Cardiovascular
Think Twice Before Arranging a Surprise Party
Are you considering a surprise party for a loved one or an old friend? It's normally a generous thought and an enjoyable gathering. But a report in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that sudden surprises can have unexpected consequences. There's a scene that happens many times a day in this country. A patient arrives at the hospital emergency in acute distress. He's complaining of constricting chest pain and shortness of breath. Suspected diagnosis is an acute coronary attack. But doctor's jumping quickly to this conclusion can be wrong. Johns Hopkins doctors faced a dilemma in 19 patients admitted to emergency. Outwardly the signs and symptoms were a textbook account of coronary attack. But the electrocardiogram was normal. Blood tests showed...Read More
Cardiovascular
What Women and Husbands Don’t Know About Heart Attack
"Vive le Difference". We all know what Maurice Chevalier was thinking when he uttered these words about boys and girls. But there's a "difference" between the sexes that Chevalier wasn't referring to and that few women or their husbands know. When heart attack is mentioned most of us invariably think of men. Now, a report from the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. shows that coronary attack can be an even more ominous event for women. And ignorance of the reason means the outcome can be more deadly. Women have always appeared to be the stronger sex since they live longer and heart attack strikes them 10 years later than men. This gives them the appearance of invincibility, but in effect the coronary...Read More
Cardiovascular
Heart Valves Like The Swinging Doors Of A Saloon
What's one of the worst results from visiting a doctor? It's getting the impression that a serious problem has been diagnosed when the exact opposite is true. It's called "iatrogenic disease" which means a disease created by a doctor. And when patients are told they have mitral valve prolapse (MVP) it often opens a Pandora's box of anxiety. The mitral valve separates the two left chambers of the heart. The valve resembles a tall bishop's hat called a miter and each time the heart beats it opens like the swinging door of a saloon. But after opening, it then firmly closes while the next beat of the heart pumps blood to the body. MVP occurs when the valve does not provide a...Read More
Cardiovascular
Polypill – Research in a London Pub
Why would I become depressed in a English pub? It happened during a recent trip to London to interview prominent researchers. Later I stole away to the English countryside and the relaxing atmosphere of quaint pubs. The last thing I wanted to do while enjoying the local ambience was to think about the dilemmas of medicine. But there in the newspaper was a large headline I couldn't miss, "Polypill aims to cut heart disease by 80 percent". So I had to read on. As people age they often take more pills, many of them to prevent heart disease. Now British researchers claim they have a way to solve swallowing one pill after another, the "Polypill". Polypill strategy is the brainchild of Professor...Read More
Cardiovascular
Rx : Take This Polypill Once A Year!!!!
"Damn it, why didn't I think of it. Maybe I could have won the Nobel Prize." This thought occurred to me several years ago while reading a newspaper while having a beer in a English pub. Professors Nicholas Wald and Malcolm Law of the University of London announced they were working on a Polypill aimed to cut heart disease by 80 percent. The Polypill was to contain Aspirin to prevent blood clots, a cholesterol-lowering drug, folic acid to fight atherosclerosis and an anti-hypertension medication. Researchers claimed that popping one daily would have a greater impact on preventing heart disease in the western world than any other treatment. I ordered another beer and knew this was the star of the Polypill generation. Now...Read More
Cardiovascular
Simple Test Predicts Health Risk
You may have an electrocardiogram today, but it's no guarantee you won't drop dead tomorrow. Today, in an increasingly complex electronic world, we can have a barrage of sophisticated tests done in an hour or so. But they do not ensure you will live out the day. So why not follow the rule, "keep it simple stupid" (kiss). A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reports a simple prognostic gem that helps to predict the risk of death. Dr. Michael S. Lauer, Director of Clinical Research at The Cleveland Clinic, says the heart's recovery rate is the important factor in assessing mortality. The key factor is how quickly the heart rate returns to normal following exertion. In this study...Read More
Cardiovascular
2006, Make It The Belly Year
What's your waist measurement? I'd bet you don't know. So let's start 2006 by putting a bit of old-fashioned horse sense back into medicine. As has been aptly said, "keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Moreover, this approach could save your life. Neither doctors nor patients take the belly seriously. They forget that not all fat is created equal. As with real estate, location, location, location makes you healthy or wealthy. So if it's increasingly difficult to see your feet, it's time to get serious about your waistline. Dr.Salim Yusuf, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, says the best indicator of heart attack is waist-to-hip ratio(WHR). The best measurement is one in which the waist is smaller than hips. This makes you pear-shaped....Read More
Cardiovascular, Orthopedics
Natural Ways To Ease The Arthritis Pain of Aging
"Why are you taking drugs when you haven't tried natural ways to ease the pain of arthritis?" Thus I remind patients they're not taking M and M candy, but powerful drugs that can cause major complications. Moreover, they forget that many natural drugs can be used to not only treat, but also prevent wear-and-tear arthritis (osteoarthritis) that comes with age. Vitamin C is the most overlooked natural remedy. Osteoarthritis is chiefly an impairment of cartilage and when it's diminished with age bones grind against one another causing pain. The secret is to keep cartilage healthy. A prime way, is adequate amounts of vitamin C, which is needed to manufacture collagen, an important ingredient of cartilage. Researchers at Boston University Medical Center studied...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
President’s Choice Is Helping To Fight Hypertension – Dangers of Salt
Interested in a simple way to live longer? No, not medication to lower blood cholesterol. But a much easier prescription. Just decrease the amount of salt you consume every day. Incredibly most people are unaware of the huge amount of salt they're ingesting and it's killing them. Now President's Choice is helping to educate consumers on ways to prevent a lethal blowout from excess salt. How are they doing it and why are there no TV ads about the dangers of salt? Stephen Havas, is Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland. He claims in the Nutrition Action Health Letter that the number of deaths from excess salt is equivalent to a commuter jet crashing every day...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
Should You Be Hooked On Fish?
Where would I go for one final meal? There's no doubt it would be the Union Oyster House in Boston. Since I spent many years studying surgery in the home of the Boston bean I've always loved fish. And we've all been told that eating fish is good for you. But is it? Lately we've been warned that now there's mercury in fish. So is it a case that you're damned if you eat fish and damned if you don't? Moreover, millions of pounds of fish are now "farmed". So how do they compare with those swimming freely in lakes and oceans? Dr. Frank Hu, of the department of nutrition at The Harvard School of Public Health, recently reported on the...Read More
Cardiovascular, Medicine
Why Diabetic Patients Need Aspirin
Why do diabetic patients die? Over 60 years ago, Joslin, the founder of the world famous Boston Diabetic Clinic, remarked, "With an excess of fat diabetes begins, and from an excess of fat diabetics die." Years ago diabetic patients died in coma due to a lack of insulin. Today, since the discovery of insulin, patients are dying from premature cardiovascular disease. Why does this happen and can Aspirin save many of these deaths? November is Diabetes Month in North America to promote awareness of this disease. And justly so. Every year I see diabetic patients making a potentially fatal mistake. They're usually prudent about maintaining normal blood sugar levels, but imprudent by not taking a daily Aspirin. Aspirin's job is the...Read More
Cardiovascular
Osler’s “Defective Rubber” Kills Us – Hypertension and Aspirin
We all know that serious consequences can result when a tire blows. But today most people have little knowledge of human blow-outs. The fatal strokes that kill or paralyze people with little or no warning. Moreover, many people at high risk are not taking Aspirin that can often prevent this tragedy. A recent survey showed that 50 percent of Canadians 35 and older were unable to describe a stroke. 48 percent could not identify a symptom of stroke, 19 percent did not know that high blood pressure was the most critical factor and only 36 percent would seek emergency help if they were experiencing symptoms. Normal blood pressure is 120/80. The upper figure, the systolic pressure is the force at which blood...Read More
Cardiovascular
Why Cholesterol-Free Foods Can Be Dangerous
Today the word "cholesterol" has become as familiar to Americans as motherhood and apple pie. But unlike these two it's unloved and meant to be avoided. So if you're a marketing whiz kid, would you try to increase sales with a red label stating your product is "cholesterol free"? Unfortunately, life is never so simple and there are several marketing conundrums for both promoters and unsuspecting consumers. And do cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) exchange one devil for another? Dr. Khhursheed Jeejeebhoy, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, reported in The Medical Post that consumers don't realize that many cholesterol-free foods contain large amounts of sugar and trans-fatty acids . This is not a healthy combination. Too much sugar and excess calories...Read More
Cardiovascular
Aspirin to Prolong Life
How long does it take for good news to reach the public? It appears a long, long time. For several years the medical community has known of the multiple benefits of Aspirin. Yet, I still see patients whose lives could be extended by Aspirin who are not taking it. This is tragic when it can also help patients escape several deadly diseases. The most recent example was a 55 year old woman who had been suffering from diabetes for 35 years. In addition, she was overweight, a bad combination for a heart attack. Yet, no one had told her she could decrease the risk of a coronary event by taking Aspirin. It's estimated that six million diabetics in North America are headed...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet: A Diet for All Ages
What is the most prudent diet to follow today? Some swear it's the Atkin's high protein diet. Others believe the low fat Ornish diet is the answer. And I've often stressed that a high fiber diet promotes health. But what about The Anti-Inflammatory Diet? A report from Tufts University in Boston has an entirely new twist on nutrition and health. It claims that if we can decrease inflammation in our body we can also decrease the progression of disease. We all know that something is amiss when we have an inflamed throat. But no one would give inflammation a second thought as the cause if the doctor diagnosed high blood pressure, heart disease or arthritis. Yet inflammation may be the culprit. Today hypertension...Read More
Cardiovascular
Vioxx – Super Aspirin Not So Super
In 1673 J.B. Moliere wrote, " Nearly all men die of their medicines, not of their illness". And while imprisoned on the island of St. Helena Napoleon commented, "Take a dose of medicine once and in all probability you will be obliged to take an additional hundred afterward". So neither party would be surprised at the bombshell announcement that Vioxx, heralded as the "Super Aspirin" for arthritic pain, has been found to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and removed from the market. It's the old story of "caveat empor", let the buyer beware. But think again if you naively believe Vioxx is the only problem. Remember that the new kid on the block is not necessarily a better...Read More
Cardiovascular
President Clinton And Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
Former President Clinton has joined 400,000 Americans who required coronary bypass surgery in the last year. Clinton had high blood cholesterol and took cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). But these drugs, along with superb medical care, neither prevented nor cured his disease. And nothing was said of the risk of taking CLDs? Today it's like attacking motherhood to question the value of CLDs. But there are scientists who believe it's a myth that cholesterol is the major risk factor for heart disease. They say there's blind addiction to these drugs and occasionally serious side effects. But with billions of dollars at stake studies questioning the benefits of CLD tend to be buried. A major study called Prosper showed you can exchange one devil for...Read More
Cardiovascular
The ‘”Sardine Syndrome” – Pul Embolism
I know how sardines feel when I'm crammed into an economy seat during an overseas flight. I'm also aware it can cause a lethal blood clot. So if my number is up and "The Sardine Syndrome" lands me at the Pearly Gate, should I blame my death on the airline which caused a deep vein thrombosis (DVT)? And how can you prevent DVT? Fifty-six people, some of them now dead, have taken legal action against airlines. The charge claims they failed to inform passengers, or their relatives, about the risk of DVT in flight. Flying, like many other things in life, carries a risk. For instance, it's reported that every month one death occurs at London's Heathrow airport due to DVT. These...Read More
Cardiovascular, Pediatrics
Grandchildren, The Long Visit Can Be Lethal
"Would you like to look after the grandchildren for us?" is an often heard request these days. Sometimes it's a request for a few hours of baby-sitting to allow parents a quiet evening on their own. But today with both parents working, caring for grandchildren can result in months or years of reliving earlier days. Some grandparents thrive on this routine. But a report in the American Journal of Public Health shows that caring for grandkids can trigger more than a headache. It can also cause increased risk of heart attack. Dr Sunmin Lee, of Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, studied 544,412 registered nurses ages 41 to 71 between 1992 and 1996 who cared for grandchildren at least nine hours...Read More
Cardiovascular
The Triple A Disease That Can Kill – Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
A healthy 60 year old man played two sets of tennis and later in the day developed low back pain. He surmised he had simply strained his back. But by evening he experienced severe abdominal pain, lost consciousness and was dead on arrival at the hospital. A 50 year old woman complained of chest pain after a heavy dinner and believed it was just heartburn. But when pain increased she paid a visit to the hospital emergency. Doctors there suspected coronary attack, but blood tests and an electrocardiogram were normal. Doctors then concluded that the pain was the result of severe indigestion and prescribed Pepcid and a painkiller. But as the patient was leaving the hospital she collapsed and became unconscious....Read More
Cardiovascular
Should You Fly Over That Big Gaping Hole? – Are Cholesterol Drugs Risky
A picture is often worth a thousand words. One recently caught my eye. The picture shows a small plane circling a huge active volcano. A passenger says, "Let's take a closer look at the volcanic crater". The pilot replies, "We can't, it's not worth the risk". And a recent report similarly questions whether the mass consumption of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) is worth the risk. Dr. Jim Wright is Director of The Therapeutic Initiative. It's a British Columbia organization that aids doctors in evaluating drugs. It concluded that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be doing more harm than good in the attempt o prevent heart attack. After studying five clinical trials of CLDs, Wright writes that they only decreased the risk of heart attack and...Read More
Cardiovascular, Genitourinary
Is Impotence An Alarm Bell For Heart Attack?
What caused the sudden heart attack? Ask anyone this question and many would accuse too much cholesterol, chronic stress, smoking, obesity or bad genetics. But what about the role of the male hormone testosterone in causing cardiovascular disease? Is erectile dysfunction (ED) an early warning sign of heart attack? And what can we learn about testosterone treatment from a London Harley Street specialist? Recently much has been written about the male menopause (Andropause). How decreasing amounts of testosterone in men contributes to the increasing number of impotent males. But it appears there's more to testosterone than sexual potency. To find out about this exciting aspect of testosterone I recently met with Dr. Peter Collins, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at the Imperial College...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
Joe Hudson, The Omega-3 Egg Man
Who is Joe Hudson? I hadn't heard of him either until I decided to do some grass routes research and visited Burnbrae Farms in Brockville, Ontario. Joe has been raising chickens for 40 years, and eight million chickens later he's the Number One producer of Omega-3 eggs in Canada. But what's so healthful and special about the super egg? For this city boy, it was quite a sight to see a single farm processing one million eggs a day. How chickens are tricked into thinking summer is winter by varying the intensity of light. But it's no trick that gets chickens to lay the egg-to-end-all-eggs. Dr. Steve Lesson and his colleagues at the University of Guelph first produced these enriched eggs by...Read More
Cardiovascular
A New Technique For Coronary Bypass Surgery
How would you like to stitch together two small vessels the size of a piece of spaghetti while riding a bucking bronco? And realize that if you failed the patient would die? This is a tedious task under the best of circumstances. That's why cardiovascular surgeons have shied away from performing coronary bypass operations on a beating heart. Now, a new technique is being used for some bypass cases without the heart skipping a beat. This year over 500,000 coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) will be performed in North America. The majority will be done by placing patients on a heart-lung machine during the operation. This allows surgeons to suture tiny vessels onto motionless hearts while the heart-lung machine pumps well...Read More
Cardiovascular
Eating Almonds To Lower Blood Cholesterol!
Would you like to lower blood cholesterol without having to use cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)? In view of the millions of people taking this medication (I've been one of them) you may think this is a nutty suggestion. But if you were to be nuts about almond snacks every day, this would result in a significant drop in blood cholesterol. Dr. David Jenkins, director of clinical nutrition at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto, studied 27 men and women with high cholesterol for three months. During the first month each person was given a snack that consisted of a full dose of almonds averaging 74 grams a day (two handfuls of almonds). In the second month they received half the dose of almonds averaging...Read More
