Wildfire smoke associated with more ER visits for heart, stroke ailments among seniors

Wildfire smoke associated with more ER visits for heart, stroke ailments among seniors

Published first on ScienceDaily

Smoke from wildfires may send people — particularly seniors — to hospital emergency rooms (ERs) with heart, stroke-related complaints, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Previous studies have shown that wildfire smoke exacerbates respiratory conditions but yielded inconsistent results for effects on the heart, brain or blood vessels. (more…)

Wildfire smoke associated with more ER visits for heart, stroke ailments among seniors

Depression negatively impacts heart and stroke patients

Published first on ScienceDaily

Depression, even when undiagnosed, can have many negative effects on cardiovascular patients, including poor healthcare experiences, more use of healthcare resources and higher health costs, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2018, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in quality of care and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease and stroke for researchers, healthcare professionals and policymakers. (more…)

Wildfire smoke associated with more ER visits for heart, stroke ailments among seniors

New actors identified in atherosclerosis

Published first on ScienceDaily

Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of death and disease in the Western world. In Germany, about 300,000 people each year suffer a heart attack and some 270,000 a stroke as a result of the condition. Atherosclerosis is estimated to be responsible for a little more than half of all deaths in these countries.

Searching for the disease triggers, scientists from the University of Würzburg and the Würzburg University Hospital have now made a step forward: For the first time, they closely examined the immune cell populations in the affected vessels which play a significant role in the pathogenesis. They present their results in the current issue of the journal Circulation Research. (more…)

Wildfire smoke associated with more ER visits for heart, stroke ailments among seniors

Stroke affects more than just the physical

First published on ScienceDaily

A new study looks at what problems affect people most after a stroke and it provides a broader picture than what some may usually expect to see. Stroke affects more than just physical functioning, according to a study is published the March 28, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“After a stroke, people who have only mild disability can often have ‘hidden’ problems that can really affect their quality of life,” said study author Irene L. Katzan, MD, MS, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “And for people with more disability, what bothers them the most? Problems with sleep? Depression? Fatigue? Not many studies have asked people how they feel about these problems, and we doctors have often focused just on physical disability or whether they have another stroke.” (more…)