Following on from our recent article regarding heart disease is a chilling declaration in the Daily Telegraph that in the UK:

“one hundred thousand people are living undiagnosed with an inherited condition that means they could suffer a fatal heart attack at any time.”

The article reports on a hereditary disorder called Familial Hypercholesterolaemia that causes extremely high cholesterol levels in the body, a major indicator for coronary heart disease and heart attacks.

The most worrying thing is that despite it being the most common hereditary disorder in the UK, very few people have even heard of it. And it’s not just adults who are at risk:

“Children as young as eight with the condition may be prescribed statins for the rest of their lives to control their cholesterol levels and all offspring of affected patients should be tested by the age of 10 at the latest, the guideline is expected to say.

Familial Hypercholesterolaemia is the most common inherited disorder in the UK, affecting one in 500 people, yet there is no co-ordinated screening programme to detect it.”

The NHS have come under heavy criticism with only 15,000 people having so far been diagnosed, with calls coming for a National Screening test.

This re-emphasises the need to be vigilant when it comes to you and your familes health, especially for those with a family history.

If you wish to find out more about preventing heart disease and reducing cholesterol then take a look at our recent article ‘How to Keep a Healthy Heart’.

Bookmark It

Anyone concerned about heart disease should keep a regular check on their eyes, with a certain type of eye damage giving crucial early clues to the onset of the disease.  According to a new study people with a type of eye damage known as retinopathy were nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease related deaths than those without it.

It goes without saying that people showing signs of such eye damage - especially if over-weight - may be getting a first warning of the need to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. If that’s you then we have provided some tips below to help get you started. Just remember - this is just a reference and if you have any heart worries it is extremely important that you see your GP straight away.

Tips to lower cholesterol and blood pressure:

1. See Your GP to see about appropriate medication.
2. Weight Control - The more you weigh the higher your BP is likely to be
3. Exercise Regularly - A fit heart will pump blood with less pressure. Just 10 weeks of regular aerobic exercise can reduce BP significantly.
4. Healthy Diet - eat plenty of fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables and reduce your consumption of dairy, red meats and biscuits etc
5. Reduce Salt - should be a maximum of 6g per day for adults
6. Reduce Caffeine - drink less tea and coffee
7. Reduce Alcohol - Stick to the recommended allowances or less and avoid binge drinking. Recommended allowance  is 3-4 units per day for men and 2-3 units for women.
8. Stop Smoking  - one of the biggest causes of heart disease and cancer.
9. Reduce Stress - increased stress can increase BP - especially if you counter stress with food, drink and cigarettes
10. Use Alternative Therapies - there are many effective natural remedies and supplements available to help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.
11. Monitor Your Progress  - Blood pressure can be checked regularly without the need to see your GP by using blood pressure monitors to keep a track of your progress.

This is not an exhaustive list but will definitely go a long way to getting you on the right road. Again we re-iterate - if you are concerned about your heart then see your GP straight away.

Bookmark It

A recent study in the US has reported that running regularly can prevent aging. It stands to reason that those people who exercise will be healthier than those who don’t, but this new report gives significant evidence supporting just how crucial exercise for the elderly is. If like me the mere mention of the word ‘running’ leads to profuse sweating and nervousness fear not - although the report focusses on running any aerobic exercise would be relevant.

The study carried out by Stanford University Medical Center followed the progress of 500 elderly runners over a period of 20 years, comparing it to the progress of a similar group of non runners. All of the participants of each group were in their 50s at the start of the study.

So what exactly does the report tell us?

Well in a nutshell that those who run regularly live a longer and healthier life than those who do not, with elderly runners having a 50% less chance of dying prematurely.

This was confirmed by the fact that after 19 years of study 34% of the non runners had actually died compared to just 15% of the runners. Furthermore it was found that the onset of disability occured 16 years earlier in the non-runners.

So what does this mean?

“Exercise can help older people to stay mobile and independent, ensure a healthy heart, keep weight and stress levels under control, and promote better sleep” says  Gordon Lishman, the General Director of Age Concern.
He continues; “while younger people are barraged with encouragement to lead healthier lifestyles, the health needs of older people are often overlooked.”

Basically the message is that the more aerobic exercise you get, the better your chances of keeping your health as you age.

If you have not exercised for a long time the thought of doing so could be daunting. Try not to worry. There are loads of ways to exercise besides running, many of which are often provided by local council run leisure centers which cater specific exercise classes for the elderly. If running doesn’t appeal then maybe swimming or water aerobics will. Even a brisk walk for half an hour each day could make all the difference. And if you really want to be hip with the grand kids then check out the wii fit - that’ll get your heart rate up.

TIP - if you do get a wii fit buy yourself a trampette (mini trampoline) as well. It’s a great tool to enhance the running exercises and it will save your poor joints too!

Whatever your choice of exercise just make sure that you make it a routine part of your life style and hopefully it will be a long time before you really feel the benefits.

Bookmark It

A new drug for the treatment of prostate cancer has been hailed as the most significant advancement in over 70 years report the BBC. Abiraterone works by blocking the hormones which cause the disease and, it is claimed, could offer a viable alternative to the deadly strain of the cancer which is resistant to chemotherapy.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and the most lethal strand is almost always lethal, killing thousands of men each year.

The prostate is a small gland found only in men which produces a thick clear fluid important in the semen. The growth and function of the prostate is dictate by testosterone grown in the testes and, for this reason, previous cancer treatments have always focussed on stopping testosterone production within the testicles.

However the new findings have indicated that prostate cancer actually develops from testosterone produced in multiple sources, including the tumor itself. Accordingly Abiraterone has been designed to block ALL testosterone production in the body.

The findings so far have been of significant tumor shrinkages and reduction of patient pain due to the new treatment. Dr Johann de Bono the lead researcher reports;

“We believe we have made a major step forward in the treatment of end-stage prostate cancer patients. These men have very aggressive prostate cancer which is exceptionally difficult to treat and almost always proves to be fatal. We hope that abiraterone will eventually offer them real hope of an effective way of managing their condition and prolonging their lives.”

However he also sounded a note of caution by declaring that larger trials needed to be taken.

So how do you know if you have prostate cancer?

Well the truth is that as men get older the prostate gland often enlarges but most of the time it is nothing to unduly worry about. The usual cause is a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

BPH is benign enlargement not caused by cancer but which often carries the same symptoms. Most men who get BPH don’t develop cancer but you should still get checked by your GP just to be sure. Symptoms to look out for include:

• Frequently rushing to the toilet to urinate
• Finding it diffcult to pass urine
• Having to urinate more often than normal - especially at night time
• Experiencing pain when urinating
• Blood in the urine or semen

If you have any of these symptoms then be sure to see your GP as soon as possible. Remember - in most cases it will be nothing to worry about - but as with everything it is always better to start treatment sooner than later.

Bookmark It

In a study by researchers in Kings College London it has been found that nicotine can actually be good for the brain. But before you go lighting up a fag or slapping on the patches, be warned that the small health benefits would be far outweighed by the risks in most people.

Tests done on rats have found that nicoitne can improve their learning, memory and performance on cognitive tasks by up to 15 per cent. It is hoped that pharmeceutical companies can use the findings to produce new drugs to combat and prevent brain diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Obviously there will be problems to be addressed in the production of such drugs. The fact that nicotine is so addictive means that techniques will have to be developed to administer such treatments without the patients becoming reliant on it.  According to Professor Stoneman from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College,  it may not even be possible to totally prevent addiction. Nevertheless  “this is a promising stage in the years of research”.

Bookmark It

According to a study by Dutch researchers too much coffee can reduce the chances of a woman with fertility problems getting pregnant. The study followed the progress of 9,000 women who had received IVF to see if they fell pregnant naturally. Although around 1 in 7 did, the results of the study showed that drinking 4 cups of coffee or more per day could reduce the chances of conceiving by a whopping 26%.

Some experts though were quick to stress that although these findings were interesting, the results of the tests should be still treat with caution. The whole thing was best summed up by Fertility expert Professor Bill Ledger from the University of Sheffield:

“A lot of women can have 20 cups of coffee a day and get pregnant while falling off a log, but if you’re already subfertile it could push you over the edge.

“It is only a problem if you are subfertile and you overdose.”

Although the studies may be inconclusive would we be overstating the obvious by suggesting that if you are having fertility problems then best to stay off the coffee anyway - just in case!

Bookmark It

A study published in the Lancet Neurology journal has found that blood pressure drugs reduce dementia by 13%. In a trial of elderly patients with high blood pressure, the development of dementia symptoms was compared between those patients who were being treated for blood pressure and those that weren’t .  The study turned out to be so conclusive that it was stopped early after the benefits of treatment in terms of reducing strokes and heart disease were so obvious it became unethical to deny them to everyone.

The reasons why high blood pressure might increase the risk of dementia are not fully understood, with the theory that it can starve the brain of bloodflow and the oxygen it carries being the most popular. Patients suffering this restricted bloodflow are often described as having “vascular dementia”, and account for approximately a quarter of dementia patients.

Other types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, have no obvious link to bloodflow, but some experts think that blood pressure may still be somehow contributory in some cases.

The Alzheimer’s Society have illustrated their concerns with the link by stressing the need to try to prevent the disease.

Its own unpublished research suggested that vascular dementia was six times more likely to develop in people who had high blood pressure in their 40s and 50s.

If “best practice” in blood pressure treatment was applied to the UK population, it said, with every case detected and treated appropriately, this would save 15,000 lives a year.

Professor Clive Ballard, its director of research, said: “Only half of people over 65 receive effective treatment, yet we know treatment works.”

One thing is for sure - the list of reasons to have regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks as you get older grows by the day. Make sure you don’t overlook yours as part of your personal health care.

Bookmark It

The Department of Health has declared the first 12 months of the smoking ban a success. A recent survey has suggested that as many as 400,000 people have quit smoking as a result of the ban, saving as many as 40,000 lives in the next 10 years in the process.

If these figures are accurate then this truly justifies the introduction of the law (if any were needed), and will provide some welcome respite for the ever strained NHS.

Although the law has attracted controversy, it cannot be argued that’s its founding principles were sound. Afterall it was designed to protect the non-smoking population from second-hand smoke in public places and in that sense was probably long overdue. As long as it is legal it is a persons right to smoke but there is no reason why a non-smoker working in a bar or cafe should have to be exposed to a potential health hazar unnecessarily.

What has been an added bonus for the likes of the NHS is the fact that the law has encouraged existing smokers to quit in such large numbers, many of them using NHS driven initiatives. Maybe this is not that surprising bearing in mid the awful weather we have in this country - leaving your mates for a quick ciggy in a February blizzard probably starts to lose its appeal. Official figures show that the number of people who quit smoking using the NHS Stop Smoking services, which provides support such as nicotine patches, was up more than 20% compared with the same period the previous year.

It remains to be seen whether the success of the smoking ban will lead to it being extended further, but with the success it has seemingly had I certainly wouldn’t bet against it.

Bookmark It

If you snore a lot it could be more than just bad news for whoever is unlucky enough to have to share a bed with you. According to studies people who have been found to have sleep apnoea often also have Type 2 diabetes. So if you have found yourself stopping breathing during sleep and then snorting yourself awake, you may want to go get tested.

“There’s no question about the link” says Paul Zimmet of the International Diabetes Federation. The IDF estimates that a massive 40% of patients with sleep apnoea have diabetes. Like many symptoms this is also a two way street, with 23% of diabetic suffering from sleep apnoea.

Bookmark It

There may be some respite for hay fever sufferers according to the New Scientist. Seemingly a team of British Scientists have come up with a vaccine that can alleviate the symptoms of pollen allergy in just four weeks. Most hay fever vaccines have to be administered gradually over a long period of time due to the risk of extreme reaction. The new vaccine, however, has been specially adapted so that it won’t over-stimulate the immune system, allowing larger doses to be given immediately.

Don’t get your hopes up too much though as the improvements were steady rather than drastic. In a study of 1028 hay fever sufferers an average improvement in symptoms of 13% was recorded after 4 weeks, with a 27% increase noted in a few hundred sufferers who kept more complete records.

For people who have gone down this line of treatment there is no doubt that, if nothing else, the new vaccine will prove a lot more convenient than having injections over extended periods stretching years. But if you’re interested in allergy remedies then don’t forget we carry several alternative products, including AllergiClear Tablets.

Bookmark It