Jan 11, 2018
Scientists in Finland have shown that sauna bathing is associated with a variety of health benefits. Using an experimental setting this time, the research group now investigated the physiological mechanisms through which the heat exposure of sauna may influence a person’s health. Their latest study with 100 test subjects shows that taking a sauna bath of 30 minutes reduces blood pressure and increases vascular compliance, while also increasing heart rate similarly to medium-intensity exercise. (more…)
Jan 11, 2018
In just four months, high-doses of vitamin D reduce arterial stiffness in young, overweight/obese, vitamin-deficient, but otherwise still healthy African-Americans, researchers say.
Rigid artery walls are an independent predictor of cardiovascular- related disease and death and vitamin D deficiency appears to be a contributor, says Dr. Yanbin Dong, geneticist and cardiologist at the Georgia Prevention Institute at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. (more…)
Dec 26, 2017
Despite decades long prevention and treatment efforts, cardiovascular (CV) disease continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Early detection of CV disease can allow for interventions to prevent heart attack and stroke, including smoking cessation, medications such as a statins, blood pressure control, weight management, exercise, and improved diet. A new study published online first today in the journal Vascular Medicine, focuses on a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease that rarely receives attention — erectile dysfunction. (more…)
Dec 26, 2017
Varenicline, one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for helping people quit smoking, may put them at higher risk for a cardiovascular event, according to new research published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
In “Cardiovascular and Neuropsychiatric Events Following Varenicline Use for Smoking Cessation,” researchers in Canada report that in an observational, self-controlled trial, patients prescribed varenicline (Chantix in the U.S.; Champix in Canada and Europe) were 34 percent more likely to have an emergency department visit or hospitalization for a cardiovascular event while taking the drug. Among those patients who had not previously experienced a cardiovascular event, the increased incidence was only 12 percent. (more…)
Dec 26, 2017
Compared to married heart disease patients, being unmarried was associated with a higher risk of dying, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Scientists have known that divorced individuals are at increased risk for death in general. However, few studies have evaluated the relationship between adverse cardiovascular outcomes and marital status in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. (more…)
Dec 24, 2017
SAFE wishes you a very happy Christmas and a healthy and successful New Year!
Dec 21, 2017
In women with heart disease, constriction of peripheral vessels during mental stress affects the heart circulation more than men’s, potentially raising women’s risk of heart-related events and death, according to new research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal. (more…)
Dec 20, 2017
SAFE is joining the Angels Initiative
Brussels, 20th December 2017: The mission of Boehringer Ingelheim’s (BI’s) Angels Initiative is to increase the number of patients who can be treated in stroke-ready hospitals and to optimise the quality of treatment in all existing stroke centres. The Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) has partnered with BI to support this ambitious project and will add an important dimension by bringing the patient perspective. SAFE’s involvement will mean patient-focused information will be available to patients and their carers as soon as they arrive in all stroke units.
-Information on the stroke care pathway is crucial for stroke survivors and their carers both while they are in hospital and in the following months, says Jon Barrick, the President of SAFE. With SAFE joining Angels Initiative we will be making information available to them in the hospitals. The patient-focused materials will include a list of national, regional and local stroke support organisations with their contact details in order that patients and carers can access further support in the months and years following their stroke. (more…)
Dec 15, 2017
At recently held SAFE Working Conference 2017 in Zagreb, Croatia, SAFE had the opportunity to talk about project updates on Stroke Action Plan for Europe with Dr. Bart van der Worp, European Stroke Organisation President elect.
Find out what is the timeline for this project, when and how it will be presented to the public.
Dec 13, 2017
After a highly competitive tendering process, SAFE is proud to announce their partnership with The Foundry Healthcare, a division of Foundry Communications Limited. The Foundry were successfully awarded the contract to develop SAFE’s new and exciting e-learning tool to help strengthen the advocacy capacities of our member organisations.
“This was one of those projects that had the whole agency talking. Everybody understood both the political and emotional motivators behind SSOFT and worked really hard to deliver a proposal that would meet the needs of its users. We are delighted to be working with SAFE to raise awareness of stroke and support all those affected “. Ian McKay, Digital Director and Founder
“The Foundry Healthcare delivered a passionate and professional response to our brief, demonstrating they had the experience and skills to deliver against our primary objectives, which is enabling stroke survivors and their supporters to campaign for greater awareness and better care, and to build stroke support organisations” Jon Barrick Board President of SAFE. (more…)
