Heart News.

28th December 2020.
Currently, international guidelines  recognize a systolic blood pressure difference of 15 mm Hg or more between the two upper arms as the threshold that could indicate an additional cardiovascular risk. A recently published study in the journal Hypertension found that a lower threshold of 10 mm Hg was indicative of added risk.  A difference of more than 10 mm Hg could be as a result of narrowing of one of the arteries to either upper limb.  The authors call for measurement of the blood pressure routinely in both upper limbs to pick up early atherosclerosis.

14th December 2020.
Worried about the health of your heart? It can be evaluated reasonably accurately without going to a hospital according to research presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual conference. If you can climb 4 flights of stairs in less than one minute your heart is in good shape. If it takes you longer than 90 seconds, you need to be evaluated urgently

21th November 2020.
Adherence to good sleep hygiene and a healthy sleep pattern reduces the incidence of heart failure according to this recently published article in the journal “Circulation”. This is common sense but its now experimentally proven as well.

3rd  November 2020
Avoiding pro inflammatory diet patterns could significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Pro inflammatory foods include red meat, processed meat, refined carbohydrates and sweetened beverages. Anti inflammatory diets rich in green leafy vegetables,dark yellow vegetables, whole grains, fruits and red wine have a protective effect. Diet induced chronic inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of CVD.

21st October 2020.
Inadequately controlled systolic blood pressure during sleep significantly increases long term cardiovascular risks especially heart failure according to a recently published study in the journal Circulation. A 24 hr blood pressure control is mandatory.

12th October 2020.
Complications during pregnancy such as miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, ecclampsia, gestational diabetes and pre-term birth are linked to a heightened risk of heart disease in later life, suggests a meta analysis of data recently published in the BMJ. Breast appears to have a  protective effect.

6th October 2020.
When a heart attack occurs, a part of the heart is deprived of blood supply and that portion of the heart muscle “dies”. This results in a reduction of the pumping capacity of the heart of the myocardial infarction is a large one. Scientists may have found a way  around this by implanting vascularized patches into the area of dead cardiac muscle. These vascularised patches allow for regeneration of muscle and limit the size and deleterious effects of the infarct. This ground breaking study has been recently published.

25th September 2020.
Having elevated cholesterol during the teens or early twenties increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event during middle age according to a recently published study in the Journal of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The heightened risk persists even in those young adults who were able to get their cholesterol levels down to a healthy levels before reaching their late thirties.

18th September 2020.
Antenatal dietary and physical activity interventions in obese pregnant women leads to healthier babies according to a study in the Journal Paediatric Obesity

10th September 2020.
A vegetarian diet along with optimal management of dyslipidemia has a significant protective effect according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

3rd September 2020.
Multi system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS – C) occurs even after a clinically asymptomatic COVID 19 infection in children. The inflammation can have severe cardiac manifestations as well according to a recently published study in the Lancet.

29th August 2020
Findings from a study done across 18 european countries finds that if LDL cholesterol levels are not within an acceptable range despite optimal doses of statins, the addition of a non-statin cholesterol lowering agent (Ezitemebe) as a combination therapy could be very beneficial especially in those with the highest risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The findings of the study lead by Prof Kausik Ray of the Imperial School of Public Health, London who is also president elect of the European Atherosclerosis Society have been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology and will also shortly be presented at the virtual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology 2020.

3rd August 2020
LDL Cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) may not be the villain. It was for many many years considered to be the villain in the accelerated development of heart disease especially coronary artery disease. This assumption may be false according to a recent study published in the BMJ.

29th July 2020
Diabetics with multi vessel coronary artery disease are best treated by coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) rather than stenting (PCI) according to a recent study. This is well known already but is unfortunately not always done in clinical practice.

25th July 2020
Myocardial ischemia can rarely occur without occlusive disease of the larger coronary arteries due to coronary vasospasm or dysfunction of the coronary microcirculation. This is also known as microvascular angina or nonocclusive coronary artery disease. Its diagnosis and management have been updated and standardized in this very useful consensus document.

24th July 2020
Accurate genetic testing to determine the predisposition to hereditary cardiovascular disease is now available.

23rd July 2020
An excellent review article for the cardiologist and cardiac surgeon on the current knowledge of how COVID 19 affects the heart. A very helpful resource while planning treatment.

21st July 2020
A very detailed and exhaustive writeup on COVID 19 and the cardiovascular system.

12th July 2020
When the left main coronary artery is significantly blocked, performing a PCI (stent)  results in the need for a repeat re-vascularisation procedure in the future. CABG is therefore superior. Read more about the meta-analysis of multiple RCTs.

5th July 2020
More and more research points to the beneficial effects of Coconut oil in enhancing immunity. there are write ups in many heart news forums about the benefits of coconut oil.

1st July 2020
A new artificial heart valve made from polymers could last up to 25 years and not require anticoagulation as well. This could be a game changer and is making waves across all heart news forums.

14th June 2020
Fractional Flow Reserve calculations are important for decision making in coronary interventions and coronary bypass graft surgery. The usage of FFR  calculations has remained limited as a special catheter and expensive is required. this may change. New software technnologies may allow noninvasive FFR calculations based on CT coronary angiography pictures. This could be a game changer.