Prescription fruits and vegetables work to improve heart health : Shots

Health Advice

September 10, 2023admin

Prescription fruits and vegetables work to improve heart health : Shots

People with diabetes who were prescribed fruits and vegetables, saw their blood sugar decline significantly. And adults with hypertension saw their blood pressure go down.

RyanJLane/Getty Images

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RyanJLane/Getty Images

People with diabetes who were prescribed fruits and vegetables, saw their blood sugar decline significantly. And adults with hypertension saw their blood pressure go down.

RyanJLane/Getty Images

The idea of food as medicine dates back to the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, and a new study adds to the evidence that a diet full of fruits and vegetables can help improve heart health. The research comes amid an epidemic of diet-related disease, which competes with smoking as a leading cause of death.

Researchers evaluated the impact of “produce prescriptions,” which provide free fruits and vegetables to people with diet related diseases including diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The study included nearly 4,000 people in 12 states who struggle to afford healthy food. They received vouchers, averaging $63 a month, for up to 10 months, which could be redeemed for produce at retail stores or farmers markets, depending on the location.

Health care providers tracked changes in weight, blood pressure and blood sugar among the participants. “We were excited to see improvements,” says study author Kurt Hager, an instructor at UMass Chan Medical School.

“Among adults with hypertension, we saw that systolic blood pressure decreased by 8 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure decreased by about 5 mm Hg, which could have a meaningful impact on health outcomes,” Hager says.

Among people with uncontrolled diabetes, their A1C levels, which is a 2-3 month average of their blood sugar, also declined significantly, by about .6 percent. “The reductions we saw in blood sugar were roughly half of that of commonly prescribed medications, which is really encouraging for just a simple

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Health Advice

July 8, 2023admin

Do vitamin D supplements help prevent heart disease?

Two capsules of vitamin D on a flat surface — Taking vitamin D supplements may have cardiovascular health benefits. Nicole Mason/Stocksy

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is important for bone health and immune system support
Australian researchers followed a group of older people to see whether vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of major heart disease events, such as heart attack and stroke.
The researchers gave the test group a monthly vitamin D supplement which they took for five years.
While the risk reduction was not as great as the researchers had hoped, they did learn that the people who took vitamin D supplements had a small risk reduction for certain major cardiovascular events.

A study recently published by The BMJdetails a clinical trial led by a group of Australian researchers who wanted to learn what impact vitamin D may have on reducing major heart disease events such as heart attacks and strokes.

The researchers followed a group of older adults between ages 60 and 84. This particular age group is known to be at a higher risk for developing heart disease.

While the scientists did not find that vitamin D had any impact on strokes when comparing the control and test groups, they did learn that the rate of major cardiovascular events was 9% lower in the group that took the vitamin D supplement.

Considering how deadly CVD can be and the burden it may have on the healthcare system, scientists have been looking for ways to improve treatments for such diseases and prevent them.

According to the study authors, prior studies did not show a connection between vitamin D and reducing CVD risk, but the authors thought those studies had limitations. The authors noted that “vitamin D has biological effects which suggest it could influence cardiovascular disease,” which prompted them to

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Health Advice

June 17, 2023admin

Light to Moderate Drinking May Help Relieve Stress, Help Your Heart

Friends talk over glasses of wine. — Researchers find evidence that low-to-moderate drinking may help some people relieve stress. Halfpoint Images/Getty Images

Researchers find moderate drinking may help relieve stress.
Study could explain past research finding better health outcomes for light-to-moderate drinkers.
Researchers examined data on more than 50,000 people enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank.

Light to moderate alcohol consumption may lower the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke by reducing activity in parts of the brain that respond to stress, new research claims.

But researchers caution that alcohol also carries health risks.

“We are not advocating the use of alcohol to reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes, because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health,” study author Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a cardiologist and co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a news release.

Instead, researchers wanted to understand how light to moderate alcohol consumption (one to two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women) reduces cardiovascular disease, as seen in other research.

“If we could find the mechanism, the goal would be to find other approaches that could replicate or induce alcohol’s protective cardiac effects without the adverse impacts of alcohol,” said Tawakol.

In this observational study, researchers examined data on more than 50,000 people enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank.

People filled out a survey at the time of enrollment, which included a question about their alcohol consumption during the prior year.

Researchers obtained information from participants’ medical records about any major cardiovascular events they experienced during the study period. This included heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and heart failure.

They found that light-to-moderate drinkers had a lower risk of major cardiovascular events, taking into

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Health Information

June 8, 2023admin

How it can raise a person’s risk of heart disease

A man performs a finger prick blood test — Blood tests can be a useful tool for measuring proteins linked to heart disease. Willie B. Thomas/Getty Images

Researchers say one-third of people with type 2 diabetes may have undetected cardiovascular disease.
In a new study, the researchers reported that many people with type 2 diabetes had elevated levels of two proteins associated with heart disease.
They said the study results emphasize the need for medical professionals to check for cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

One-third of people with type 2 diabetes had elevated levels of two protein markers, compared to 16% of those without diabetes, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers analyzed health information and blood samples from 10,300 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

That survey collected the data from 1999-2004.

The study participants had not reported any history of cardiovascular disease when they enrolled.

The researchers honed in on two protein markers – troponin T and N terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide – that are used to measure injury and stress to the heart and are routinely used to diagnose a heart attack and heart failure.

Elevated levels of these proteins in the bloodstream might be early warning signs of changes in the structure and function of the heart, which could increase the risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease, and early death.

After analyzing the blood samples as well as mortality statistics collected from the National Death Index, the scientists reported that:

One-third of people with type 2 diabetes had elevated levels of the two protein markers, compared to 16% of those without diabetes.
In people with type 2 diabetes, elevated levels of the protein markers were associated with an increased risk of all-cause

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Department Health

June 2, 2023admin

Halifax heart surgeons ‘on notice’ about bad behaviour, says department head

A new code of conduct for surgeons should help address longstanding concerns about inappropriate behaviour in the cardiac surgery division, says the head of the department of surgery for Nova Scotia Health’s central zone and Dalhousie University.

“We as surgeons have been put on notice that we’re going to call each other out,” Dr. Gail Darling said this week.

“We’re going to call you out if you’re swearing or you’re denigrating or you’re bad-mouthing somebody. We’re going to say, ‘You know, that’s not OK in 2023.'”

Unprofessional behaviour by some surgeons was flagged in reviews of the division in 2010 and 2016 and, following further allegations that included bullying, harassment and racism, was part of the impetus for a third review that was ordered last year.

The 2010 and 2016 reviews both said the division needed a code of conduct with teeth to address surgeon behaviour that leadership seemed unable to get under control.

Darling said she thinks this new code, intended to work along with respectful workplace policies already in place for the health authority and Dal, should mark a turning point.

A person walks by a hospital. — Officials with Nova Scotia Health are working to improve the workplace culture of the cardiac surgery division. (Michael Gorman/CBC)

The code includes a grading system modelled after an approach used in Alberta that lays out responses to certain types of behaviour and what happens if it persists. Darling said that starts with more minor behaviour that might have been brushed off in the past or that people grew to accept as a part of working with certain people.

Darling said she thinks progress will follow as an atmosphere develops where people feel comfortable speaking out when they see problematic behaviour.

“It’s going to be little baby steps forward and that’s what we have to do,” Darling said.

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Health Advice

February 7, 2023admin

Heart Health and fitness Month: Information on How to Dwell a Coronary heart-Wholesome Life style

February is heart well being month and Bradford’s Original Bulk Foods and Overall health Nutritional supplement Retailer Nancy’s Nifty Nook has some worthwhile advice on how you can live a heart healthful lifestyle.

Did you know that heart disease is second leading cause of dying in Canada and that one in 12 grown ups aged 20 and above are living with a diagnosed coronary heart sickness? Even far more alarming is that each hour, about 14 Canadian grown ups (about 20 many years aged) identified with heart disorder die. The Govt of Canada has published these figures and other crucial info about heart illness in Canada.

Cardiovascular condition (CVD) is the phrase utilised to include all health conditions of the heart and circulation. Coronary heart disorders and blood circulation disorders have an effect on blood flow as a result of the physique, which consist of the heart and blood vessels to the brain, lungs, kidneys and other areas of the entire body.

What causes heart condition?

Disorders of the heart can be brought on by quite a few variables which include spouse and children background and life-style behaviours. Particular behaviours have been proven to raise the likelihood of coronary heart condition and incorporate but are not confined to:

cigarette smoking

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very poor diet program

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drug use

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deficiency of physical action and/or

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too much liquor use.

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As perfectly, substantial blood stress, obesity and diabetic issues are all risk aspects that can guide to coronary heart disease. It has been pointed out that these well being circumstances are turning out to be more commonplace in youthful grown ups.

Coronary heart illness in males and women of all ages

CVD is the principal cause of dying in guys, but quite a few persons are unaware

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Tag: Heart