.

In human trials, only one carotid body would be removed in order to reduce blood pressure while maintaining the organ’s vital regulatory function.

Professor Julian Paton who is the lead researcher on the study, said:

… We know that these tiny organs behaved differently in conditions of hypertension, but had absolutely no idea that they contributed so massively to the generation of high blood pressure; this is really most exciting.

… It certainly has the potential to be a very novel interventional approach to drug-resistant hypertension (high blood pressure).

An estimated 16 million British adults have high blood pressure; a third of whom may be unaware they have the condition.

Patients are often at first advised to alter their lifestyle by taking more exercise, stopping smoking, cutting down on drinking and limiting the salt and fat in their diet.

GPs can also prescribe medication – often a combination of pills – but many patients skip doses because of the side-effects caused by most treatments. Up to 15 per cent of patients – 2.5 million people – also struggle to control their condition using drugs.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said:

… This potential new treatment has real promise to help this hard-to-treat group of patients … Many patients can control their blood pressure adequately by lifestyle change and medication so they would not be offered this kind of treatment.

… It is therefore unlikely this treatment will ever be tested as an alternative to standard medication – only as an extra procedure when current drug treatment fails.

A consultant cardiologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospital referred to the breakthrough as an ‘exciting and innovative approach’ and added that current treatments for high blood pressure have serious drawbacks, such as no-one likes taking multiple tablets and that medics are often guilty of not explaining properly why treatment is needed and what benefits might be expected.

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