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First month after heart attack crucial:
Study by Eric Nagourney.
New York
Possibilty of a second heart attack four times higher
People who survive a heart attack are at much higher risk of sudden cardiac death in the next 30 days, researchers have found. The findings suggest that doctors need to closely supervise patients in the month after a heart attack, and that patients also need to be alert to signs of trouble.
"The first month after a heart attack can be envisioned as a period of healing with heart tissue remodelling, which conceptually is associated with a propensity to experience sudden death," one of the authors, Dr Véronique L. Roger of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester , said.The researchers, led by Selcuk Adabag of the Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Minneapolis , followed the health of almost 3,000 people who had a heart attackfrom 1979 to 2005.
In the first 30 days, they found, the rate of sudden cardiac death was 1.2%, about four times the risk that would have been expected in the general population, once age and sex were taken into account. But the rate improved greatly over the following 11 months, dropping to a level lower than that usually seen in the general population.
Tips to Repair your Heart !
In fact, over all, the study found big improvements in the rate of sudden cardiac death for heart attack patients in the past three decades. The decline, the researchers said, was more than 40%. They attributed that to improved treatment
DNA DATED NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Good music key to a healthy heart: Study Listening to one's favourite music expands vessels, increases blood flow Washington : Listening to your favourite music may be helpful to maintaining a healthy heart, according to a study.
The research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced they had shown for the first time the emotions aroused by music enjoyed by the listener to be beneficial to a healthy blood vessel function.
The team, who in a 2005 study noted the cardiovascular benefits of laughter, presented their work at the 2008 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.
"I was impressed with the highly significant differences both before and after listening to joyful music as well as between joyful and anxious music," said head researcher Michael Miller, The study found that participants - 10 healthy, non-smoking volunteers - listening to music that gave them a sense of joy caused the inner-lining tissues of blood vessels to expand, which increased blood flow. The response matched the result of the 2005 study of laughter.
To minimise desensitisation of emotions felt by listening to their favourite music, participants were instructed to avoid listening to the pieces for a minimum of two weeks before the test.
"The idea here was that when they listened to this music that they really enjoyed, they would get an extra boost of whatever emotion was being generated," said Miller.
The study found that the diameter of the average upper arm blood vessel increased 26% after listening to joyful music, and listening to music that caused anxiety narrowed blood vessels by 6%. The physiological impact of music may also affect the activity of the "feel good" brain chemicals called endorphins, according to the study.
The study's results, said Miller, signal yet "another preventive strategy that we may incorporate in our daily lives to promote heart health."
