Health ShortsMarch 2007Exercising Outside: Use Your Head
Heart Risk Seen in Older Runners It’s reasonable to assume that a healthy male over age 50 who has trained for and completed five marathon races (26.2 miles) over the last five years should be free of the worry of heart disease. Such may not be the case, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association [November, 2006]. Of 108 male marathon runners in the study given a coronary calcium scan, 36 percent had scores over 100–considered a sign of increased risk of a heart attack. Among a control group of non-runners, only 22 percent had similar scores. Author of the study, Dr. Stefan Mohlenkamp of Essen, Germany is a runner himself and cautioned that the study was not an excuse to quit exercising but may indicate a risk associated with high endurance competitive exercise for some individuals. The patients will be followed for five years to evaluate the reliability of the coronary calcium score in predicting heart problems. [SOURCE: Bloomberg News, “Heart Risk Seen in Older Marathoners,” New York Times Health, November 14, 2006] Steroids for Asthma Won’t Pump You Up If you’re taking inhaled steroids for asthma, you don’t have to worry about getting huge muscles like those of top-level athletes accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. The antiinflammatory drugs prescribed for asthma and other medical conditions are corticosteroids. The performance-enhancing drugs that build muscle mass are anabolic steroids. [SOURCE: Norman Edelman and Jerome Bettis, “Asthma Control: Know Your Score,” WebMD Live Events Transcript, March 29, 2005] Asthma Symptoms Not Always Typical As most Americans know, the signs of an asthma attack are shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and wheezing. Sometimes, however, the disease presents with other symptoms that are not always recognized as asthma. These include:
To complicate matters further, some disorders such as heart failure, bronchitis and vocal cord dysfunction can cause wheezing and other symptoms that are easily mistaken for asthma. [SOURCE: Michael Smith, M.D., “Asthma Complexities,” MedicineNet, May, 2006] Fall, Winter Are the Cruelest Seasons When you have asthma, fall and winter tend to be the cruelest seasons. Emergency department visits for asthma are generally lowest during the summer, highest during the fall and winter. Although allergens may be in the air during the spring, other irritants likely to bring on an asthma attack include cold, moist air, air pollution and viral infections–all of which are more common during the winter months. Exercise challenge tests given to a group of 17-year-old subjects in Israel found that positive results during the summer were less than half those in other seasons. [SOURCE: Shmuel Goldberg, et al, “Sensitivity of Exercise Testing for Asthma in Adolescents is Halved in the Summer,” Chest, October, 2005] Cleanliness Helps Manage Allergies For children with asthma symptoms brought on by exposure to cat allergens, frequent washing of sheets proved to be an effective strategy, according to a recent study. Combined with removal of stuffed animals and use of dust-proof covers for the mattress and pillows, the frequent washing resulted in a 49-fold reduction in allergen levels in the bedroom. Among factors contributing to higher levels of cockroach allergens were food leftovers, exposed food, dirty pots and leaks in the kitchen. [SOURCE: T.T. Perry, et al, “Room-Specific Characteristics of Suburban Homes as Predictors of Indoor Allergen Concentrations,” Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2006; 97:628-635] Six Ways To Keep Your BP in Check Evidence from large studies have identified six major lifestyle changes that are effective in preventing or lowering high blood pressure:
Bipolar Patients at Risk of Weight Gain Persons with bipolar disorder, whether they are being treated or not, are at risk of weight gain and the health risks associated with excess weight. The disorder itself is often associated with abdominal fat, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. In addition, many medications used over the long term to control mood swings have weight gain as a side effect. In one study of patients hospitalized with bipolar disorder, 56 percent had metabolic syndrome, often a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Prevalence in the general population is 25 percent. [SOURCE: Dale A. D’Mello, “Prevalence and Consequences of Metabolic Syndrome in Bipolar Disorder,” Psychiatric Times, January 1, 2007] Bipolar in Children Increasing Bipolar disorder has been diagnosed in substantially larger numbers of adolescents and children over the past decade. The increase is believed to be due primarily to changing definitions and recognition that mania in youth may be seen as irritability, reckless behavior, aggression and explosive outbursts. These symptoms are also common with other problems such as attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder and substance abuse. Once thought to be rare among children, bipolar disorder is now believed to have a prevalence of about one percent in younger age groups. There is controversy, however, about how broadly to define the criteria for diagnosis. [SOURCE: AACP Official; Action, “Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, January, 2007] Americans Eating Less Fat But More Calories and Sodium Over the past 20 years, Americans have listened to dietary advice given them and are now eating less total fat, saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. They are also consuming more calories and have a higher sodium intake than 20 years ago, according to data from the University of Minnesota Heart Survey published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association [February, 2007]. The researchers found that Americans are eating more fruits and vegetables but not enough fish to meet recommended levels. A “worrisome finding” was that improvement in the diet seems to have leveled off over the past five years after 15 years of steady progress. [SOURCE: Lisa Harnack, et al, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, February, 2007; reported by Megan Rauscher, Reuters Health] Read Labels for Sodium Content Too Americans have become accustomed to checking product labels for saturated fats and trans fats, but how about sodium? A report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found widely varying sodium content in various products including salad dressing and bottled spaghetti sauce. One bottle of Caesar salad dressing, for example, listed 165 milligrams more sodium per tablespoon than another bottle. Bottled spaghetti sauces varied by as much as 500 milligrams per half cup. You can control the sodium content by making your own salad dressing and spaghetti sauce. [SOURCE: Miranda Hitti, “Check Nutrition Labels, Advises New Report,” WebMD Medical News, August 17, 2005] Eating Fish Reduces Heart Risk Eating omega-3-rich fish once or twice a week will reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke by 36 percent–about the same benefit as that gained from taking a cholesterol-lowering statin. That was the conclusion of an analysis of studies on fish and health conducted by Harvard researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association [October 18, 2006]. [SOURCE: Harvard Women’s Health Watch, February, 2007] | ArchiveAugust 2008 |
The information on this site is intended to increase your awareness and understanding of specific health issues. It should not be used for diagnosis or as a substitute for health care by your physician. | |
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