latesthealthnews

Cardiovascular Operations Way Overused, Critics Say

2010-05-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Coronary bypass operations, reaming out arteries with balloon-tipped catheters, and placing drug-coated wire-mesh tubes in blood vessels to keep them open are procedures performed on millions of Americans a year.

But most of these expensive and sometimes risky operations may actually be unnecessary, according to Miami cardiologist Michael Ozner, medical director of the Cardiovascular Prevention Institute of South Florida, because they skip counseling patients about diet, exercise and stress management. Ozner is one of many doctors who are vocally critical of what they see as the overuse of "interventional cardiology," which is lucrative for the physicians and hospitals that perform it, but which may actually be frivolously wasting the country's limited health-care resources.

While some patients are clearly benefited by these invasive interventions, even to the extent of saving their lives, such people tend to be only the gravely ill. Most patients who are referred for bypass operations (in which part of a blood vessel from the leg is removed and then sewn into a coronary artery to bypass a clog), angioplasties (the balloon-tipped catheter procedure) or placement of stents (the tiny wire-mesh tubes) are healthy people who display no cardiac symptoms.

They may simply have been flagged by one or more cardiovascular tests as having a seriously narrowed coronary artery. However, studies have failed to show that these three invasive procedures in symptom-free patients can reduce the risk of heart attacks, crippling angina (heart pain) or sudden cardiac death. "We've extended the indications for surgical angioplasty and stent placement," Ozner said, "without any data to support the procedures in the vast majority of patients - stable patients with blockages in their arteries."

The research done to date, actually shows, Ozner continued, that placing stents in these patients fails to protect them any more than reducing cardiac risk by living a heart-healthy lifestyle, taking medication and, if warranted, adding nutritional supplements. The research also indicates that stents can occasionally be a net negative by increasing the chance that a dangerous clot will form in a heart artery, as noted in 2006 by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel.

And, in one study on balloon angioplasty, published in 2003 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, it was found that the catheter procedure actually increased the risk of a heart attack or death. The three invasive treatments cost about $60 billion a year in the United States. Although they've been proven not to prevent heart attacks or coronary mortality in most patients, they're covered by insurance, while the far less expensive counseling about for more log on to Health news

Four Predictors of Long Life

2010-05-21T00:42:00.000-07:00

Evidence is mounting that some rather surprising attributes and habits of a person's life can pretty well foretell whether that man or woman will live to a ripe old age. Here are four of them: -- Having strong legs. Leg strength translates into good flexibility, balance and endurance, which are crucial for avoiding the falls and other accidents that shorten so many seniors' lives. It's good to do squats, lunges and stair climbing to kill two birds with one stone: losing weight and gaining strength.

-- Avoiding soda (even diet soda). Recent research has shown that drinking one or more cans of regular or diet soda daily can double the chances of contracting metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It%u2019s speculated that this could result from the caramel color added to darken many sodas, or from the drinks' extreme sweetness, which "trains" the taste buds to yearn for sugar-heavy foods. A good soda alternative is seltzer water with a splash of fruit juice.

-- Having been born to a young mom. Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that if a person's mother was under age 25 at the time of birth, the person is twice as likely to live to be 100 as an individual born to an older mother. This may be because a woman's most vital eggs are the first to be ovulated, producing healthier babies.

-- Eating and drinking things in the red-to-purple range. Scientists have discovered that plant compounds called polyphenols, found in red wine, Concord grapes, blueberries and raspberries, tend to ward off heart ailments and possibly even Alzheimer's disease. for more log on to health news

MRI Excellent in Investigating Back Pain

2010-05-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming more and more useful to doctors in identifying the multiple possible causes of back pain, according to a recent evaluation of the technology from an orthopedic perspective.

The evaluation, which appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, observed that MRI is effective and even vital over a wide range of clinical disorders, and that, in years to come, technical developments will produce yet more orthopedic benefits.

"Because of the many different ways to gather this important information, MRI can be used to identify or display almost every type of spinal tissue or pathology," said co-author Victor M. Haughton of the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. "The imaging sequence can be modified to meet many different clinical needs." Such needs encompass back pain, infection, tumors, trauma and vascular disease.

In terms of spinal applications, MRI is now being used to investigate vascular disorders, trauma, abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal, and degeneration of the intervertebral discs and of the joints that link vertebrae together. The MRI machine works by measuring the varying amounts of energy given off by such tissues as fat, muscle, spinal nerves and spinal fluid when their protons are excited by radio waves in the presence of a strong magnetic field.

Thus, MRI scans can provide detailed images of spinal vertebrae spaces, bone marrow, the spinal canal and surrounding soft tissues. And MRI doesn't pose a radiation risk to patients. The orthopedic evaluation also included a consideration of computed tomography (CT), a related imaging technology. It's good for patients for whom a strong magnetic field poses problems, such as people with pacemakers or nerve stimulators, or for those with severe claustrophobia. CT, however, involves some radiation exposure.

"The possibilities of magnetic resonance have not yet been realized," Haughton said. "It is a rapidly evolving field. When we need tools to identify a possible herniated disk, the simplest type of MR imaging or CT imaging can be used successfully. However, if you want to find out which disk is causing pain, which nerve is firing, which metabolites are present in abnormal amounts, or how well the spinal elements are functioning, MR will provide the answers.for more log on to health news

Vitamin C Has Potential to Slow Cancer

2010-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to impede the growth of cancer, according to US scientists. The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found vitamin C to halve the size of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic tumors in mice. However, Cancer Research UK says that large vitamin C doses may interfere with other cancer treatment.

Scientists conducted research by breeding mice with malfunctioning immune systems and injecting them with human cancer cells. The cells quickly grew into large tumors and scientists then injected vitamin C into the abdomen of mice. With treated mice, tumor growth and weight fell between 41 and 53% and did not spread quickly, but in untreated mice, the disease rapidly spread to other body parts.

After successfully treating mice, scientists are now suggesting that the same treatment could be considered for humans at similar levels. Dr. Alison Ross from Cancer Research UK warns that much more work needs to be done to see if Vitamin C is a viable treatment for cancer.

She states, "This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice. There is currently no evidence from clinical trials in humans that injecting or consuming vitamin C is an effective way to treat cancer.