You will find information on the risk of heart failure in the elderly, the connection between heart attacks and future heart failure risk, as well as the relationship between heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and fatigue.
Decreasing temperatures increase risk of heart failure in the elderly
Autumn is just around the corner, which means declining temperatures and trading your summer clothes for something warmer. While watching the leaves change is enjoyable for most, a new study suggests that changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure may be related to an increase in hospitalization and even death in elderly patients with heart failure.
A sudden change in temperature is known to affect our health in one way or another, but this may have a greater impact on those considered more vulnerable. Now a study conducted at Université Laval and Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, reveals that heart failure patients are at increased risk. Continue reading…
The heart’s main function is to pump blood so that the rest of the body can get adequate oxygenated blood in order to function. When this process is disrupted or the heart’s ability to pump blood becomes impaired, heart failure occurs. Although heart failure may sound like the heart has stopped or halted function altogether, it simply refers to the heart’s inability to pump sufficient blood to the rest of the body. Regardless, heart failure is a very serious condition and it requires medical attention to prevent complications from arising.
Risk factors for heart failure include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, certain medications, and sleep apnea. But the latest findings suggest that weight gain is another contributing factor to heart failure. Continue reading…
One-quarter of all Americans who have a heart attack go on to experience heart failure, and researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered a new clue as to why.
After a heart attack, your immune system may elicit a long-term damage response that results in the heart muscle becoming stiff, fibrous, and scar-like. Researchers now contribute this to signaling proteins in the epicardium—a layer of cells that lines the heart and has been found to play a role in moderating this damage response. Previous research has shown that two proteins in the epicardium, YAP and TAZ, encourage the regeneration of the heart muscle. Continue reading…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are at a higher risk for heart failure, according to research findings. Two studies examined the prevalence of myocardial inflammation among rheumatoid arthritis patients without known cardiovascular disease to assess how myocardial inflammation associated with RA disease activity and examine how disease-modifying therapy may decrease this type of inflammation.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by pain, stiffness, swelling, and limitations in motions. RA primarily affects joints, but inflammation can develop in other organs, too. Roughly 1.3 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis, and more women have RA than men. Continue reading…
Managing fatigue and depression in heart failure patients lowers hospitalization rates and increases life expectancy. The researchers reviewed data from 9,869 patients with a diagnosis of heart failure during a three-year period. Detailed records covering all variables, such as test results, medications, other conditions, etc., were available for 582 patients, enabling further analysis of depression and fatigue.
The researchers compared the effects of fatigue and depression on hospitalization in four groups of patients: fatigue-only, depression-only, both depression and fatigue, and those without fatigue or depression. Continue reading…