Category: news-perspectives

Expanding public access to machines that can restart the heart leads to more and better survival, a new study concludes. Researchers looked at the use of automated external defibrillators in Japan. These machines deliver an electric shock to hearts that have stopped beating (cardiac arrest). In some cases, this can restore a normal heartbeat. The study looked at three years when the supply of these machines in public places in Japan increased more than eight-fold. Researchers focused on 12,631 cardiac arrests that were caused by a heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. All of them occurred outside a hospital but around witnesses. As the number of machines increased, bystanders were much more likely to use them. The shocks also were delivered faster. About 14% of the overall group survived cardiac arrest with little brain or nerve damage.

The typical Western diet accounts for about 30% of the world’s risk of heart attack, researchers have concluded. This diet includes large amounts of meat, fried food and salty snacks. The study included about 16,000 people in 52 countries. They answered questions about their eating habits. Those who followed the Western diet had a 35% higher risk of heart attack than those who did not. Other people followed a “prudent” diet, with many fruits and vegetables. Their heart attack risk was 30% lower than for those who ate few of these foods. The Oriental diet, which included tofu and soy sauce, had no effect on risk. HealthDay News wrote about the study October 20. It was in the journal Circulation.

Keeping sick Medicare patients out of the hospital is really hard, a U.S.-funded study has found. The study included 15 pilot projects that tried to help older adults manage long-term conditions better. The conditions included diabetes, heart disease and lung disease. Only two projects reduced hospital stays. They provided more contact with a nurse than other programs. But even these two didn’t save Medicare any money. Researchers said big changes can occur only if doctors and patients change their habits. People need to exercise, eat better and stop smoking. Doctors may need to change how they care for some patients. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Associated Press wrote about it February 11.

Even low levels of ozone can kill over time, new research shows. The study found that breathing ozone raises the risk of death from asthma and other lung diseases. The study lasted 18 years. It included nearly half a million people in 96 U.S. urban areas. Deaths from lung diseases rose along with ozone levels. The average increase was 4% for each 10 parts per billion of ozone in the air. Overall, ozone increased deaths from lung diseases 25%. Some California cities have very high ozone levels. The increase was 40% to 50% in those cities. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Los Angeles Times wrote about it March 12.

More than 35 million people around the world have Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, a new report says. And the numbers are growing. The report includes a projection for 2050. By then, it says, 115.4 million people will have dementia. The report comes from the group Alzheimer’s Disease International. It updates a 2005 report from a British group. But it also takes into account newer research. As a result, the new projections are higher than those in the earlier report. The report especially aims to raise awareness in poorer countries, the Associated Press said. Lifespan is increasing in many of these countries. For the first time, they have many people who live to be over 65. That means many more people have dementia.

Children who spend more time on TV and other types of screen time may be more likely to have psychological problems, a new study found. The problems may include emotions, conduct and relationships with other kids. They also are more common among kids who don’t exercise much, the study found. And kids who watch a lot of TV and don’t exercise have the most psychological problems of all. The study was based on a survey of parents of nearly 1,500 kids. Their ages ranged from 4 to 12. The journal Pediatrics published the study April 27.

Burning a bit of heart tissue can help to stop one type of abnormal rhythm, a study found. The study evaluated a treatment for atrial fibrillation. In this type of heart rhythm, the upper chambers quiver rather than beat normally. The study included 167 people who had not been helped by drug treatment. Most received catheter ablation. This treatment uses radiofrequency energy to destroy the small section of heart tissue that causes the abnormal rhythm. Other patients were given a drug they had not tried before. About 66% of those who had catheter ablation returned to a normal heart rhythm within 9 months. Only 16% of those on a new drug regime had this result. The difference was so large that researchers stopped the study early. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it January 26.

Doctors often prescribe two drugs after a heart attack: a blood thinner and a drug to prevent stomach bleeding caused by the blood thinner. But a new study finds that adding the second drug increases the risk to the heart. The study used data on 8,205 patients discharged from U.S. veterans’ hospitals. They had been admitted for a heart attack or severe chest pain. All were prescribed clopidogrel (Plavix), a blood thinner. Most also received a drug called a proton pump inhibitor to reduce the risk of stomach bleeding. But those who got the second drug were more likely to be admitted to the hospital again for heart problems. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it March 3.

A brief test that looks only at the lower colon and rectum could sharply reduce deaths from colorectal cancer, a new study finds. The British study included 170,000 people. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group received a test called a sigmoidoscopy. The other group did not. This test uses a flexible tube with a camera, also called a flexi-scope. The tube is inserted into the colon to look inside. People who received the test got it once, in their 50s or early 60s. In the next 11 years, colorectal cancer rates were one-third lower for people who got the test than for people who did not get it. Their chances of dying from this cancer were reduced by nearly half, 43%. Researchers said the sigmoidoscopy took about five minutes. Another test, a colonoscopy, takes longer and costs more. It looks at the whole colon.

A handful of people who were involved in the World Trade Center rescue have developed an immune system cancer. Doctors say they don’t know whether it’s linked to their work at the site. A program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City tracks the health of 28,252 responders at the site. Out of this group, eight people have developed multiple myeloma. This is the second most common immune system cancer. It would be typical for seven cases to appear in a group this size. But four of these cases involve people under age 45, researchers said. For a group this size, the average in that age category would be one case. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study online. The Associated Press wrote about it August 10.