From the May, 2012 Issue
Newer Treatments are Keeping Heart Failure Patients Healthier, Longer
While the number of patients with heart failure (HF) in the U.S. continues to rise, there is some encouraging news on this front. HF-related mortality and hospitalization rates are stabilizing. Improvements in medication and device therapies are helping to make HF a more manageable condition, according to a statement released by the American Heart Association (AHA) in February. The AHA noted that the quality of life for HF patients in general has also improved. Eileen Hsich, MD, director of the Women’s Heart Failure Clinic at Cleveland Clinic, has done considerable research in this area, and agrees that many of these vulnerable patients are living longer and better lives because of how and when they are being treated.
Current Issue
Understand the Warning Labels That Accompany Statins
Taking a statin may do much more than help you manage your cholesterol. Studies in the past year suggest that the widely prescribed medications may adversely affect cognitive function and blood glucose levels, while at the same time help to protect against inflammatory disease, prostate cancer and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. But it is the possible negative side effects of statins that prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year to change the drugs’ warning label to reflect concerns about diabetes and cognitive dysfunction. The revised warnings note that statins may lead to memory problems or confusion, and they may contribute to elevated blood glucose levels.
Learn the Connection Between Psoriasis and Heart Disease
If you suffer from psoriasis, you may want to pay even greater attention to your heart health. A study published in the April 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology found that psoriasis patients are at a greater risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) than those without the chronic skin disease. And the longer you’ve had psoriasis, the higher your heart risks. But how are the conditions linked? “Coronary artery disease is believed to have an inflammatory basis,” says Richard Krasuski, MD, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic. “Atherosclerotic plaques may be triggered by inflammatory changes in the vessel wall and changes to cholesterol particles in the blood are seen with inflammation that leads to greater cholesterol deposition in the vessel. Inflammation may even trigger plaque rupture, which can lead to occlusion of a heart vessel and a heart attack.”
Reduce Your Exposure to Air Pollution to Protect Your Heart
We tend to associate breathing polluted air with respiratory distress, but new research suggests that airborne pollutants may be putting your heart at risk, too. Exposure to polluted air, even for a few days, may significantly raise your risk of suffering a heart attack, according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers found that short-term exposure (up to seven days) to most major air pollutants is associated with an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke. The study didn’t point to a direct cause-and-effect relationship between pollution and cardiac risks, but did suggest that air pollution exposure poses a legitimate public health threat when it comes to cardiovascular risks.
Manage Elevated Blood Glucose to Prevent Heart Damage
The heart risks associated with diabetes are well known, but a recent study found that even if your blood glucose levels fall short of the criteria for diabetes, your heart may still be suffering. A study published in the Feb. 2 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that elevated levels of HbA1c, a marker for chronic hyperglycemia and diabetes, were associated with minute levels of protein troponin T, a blood marker for heart damage. “It showed that the higher your blood sugar average was, the more heart muscle damage markers you had,” says Cleveland Clinic endocrinologist Betul A. Hatipoglu, MD. “And adjusted for other risk factors, this study showed that blood sugar alone is a risk factor to damage the heart muscle.”
Research Shows Risky Weight Loss Efforts May Hurt Kidneys
With one in five overweight Americans suffering from kidney disease, the role of weight loss in managing the condition is crucial. But certain lifestyle choices can further damage kidney function, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published online in the February issue of the International Journal of Obesity. Led by Cleveland Clinic nephrologist Sankar Navaneethan, MD, researchers examined the food choices and lifestyle habits of nearly 11,000 overweight Americans. They found that the typical American diet includes 1.2g of protein per kilogram of body weight each day.
Ask The Doctors: April 2012
Whether or not you should get surgery for your leaking bioprosthetic aortic valve depends on more factors than just your age. The fact that this would be your second open heart surgery would make the procedure more risky, mainly due to the presence of postsurgical scar tissue known as “adhesions” which tend to form in the chest. My recommendation would be for you to get a second opinion from a large academic medical center, such as Cleveland Clinic. The possibility of a second heart surgery should still be considered, because it is the tried-and-true method for fixing the problem.
