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    Lightbulb Matters of the heart

    Thought that was what the pacemaker was needed for...

    Heartbeat 'could power pacemaker'
    4 November 2012 - A device which could harness energy from a beating heart can produce enough electricity to keep a pacemaker running, according to US researchers.
    Repeated operations are currently needed to replace batteries in pacemakers. Tests suggested the device could produce 10 times the amount of energy needed. The British Heart Foundation said clinical trials were needed to show it would be safe for patients. Piezoelectric materials generate an electric charge when their shape is changed. They are used in some microphones to convert vibrations into an electrical signal. Researchers at the University of Michigan are trying to use the movement of the heart as a source of electricity.

    In tests designed to simulate a range of heartbeats, enough electricity was generated to power a pacemaker. The designers now want to test the device on a real heart and build it into a commercial pacemaker. Dr Amin Karami told a meeting of the American Heart Association that pacemaker batteries needed to be replaced approximately every seven years. "Many of the patients are children who live with pacemakers for many years. You can imagine how many operations they are spared if this new technology is implemented."

    Prof Peter Weissberg, the medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Advancing technology over recent years has meant people with pacemakers need to change their battery less often. This device could be another step forward along this path. "If researchers can refine the technology and it proves robust in clinical trials, it would further reduce the need for battery changes."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20182529

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    That would be great news and hope it is successful.

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    Using stem cells from strangers to repair hearts...

    Study: Stem cells from strangers can repair hearts
    6 Nov.`12 — Researchers are reporting a key advance in using stem cells to repair hearts damaged by heart attacks. In a study, stem cells donated by strangers proved as safe and effective as patients' own cells for helping restore heart tissue.
    The work involved just 30 patients in Miami and Baltimore, but it proves the concept that anyone's cells can be used to treat such cases. Doctors are excited because this suggests that stem cells could be banked for off-the-shelf use after heart attacks, just as blood is kept on hand now. Results were discussed Monday at an American Heart Association conference in California and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

    The study used a specific type of stem cells from bone marrow that researchers believed would not be rejected by recipients. Unlike other cells, these lack a key feature on their surface that makes the immune system see them as foreign tissue and attack them, explained the study's leader, Dr. Joshua Hare of the University of Miami. The patients in the study had suffered heart attacks years earlier, some as long as 30 years ago. All had developed heart failure because the scar tissue from the heart attack had weakened their hearts so much that they grew large and flabby, unable to pump blood effectively.

    Researchers advertised for people to supply marrow, which is removed using a needle into a hip bone. The cells were taken from the marrow and amplified for about a month in a lab at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, then returned to Miami to be used for treatment, which did not involve surgery. The cells were delivered through a tube pushed through a groin artery into the heart near the scarred area. Fifteen patients were given cells from their own marrow and 15 others, cells from strangers.

    About a year later, scar tissue had been reduced by about one-third. Both groups had improvements in how far they could walk and in quality of life. There was no significant difference in one measure of how well their hearts were able to pump blood, but doctors hope these patients will continue to improve over time, or that refinements in treatment will lead to better results. The big attraction is being able to use cells supplied by others, with no blood or tissue matching needed. "You could have the cells ready to go in the blood bank so when the patient comes in for a therapy — there's no delay," Hare said. "It's also cheaper to make the donor cells," and a single marrow donor can supply enough cells to treat as many as 10 people.

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    Good place to have a heart attack...

    App helps save Seattle cardiac patient
    October 20, 2016 — If your heart is going to stop, right outside a hospital is not a bad place for it. And if 41 people within a 330-yard radius have a cellphone app alerting them to your distress, so much the better.
    That's what happened in Seattle last week when Stephen DeMont collapsed at a bus stop in front of University of Washington Medical Center. While a medical student rushed over and began chest compressions, a cardiac nurse just getting off her shift was alerted by her phone, sprinted outside and assisted until paramedics arrived. Five days later, DeMont, 60, is walking, smiling and talking about how the PulsePoint app helped save his life.


    Stephen DeMont, center, gets a hug from medical student Zach Forcade, right, as nurse Madeline Dahl looks on as they visit DeMont Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the University of Washington Medical Center, in Seattle. When DeMont collapsed at a bus stop in front of the UW Medical Center days earlier on his morning commute, Dahl was one of 41 people within a 330-yard radius who happened to have a cell phone app alerting them to the emergency. Forcade witnessed the collapse and rushed over to begin chest compressions, as within moments Dahl, a cardiac nurse just getting off her shift in the hospital, was alerted by her phone and sprinted down the sidewalk, assisting until paramedics arrived.

    Seattle officials say the rescue shows the potential the free download has for connecting CPR-trained citizens with patients who urgently need their help. It's being used in 2,000 U.S. cities in 28 states. "I put it on my phone yesterday," said DeMont's wife, Debi Quirk, a former registered nurse. "He would not be here as we see him today." Seattle officials hope DeMont's story will help persuade thousands more people to sign up for notifications; so far, about 4,000 people in Seattle have downloaded PulsePoint since the city adopted it earlier this year with financial support from an employee charitable fund at Boeing. The goal is to have 15,000 using it.

    Developed by a former fire chief in Northern California, Richard Price, the app works through a city's 911 system. When a call comes in, operators alert people within a certain radius that CPR assistance is needed, along with the location of the nearest portable defibrillator. About 900,000 people around the country have downloaded and carry the app, and 34,000 people have been activated to respond, he said, adding that alerts have been issued in 13,000 cardiac events.


    Madeline Dahl, left, looks on as Zach Forcade, right, pulls out his cell phone while Stephen DeMont sits with them while being interviewed at the University of Washington Medical Center Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, in Seattle. When DeMont collapsed at a bus stop in front of the UW Medical Center days earlier on his morning commute, Dahl was one of 41 people within a 330-yard radius who happened to have a cell phone app alerting them to the emergency. Forcade, a medical student, witnessed the collapse and rushed over to begin chest compressions, as within moments Dahl, a cardiac nurse just getting off her shift in the hospital, was alerted by her phone and sprinted down the sidewalk, assisting until paramedics arrived.

    He came up with the idea in 2009, he said. He was in a restaurant when he heard sirens from his crews at the San Ramon Valley fire department. As he wondered where they were going, they arrived at the restaurant. "The patient was unconscious, unresponsive. I was 20 feet away on the other side of the wall," Price said. "The whole time I was listening to that siren, I could have been making a difference." It occurred to him that at any given time, two-thirds of his staff was off duty — in restaurants, out in the community. If there was a way to alert them to such emergencies by phone, it could save lives, Price said. It's not clear how many lives have been saved thanks to the app. Patient confidentiality laws often prevent hospitals from disclosing a patient's outcome.

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    Granny says, "Dat's right - get dat waist size down...

    Waist size 'strongly predicts' heart disease risk: Study
    Sunday 3rd April, 2016 - A study involving people with diabetes has shown that belly size is a stronger predictor of a dangerous kind of heart disease than body mass index, researchers said Saturday.
    The study released at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago was based on 200 people with diabetes who had not shown any symptoms of heart disease. Researchers found that those with larger waist circumferences were more likely than smaller-bellied people to have problems with the heart's left ventricle, which pumps oxygen-rich blood to the brain and the rest of the body. "We specifically found that waist circumference appears to be a stronger predictor for left ventricle dysfunction than total body weight or body mass index," said principal investigator Boaz Rosen, a doctor at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

    Previous research has shown that the higher a person's body mass index (BMI) - a measure of a person's height and weight - the greater their risk of heart disease.

    Having excess belly fat, or having an apple-shaped figure, has already been linked to high blood pressure, high sugar levels, elevated cholesterol, coronary artery disease and heart failure. "Our research examined patients with diabetes, who are considered high risk for developing heart disease already, and found that the shape of your body determined if you were at a greater risk to develop left ventricular dysfunction," said Brent Muhlestein, co-director of research at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City. "This study confirms that having an apple-shaped body - or a high waist circumference - can lead to heart disease, and that reducing your waist size can reduce your risks."

    Problems with the left ventricle can lead to congestive heart failure. Researchers said more study is needed to see if diabetic patients with large waists and signs of heart problems go on to develop heart failure or artery disease in the future.

    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...y/2659916.html

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    Bypass surgery may be better than stents... Bypass surgery may be better than stents for patients who skip meds October 25, 2016 - For heart disease patients who adhere to optimal medical therapy, outcomes of coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may not differ, a new study finds.
    However, among nonadherent patients, CABG affords better major adverse cardiac event–free survival. When they don’t take their meds as directed, CABG patients are 68 percent more likely to avoid complications than PCI patients. "Therefore, patient compliance with medical therapy may inform clinical decision making and should be incorporated into all future comparative studies of comparative coronary revascularization strategies," the authors write in Circulation October 24th. For patients who do take their meds, however, it matters less which intervention they got – they’re all nearly three times more likely to survive complication-free than those who skip the medications. “The take-home message for patients with coronary artery disease is even if you don't feel any differently when taking the medications, your very survival may depend upon them,” said lead study author Dr. Paul Kurlansky of Columbia University in New York. To assess how medication compliance influences outcomes, the authors followed 973 CABG patients and 2,255 patients who underwent PCI and stent placement, from February to July of 2004. Follow-ups were performed between 12 months and 18 months and starting again in 2009 to monitor both adherence to prescribed medication and to report any circulatory difficulties, including fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction, or any repeated bypass or angioplasty procedures. Optimal medical therapy included blood thinners (aspirin or one year of double antiplatelet therapy for stent patients), statins to lower cholesterol and beta-blockers to curb high blood pressure and maintain a normal heart rhythm for heart surgery patients. Among patients who adhere to recommended medication therapy, there may not be a clinical benefit for bypass over PCI, the authors say. Patients who got either procedure, left the hospital on aspirin and statins and were still on both medications at all follow-up checkups enjoyed significantly better event-free survival rates than patients who at any point were not on their medication. Some patients may avoid medications due to costs or side effects, but it may also be because they don’t feel sick, Kurlansky said. “Hypertension is usually clinically silent, we cannot feel our cholesterol level, and we don't perceive our platelet reactivity, therefore, to expend money and effort to take medications, some of which may have side effects, in order to feel absolutely no different is, for most people, highly counterintuitive,” Kurlansky said. “This, I believe, is why so many people, even after heart attack or heart surgery, discontinue their medications.” MORE

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    Uncle Ferd says, "Yeah - is fun exercise...

    Sex unlikely to cause cardiac arrest, study finds
    Mon, 13 Nov 2017 - Sudden cardiac arrest is linked to sexual activity far more often in men than women, a study finds.
    Sudden cardiac arrest is associated with sexual activity far more often in men than women, research suggests. But sex is a rare trigger for sudden cardiac arrest. Only 34 out of the 4,557 cardiac arrests examined occurred during or within one hour of sexual intercourse and 32 of those affected were men. Sumeet Chugh, of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said his study is the first to evaluate sexual activity as a potential trigger of cardiac arrest. The research was presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.

    A cardiac arrest happens when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating. It causes someone to fall unconscious and stop breathing and unless treated with CPR, it is fatal. This differs from a heart attack, where blood flow to the heart is blocked. It is known that sexual activity can trigger heart attacks, but the the link with cardiac arrest was previously unknown.


    Couples feet in bed

    Cardiac arrest facts

    * Almost 90% of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die
    * Every minute without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or defibrillation reduces someone's survival chances by 10%
    * CPR, especially if performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person's chance of survival
    * During CPR, you should push on the chest at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. The beat of the Bees Gees' hit Stayin' Alive is a perfect match for this

    Source: American Heart Association

    Dr Chugh and his colleagues in California examined hospital records on cases of cardiac arrest in adults between 2002 and 2015 in Portland, Oregon. Sexual activity was associated in fewer than 1% of the cases. The vast majority were male and were more likely to be middle-aged, African-American and have a history of cardiovascular disease. The study also found CPR was performed in only one-third of the cases, despite them being witnessed by a partner.

    Dr Chugh said: "These findings highlight the importance of continued efforts to educate the public on the importance of bystander CPR for sudden cardiac arrest, irrespective of the circumstance." He said it shows the need for people to be educated about how to administer CPR. Another study presented at the conference showed children as young as six can learn it. After a heart attack or surgery, the British Heart Foundation suggests patients should typically wait four to six weeks before resuming sexual activity.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/health-41929167

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    Yes. BMI only works for couch potatoes. Waist size is a better indicator. Old news in the fitness community.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


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    Using stem cells to regenerate the external layer of a human heart...

    Researchers use stem cells to regenerate the external layer of a human heart
    January 11, 2017 - A process using human stem cells can generate the cells that cover the external surface of a human heart—epicardium cells—according to a multidisciplinary team of researchers.
    "In 2012, we discovered that if we treated human stem cells with chemicals that sequentially activate and inhibit Wnt signaling pathway, they become myocardium muscle cells," said Xiaojun Lance Lian, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and biology, who is leading the study at Penn State. Myocardium, the middle of the heart's three layers, is the thick, muscular part that contracts to drive blood through the body. The Wnt signaling pathway is a group of signal transduction pathways made of proteins that pass signals into a cell using cell-surface receptors. "We needed to provide the cardiac progenitor cells with additional information in order for them to generate into epicardium cells, but prior to this study, we didn't know what that information was," said Lian. "Now, we know that if we activate the cells' Wnt signaling pathway again, we can re-drive these cardiac progenitor cells to become epicardium cells, instead of myocardium cells."

    The group's results, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, bring them one step closer to regenerating an entire heart wall. Through morphological assessment and functional assay, the researchers found that the generated epicardium cells were similar to epicardium cells in living humans and those grown in the laboratory. "The last piece is turning cardiac progenitor cells to endocardium cells (the heart's inner layer), and we are making progress on that," said Lian.


    Heart progenitors cells derived from human stem cells can be further specified to heart cells belong to external layer or muscle layer of a human heart.

    The group's method of generating epicardium cells could be useful in clinical applications, for patients who suffer a heart attack. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 43 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack "Heart attacks occur due to blockage of blood vessels," said Lian. "This blockage stops nutrients and oxygen from reaching the heart muscle, and muscle cells die. These muscle cells cannot regenerate themselves, so there is permanent damage, which can cause additional problems. These epicardium cells could be transplanted to the patient and potentially repair the damaged region." During their study, the researchers engineered the human stem cells to become reporter cells, meaning these cells expressed a fluorescent protein only when they became epicardium cells. "We treated the cells with different cell signaling molecules, and we found that when we treated them with Wnt signaling activators, they became fluorescent," said Lian.

    Another finding, he said, is that in addition to generating the epicardium cells, the researchers also can keep them proliferating in the lab after treating these cells with a cell-signaling pathway Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF) inhibitor. "After 50 days, our cells did not show any signs of decreased proliferation. However, the proliferation of the control cells without the TGF Beta inhibitor started to plateau after the tenth day," said Lian. The team will continue working together to further their research on regenerating endocardium cells. "We are making progress on that inner layer, which will allow us to regenerate an entire heart wall that can be used in tissue engineering for cardiac therapy," said Lian.

    http://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-0...layer.html#jCp

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    Vitamin D helps damaged hearts...

    Vitamin D 'heals damaged hearts'
    Mon, 04 Apr 2016 - Vitamin D supplements may help people with a failing heart, a study suggests.
    Vitamin D supplements may help people with diseased hearts, a study suggests. A trial on 163 heart failure patients found supplements of the vitamin, which is made in the skin when exposed to sunlight, improved their hearts' ability to pump blood around the body. The Leeds Teaching Hospitals team, who presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, described the results as "stunning". The British Heart Foundation called for longer trials to assess the pills. Vitamin D is vital for healthy bones and teeth and may have important health benefits throughout the body but many people are deficient.

    No safe way to suntan - warning

    The average age of people in the study was 70 and like many people that age they had low levels of vitamin D even in summer. "They do spend less time outside, but the skin's ability to manufacture vitamin D also gets less effective [with age] and we don't really understand why that is," said consultant cardiologist Dr Klaus Witte. Patients were given either a 100 microgram vitamin D tablet or a sugar pill placebo each day for a year. And researchers measured the impact on heart failure - a condition in which the heart becomes too weak to pump blood properly. The key measure was the ejection fraction, the amount of blood pumped out of the chambers of the heart with each beat.


    In a healthy adult the figure is between 60% and 70%, but only a quarter of the blood in the heart was being successfully pumped out in the heart failure patients. But in those taking the vitamin pills, the ejection fraction increased from 26% to 34%. Dr Witte told the BBC News website: "It's quite a big deal, that's as big as you'd expect from other more expensive treatments that we use, it's a stunning effect. "It's as cheap as chips, has no side effects and a stunning improvement on people already on optimal medical therapy, it is the first time anyone has shown something like this in the last 15 years."

    The study also showed the patients hearts became smaller - a suggestion they are becoming more powerful and efficient. In the UK, people over 65 are advised to take 10 microgram supplements of the vitamin. However, Dr Witte does not think high-dose vitamin D should be routine prescribed just yet. He told the BBC: "We're a little bit off that yet, not because I don't believe it, but data have shown improvements in heart function, they may show improvements in symptoms and we now need a large study."

    It is also not clear exactly how vitamin D is improving heart function, but it is thought every cell in the body responds to the vitamin. Most vitamin D comes from sunlight, although it is also found in oily fish, eggs and is added to some foods such as breakfast cereals. Prof Peter Weissberg, from the British Heart Foundation, cautioned that the patients seemed no better at exercise. And added: "A much bigger study over a longer period of time is now needed to determine whether these changes in cardiac function can translate into fewer symptoms and longer lives for heart failure patients."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35959556

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