London: The number of Britons dying of cardiac arrest has come down by half in eight years, a new study says.
Helping people quit smoking and managing others with high blood pressure and high cholesterol contributed to the dipping numbers, said the study by the British Heart Foundation.
Better hospital care for those who suffer a heart attack has also contributed to the drop, the Daily Express reported.
Data from 2002 to 2010 showed the death rate fell by 50 percent in men and 53 percent in women.
Experts, however, say there was still much to be done to slash the 83,000 heart attack deaths a year.
“Too many still die from a cardiac arrest before medical help arrives,” said Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation.
As the president and medical director of the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF), it’s my job to stay on top of advances in the field of Alzheimer’s research. Recently, a number of articles in the medical literature have caught my attention. They are focused on a particular question that concerns most Baby Boomers like me: “Is memory loss just a normal part of aging?”
Many of my patients in their fifties, sixties, and older notice that they occasionally forget things like a name, face, or where they put their keys. They wonder whether this behavior is normal, or if it is a sign of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a reasonable worry: Alzheimer’s disease is reaching epidemic proportions and recent surveys by the Alzheimer’s Association and others reveal that it is the Baby Boomers’ biggest health fear.
answer to that question used to be, “Yes, we all experience some memory loss as we age. Don’t worry—it’s not Alzheimer’s.” Indeed, it was once thought that a little memory loss was an expected and accepted part of the normal aging process. There was even a term for it: Age-Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI). It included a general slowing of mental functions such as processing, storing, and recalling new information. It also included a general decline in the ability to perform tasks related to cognitive function such as memory, concentration, and focus.
But here’s the rub: AAMI was never a clinical diagnosis, even though many physicians, lay people—and, yes, even yours truly—thought otherwise. Instead, AAMI is a technical diagnosis. It’s made by a psychometric test, not by actual clinical symptoms.
Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine’s culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.
In case anyone is still wondering why we have so many obese children in our midst, one reason is the huge amount of sugar found in children’s cereals. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit based in Oakland, California has just published a comprehensive report on sugary cereals which ranks the best and the worst cereals.
People at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease may be able to offset that propensity by exercising, according to a new observational study at Washington University in St. Louis.
Researchers used PET scans to image the brains of 163 participants, ages 45-88, who tested normal on a test for cognitive decline. They identified 52 as carriers of APOE epsilon-4, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Among sedentary APOE epsilon-4 carriers, the scans showed greater buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain associated with the development of Alzheimer’s.
But the carriers who were physically active, meeting the American Heart Association guidelines for regular exercise, showed no more buildup of amyloid plaques than found in the brains of non-carriers.
Although the study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect, the scientists noted that the genetic risk “makes beneficial lifestyle factors, such as exercise, preferentially important.” – Archives of Neurology
London: The number of Britons dying of cardiac arrest has come down by half in eight years, a new study says. Helping people quit smoking and managing others with high blood pressure and high cholesterol contributed to the dipping numbers, said the study by the British Heart Foundation. Better hospital care for those who suffer …
As the president and medical director of the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF), it’s my job to stay on top of advances in the field of Alzheimer’s research. Recently, a number of articles in the medical literature have caught my attention. They are focused on a particular question that concerns most Baby Boomers like …
Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine’s culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.
In case anyone is still wondering why we have so many obese children in our midst, one reason is the huge amount of sugar found in children’s cereals. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit based in Oakland, California has just published a comprehensive report on sugary cereals which ranks the best and the worst cereals. …
People at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease may be able to offset that propensity by exercising, according to a new observational study at Washington University in St. Louis.
London: The number of Britons dying of cardiac arrest has come down by half in eight years, a new study says.
