Posts Tagged "heart disease"

Wednesday Bubble: Get up and…

Posted by Liz on Jan 12, 2011 in exercise, heart disease | 0 comments

move? You bet!

According to a newly published study in the advanced online edition of European Heart Journal, taking breaks from long stints at your desk or even while you’re playing couch potato can go a long way towards preventing heart disease and losing some of that waistline bulge. In fact, the researchers say that prolonged periods of being sedentary, even if you regularly participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity, can increase the risk of heart disease. The bottom line? It’s not only the length of time you’re spending at your desk or on your derriere but how often you interrupt that time that counts.

This is the first time that a large, multiethnic population of varying ages has been evaluated to determine how a lack of activity affects certain markers of heart disease, including inflammation, waist circumference, cholesterol and blood fats. Researchers studied 4,757 participants over a period of three years who wore a small device (an accelerometer) that measures both the amount and intensity of activity; this allowed them to collect data on inactivity and breaks in inactivity.

The findings? Irrespective of factors like exercise time, diet and smoking, people who took the most breaks from inactivity (~179 breaks a day) had, on average, a 1.6 inch smaller waist circumference than people who took the least amount of  breaks (~14 breaks per day) and remained inactive for the longest period of time. Moreover, taking breaks from being sedentary appeared to improve blood fats and blood glucose levels as well as C-reactive protein level (CRP, a blood protein that many experts believe, increases heart disease risk because of its role in promoting inflammation).  Another interesting finding was gender-based; even though women tended to be more sedentary overall, they did take more breaks, thereby improving their heart disease risk. This is especially notable since research has shown that not only is heart disease the number one killer of women, but it tends to increase as estrogen levels wane.

Dr. Healy, the study’s lead researcher, suggests that even small changes, standing for as little as one minute at various intervals throughout the day, may help lower heart disease risk and counter the danger of being sedentary for too long. In a work environment, this means, standing up when talking on the phone, walking over to a colleague, using the restroom, and of course, taking the stairs. If you work at home, some of these recommendations are adaptable, such as making a point to take out the garbage, walk outside for a minute or put in a load of laundry.

Truly, get up and move as often as possible. It may save your life as well as your waistline!

Have a heart…

Posted by Liz on Jan 11, 2011 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

HeartSense, that is.

My colleague Mary Knudson asked me to write a post about my exercise routine over at HeartSense blog, a blog devoted to heart failure. I hope that you’ll visit, not only to read it but also, Mary’s message. Heart failure is no joke and many of us don’t recognize the signs until it’s too late. Moreover, waning estrogen levels and resulting changes in LDL and total cholesterol contribute to increased risk of heart disease as we age.

Wednesday Bubble: Don’t Pause!

Posted by Liz on Dec 8, 2010 in menopause, musings, new approaches | 0 comments

Hey, stop the presses! There’s a brand new, one-size-fits-all solution to menopause – Don’t – as in,  Don’t Pause. Billed as a breakthrough advancement in treating early menopause symptoms (according to the press release), Don’t Pause contains a proprietary mixture of pomegranate extract, green tea, chromium and selenium especially geared towards helping you ‘grow young responsibly.’

Um, okay. So what does that mean? It appears to mean that this wonder formulation will not only halt symptoms of menopause but also improve youthfulness and sexuality, reduce the risk of cancer, osteoarthritis, heart disease and epilepsy and enhance the effects of exercise on weight distribution. Wow! All that in a single pill. Have I mentioned that it’s also Hallal and Kosher?

There is one bit of messaging surrounding this wonder product that I believe is responsible and right on: the time to start addressing menopausal symptoms is before they start. That means you – 30 some year-olds and 40 some year-olds – there is no time like the present to build bone and preserve bone health, get into shape and start managing your weight, eat healthy, address stress and build those support networks. These are the type of steps that can go a long way to addressing menopause symptoms and also to take poetic license, truly help you grow older responsibly.

Don’t pause? What do you think?

Danger! Danger! HRT prescribing lagging behind recommendations

Posted by Liz on Dec 6, 2010 in HRT | 0 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG0ochx16Dg]

Here’s a disturbing piece of news:

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers are reporting that when it comes to prescribing practices, physicians across the country continue to lag behind recommendations from FDA and other organizations cautioning that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be used at the lowest dose and shortest period of time possible or only as a last resort. This, despite accruing evidence warning of the dangers of hormone therapy.

While use of hormonal therapy has gradually declined ,some 6 million women continue to place themselves at risk annually. This risk appears to be somewhat exacerbated by the fact that that their doctors, especially ob/gyns, have not changed their prescribing habits very much. Indeed, less than a third of hormone therapy users surveyed in the IMS National Disease and Therapeutic index (which formed the basis for this latest bit of information) were given prescriptions for lower-dose hormone pills, vaginal suppositories or patches. Especially at risk are women old than 60 years in whom the risk/benefit of HRT is very unbalanced, more than a third of whom continue to use hormonal therapy to address symptoms. Thankfully, however, women younger than 50 and up to age 59 appear to be paying attention to the headlines and giving up hormones altogether.

Although the reasons that doctors aren’t paying attention are unclear, the researchers suggest that perhaps clinical practice has not caught up with data or that older women in particular, are satisfied with symptom control and don’t want to rock the boat.  Or perhaps many women in this age group remain unaware of the increased risk of heart disease and breast cancer (among others) associated with menopausal hormonal therapy. Regardless, the message isn’t getting through.

How do you change prescribing habits when there’s a breakdown in communications or when study investigators suggest that “it takes a huge event to change clinical practice?”  A huge event? I don’t know about you but I think that increases in heart disease and cancer risks are pretty big events. Ladies – it’s time to take this matter into your own hands. Speak up. Work with your doctor, discuss the treatment strategy he or she is recommending and especially when it comes to HRT, ask the hard questions.

Right now, like Robot from ‘Lost in Space,’ I don’t think that we can accept any other course of action other than to take action.

Wednesday Bubble: all juiced up and ready to go

Posted by Liz on Dec 1, 2010 in heart disease, physical fitness, weight | 0 comments

Did you catch last week’s news about pomegranate juice and kidney disease? It seems that pomegranate juice just might be the next best thing… or not. The same holds true for orange juice, weight loss and heart disease. So before you get too excited about the wonders of the orange, let’s take a look at what research is telling us.

Middle-age is associated with a slow down of metabolism, distribution of weight and of course, an increase in risk for certain diseases, in particular heart disease. For women specifically, hormonal changes – namely a steeply progressive increase in testosterone, can contribute to a risk of developing metabolic syndrome (i.e. the cluster of risk factors — abdominal fat, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and insulin resistance –that increases the likelihood of developing heart disease and diabetes). In fact, data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation has shown that women have a a 1.45 times increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome in perimenopause and a 1.25 increased risk after menopause. So, the cards are automatically stacked against us. Let’s add overweight and obesity, poor eating habits and sedentary behavior to the mix and we have a veritable “heart condition in the making” cocktail.

Wondering where this is going?

Across the board, the key ways to improve one’s risk of developing disease include a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and good fats and regular physical activity. The formula isn’t a magic one and but it’s been shown time and again to improve the odds. However, we are a society of instant gratification so it’s easy to fall into the trap of a quick fix, whether that entails botox, diet pills, diet plans, sweating or the like without paying much attention. Hence, when I saw a study setting the stage for the latest and greatest answer to our problems, i.e. orange juice, I had to take a closer look.

Like pomegranate juice, orange juice is rich in flavonoids, naturally-occurring plant and vegetable compounds that have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Orange juice is also an important source of vitamin C, folate and potassium, which have been shown to help protect cells from bad, LDL cholesterol, reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and possibly help lower blood pressure. But, can drinking orange juice help prevent heart disease in middle-aged women who are already at risk?

When researchers compared 26 premenopausal women between the ages of 30 and 48 who were considered overweight or obese, and asked them to engage in a 1-hour aerobic exercise (running) 3 times a week and either drink 2 glasses (16 oz) of orange juice daily or not, they observed the following:

• Regular aerobic exercise led to an average loss of 11% to 15% of fat and 1.2% to 2.5% of BMI depending on the group that women were assigned to.
• Women who drank orange juice along with their thrice-weekly exercise had as much as a 15% decline in LDL-cholesterol and an 18% increase in HDL (good) cholesterol.
• Daily orange juice intake also led to less muscle fatigue and better overall responses to aerobic training.
• Although drinking orange juice added to daily caloric intake, it actually led to a decreased consumption of other foods.

Should you start drinking orange juice to lose weight and save your heart? Not so fast. This study simply shows an potential associated benefit and does not prove that drinking orange juice causes a reduced risk in heart disease,; mind you, these women were only studied for three months. Moreover, the study was small and a much larger group is needed to demonstrate proof of a benefit. Additionally, the results did not show which components in orange juice are specifically linked to a potential risk reduction, or if there are components in the juice that are shared by other juices. On a more positive side, it did demonstrate the benefit of a balanced diet, regular physical activity and improvements in performance, perhaps as a result of extra nutrients and energy provided by the juice.

Time to juice up? Nope, just time to start opening your eyes a bit wider when you see headlines touting the amazing benefits of a quick fix. Rule number 1? There are no quick fixes.