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Friday, February 26, 2021
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Migraines Are Linked to Heart Disease

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Migraines are linked to heart disease, according to a new study. Women who are prone to migraines face a greater risk of developing a cardiovascular disease. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed that women who suffer from migraines faced a higher risk of having a heart attack, angina, chest pain, as well as undergo cardiovascular procedures, than women who did not suffer from migraines.

"Migraines Are Linked to Heart Disease"

Migraine is the primary headache illness that affects about one-fifth of the US population.

Migraine is the primary headache illness that affects about one-fifth of both female and male population of the US. The female population is three to four times more prone to develop migraines than men. Because of the significant number of individuals who suffer from this disorder, any link between these two diseases would have a major effect on public health.

The finding was the work of a team of US and German scientists, who analyzed data from approximately 115,000 women aged 25-42, who were enrolled in an ongoing study on nurses’ health. About 17,500 nurses were diagnosed with migraine when initially examined. An additional number of roughly 6,300 women newly reported the diagnosis during follow-ups.

After a 20-year time frame, women who had migraines were found to have a 50 percent increased risk of developing heart-related diseases. Researchers revealed that 678 women suffered a heart attack, while 651 women had a stroke; 223 died from cardiovascular problems. Up to 203 women had angina or had to get a heart-related procedure.

The results support the findings of previous studies which have also linked migraine with an increased risk of heart disease. Researchers say that this adds further evidence that migraines should be considered an important risk factor, at least in women.

Although there are other risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, or high cholesterol, that influence the risk to a greater degree than migraines, the findings are cause for concern. Almost 25 percent of American women are known to suffer from migraines.

It is believed that migraines are linked to heart disease because they share similar underlying mechanisms. No clear answer can yet be provided. Researchers do acknowledge that the mere correlation does not imply causation. This means that more research is in order to determine if migraines can be considered a cause for heart diseases.

IMAGE SOURCE: penabiru.com

People Aren’t Getting enough Sleep

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"People Aren’t Getting enough Sleep "

Approximately 35 percent of US citizens are having sleep-related issues.

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Are you feeling sleepy all the time, yet you couldn’t get a decent night’s sleep? It seems that you are not the only one, according to a recent study published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People aren’t getting enough sleep and usually end up feeling groggy in the morning.

Everyone knows that sleep is important. In fact, that’s the first thing you learn as a child. Get enough sleep in between and you will feel fresh as a daisy. But with all these modern day conveniences like smartphones, tablets or laptops it’s pretty hard to get a decent night’s sleep, taking into account that half of your brain is asleep while the other is still aroused.

Well, it seems that even the CDC agrees with the statement that quite a lot of US citizens aren’t paying attention to their sleep habits. And they even have the papers to back up their statement.

First we should say that this is the first nationwide sleep study performed by the health institute. The study took the form of a phone survey. According to the CDC, more than 400.000 candidates responded to the phone questionnaire.

Second, the scientists in charge of this project took into account every known factor, like race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, geographical position and yes, even employment.

With these aspects in mind, let’s take a closer look at the numbers provided by the sleep study. According to the results of the phone survey, approximately 65 percent of respondents declared that they get enough hours of sleep per night (seven hours per night) while 35 percent of them declared that they have serious issues calling in the Sand Man.

According to the study performed by our beloved CDC, the most affected by sleep issues are unemployed citizens and some racial and ethnical groups. The CDC noted that multiracial citizens or African-Americans have more trouble sleeping than others.

On the other hand, married citizen and those with a higher education have no issues in the area. Moreover, the study pointed out that marriage does have a positive effect on sleep. And those with a higher degree in something seem to sleep quite well, maybe due to the fact that they realize the importance of a good night’s sleep.

People aren’t getting enough sleep, according to a new study performed by the CDC, via phone surveys. Sleep deprivation can up the risk for all sort of diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, obesity, strokes and occasional mood swings.

Photo credits:www.pixabay.com

Bradycardia Patients Are Not At Risk for Heart Disease

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"heart with a heartbeat line drawn on it"

Bradycardia is a heart condition when the heartbeat is lower than 60 beats per minute.

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Latest study shows that bradycardia patients are not at risk for heart disease. According to Doctor Ajay Dharod, the lead researcher in the study, people whose heart beats slower than normal (bradycardia) are not at risk to develop heart disease later on in their life.

In order to measure your heartbeat, you can place the index and the middle finger of your right hand onto the veins on your left (usually those at the wrist level). After finding the pulse, you can proceed to count the beats for an interval of 10 seconds. At the end, you multiply your result with 6 and you get the heartbeat rate. The procedure can also be applied at the carotid artery level if you feel that the pulse is easier to find there.

Dr. Dharod, who is an internal medicine instructor at the Baptist Medical Center from Wake Forest declared that patients that suffered from an asymptomatic form of bradycardia (that had a heart rate in between 40 and 50 beats per minute) presented no additional risks of developing a cardiovascular disease than any other patient with a normal heart beat (between 60 and 100 beats per minute).

The cited study was conducted on a sample of 6,733 patients. It started in 2000 and ended in 2002. The participants chosen to be monitored were followed closely by the team of physicians for almost a decade.

Another interesting find of doctor Dharod’s team was the fact that they did not found an increased mortality risk in patients that did not take the medication meant to improve their heart rate. The levels of mortality were the same in patients with a slow heartbeat, an increased heartbeat (usually over 80 beats per minute) that took the prescribed medication and those who didn’t.

But there are risks for people who suffer from bradycardia. Doctor Dharod says that asymptomatic bradycardia is dangerous for those who haven’t been diagnosed because there are a couple of treatments that have a lower heartbeat as a side effect. And even though bradycardia patients are not at risk for heart disease, this kind of effects can put a patient at a great risk.

The symptoms for bradycardia are usually shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, nausea and light-headedness. Asymptomatic bradycardia, as the name suggests it, doesn’t present itself with symptoms and so patients could live with it for years. The best way to rule it out is to have regular routine check-ups. Even though bradycardia patients are not at risk for heart disease, it is always better to rule out any danger.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

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