Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Fresh articles via the Heart Center Online:
Insulin resistance associated with heart failure
Estrogen therapy may help prevent enlarged heart
Insulin resistance associated with heart failure
Jul 22 (HeartCenterOnline) - Insulin resistance appears to increase the risk of developing heart failure, according to a new study published in a leading medical journal.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart does not pump enough blood to adequately supply the body. It is considered a degenerative condition with no cure, and it is a major cause of death. People with CHF are 4 to 8 times more likely to die than people without the condition, according to background information in the study.
The most common causes of CHF are high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Other risk factors include diabetes and obesity.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body does not respond to available insulin as well as it should and is considered a forerunner of diabetes Until this study, insulin resistance, had not been considered a risk factor for developing CHF.
During the study, a team of physicians in Sweden tracked 1,187 men over the age of 70 between 1990 and 2002. During that time, 104 men developed CHF. After controlling for all the possible risk factors, including previous heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol, the research team found that insulin resistance is a valuable predictor for CHF.
The researchers speculated that the connection between obesity and CHF may be mediated by insulin resistance and called for further study. The study was published in the July 20 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Copyright 2000-2005 (HealthCentersOnline)
Publish Date: July 22, 2005
Estrogen therapy may help prevent enlarged heart
Jul 22 (HeartCenterOnline) - It may be premature to declare that estrogen replacement therapy has no place in preventing all forms of heart disease, according to researchers at the University of California, Irving (UCI).
In recent years, hormone replacement therapy with estrogen (HRT) has come under scrutiny because of findings released by the large, multi-year Women's Health Initiative. That study found that HRT did not prevent heart disease among post-menopausal women, as was once thought. Since those results were released, millions of women stopped taking HRT as a means to prevent heart disease.
However, the research team at UCI found that HRT prevented hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or enlarged heart, among post-menopausal women who had experienced a heart attack.
According to a release describing the study, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs in as many as 80 percent of people who experience heart attacks. It may lead to heart failure.
Among pre-menopausal women, heart disease rates are significantly lower than among men the same age. However, after menopause, the rate of heart disease among women climbs rapidly, eventually becoming more common among women than men. Heart disease is the leading killer of American women.
In prepared remarks, the authors of the study say that HRT deserves further study, despite the "intense reaction" to the findings of the Women's Health Initiative. The study appeared in the July 15 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Copyright 2000-2005 (HealthCentersOnline)
Publish Date: July 22, 2005
Insulin resistance associated with heart failure
Estrogen therapy may help prevent enlarged heart
Insulin resistance associated with heart failure
Jul 22 (HeartCenterOnline) - Insulin resistance appears to increase the risk of developing heart failure, according to a new study published in a leading medical journal.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart does not pump enough blood to adequately supply the body. It is considered a degenerative condition with no cure, and it is a major cause of death. People with CHF are 4 to 8 times more likely to die than people without the condition, according to background information in the study.
The most common causes of CHF are high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Other risk factors include diabetes and obesity.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body does not respond to available insulin as well as it should and is considered a forerunner of diabetes Until this study, insulin resistance, had not been considered a risk factor for developing CHF.
During the study, a team of physicians in Sweden tracked 1,187 men over the age of 70 between 1990 and 2002. During that time, 104 men developed CHF. After controlling for all the possible risk factors, including previous heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol, the research team found that insulin resistance is a valuable predictor for CHF.
The researchers speculated that the connection between obesity and CHF may be mediated by insulin resistance and called for further study. The study was published in the July 20 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Copyright 2000-2005 (HealthCentersOnline)
Publish Date: July 22, 2005
Estrogen therapy may help prevent enlarged heart
Jul 22 (HeartCenterOnline) - It may be premature to declare that estrogen replacement therapy has no place in preventing all forms of heart disease, according to researchers at the University of California, Irving (UCI).
In recent years, hormone replacement therapy with estrogen (HRT) has come under scrutiny because of findings released by the large, multi-year Women's Health Initiative. That study found that HRT did not prevent heart disease among post-menopausal women, as was once thought. Since those results were released, millions of women stopped taking HRT as a means to prevent heart disease.
However, the research team at UCI found that HRT prevented hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or enlarged heart, among post-menopausal women who had experienced a heart attack.
According to a release describing the study, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs in as many as 80 percent of people who experience heart attacks. It may lead to heart failure.
Among pre-menopausal women, heart disease rates are significantly lower than among men the same age. However, after menopause, the rate of heart disease among women climbs rapidly, eventually becoming more common among women than men. Heart disease is the leading killer of American women.
In prepared remarks, the authors of the study say that HRT deserves further study, despite the "intense reaction" to the findings of the Women's Health Initiative. The study appeared in the July 15 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Copyright 2000-2005 (HealthCentersOnline)
Publish Date: July 22, 2005
