Heena Sharma Blog

A novel smartphone app can help determine if you are having the most serious and deadliest form of heart attack and could turn out be a valuable tool to save lives, say researchers. The AliveCor app, administered through a smartphone with a two-wire attachment, can monitor heart activity and determine if someone is having an ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) -- a heart attack in which the artery is completely blocked. The app has nearly the same accuracy as a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), which is used to diagnose heart attacks. It can take ECG on the spot, send the results into the cloud where a cardiologist can review and, if a STEMI is found, tell the person so they can be rushed to the hospital. "The sooner you can get the artery open, the better the patient is going to do. We found this app may dramatically speed things up and save your life," said J. Brent Muhlestein, lead investigator from the Intermountain Medical Centre Heart...

Cardiac ailments killed more Indians in 2016 (28%) than any other non-communicable disease, said a new study published in the September 2018 issue of health journal The Lancet. These are double the numbers reported in 1990 when heart disease caused 15% of deaths in India. Deaths due to cardiovascular diseases in India increased from 1.3 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2016, and more than half the deaths caused by heart ailments in 2016 were in persons less than 70 years of age, according to the study, ‘The Changing Patterns of Cardiovascular Diseases and Their Risk Factors in the States of India: the Global burden of Disease Study 1990-2016’. ALSO READ: AI better at predicting heart disease deaths than doctors: Study Ischemic heart disease caused 17.8% of deaths and strokes caused 7.1%, according to the study. Rheumatic heart disease, caused by acute rheumatic fever, now bears a lower disease burden in India: It causes 1.1% of total deaths. But India still contribu...

Fish oil supplements do not prevent heart attacks or strokes in patients with diabetes, a new study has found. Health News : Fish oil supplements do not prevent heart attacks or strokes in patients with diabetes, a new study has found. In observational studies, higher consumption of fish is associated with lower risks of coronary artery disease and stroke. However, previous trials have not been able to show that taking fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of having cardiovascular events. The ASCEND trial (A Study of Cardiovascular Events in Diabetes) examined whether fish oil supplements reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event in patients with diabetes. The primary efficacy outcome was the first serious vascular event, which included non-fatal heart attacks, non-fatal strokes or transient ischemic attacks (sometimes called "mini-strokes"), or deaths from a cardiovascular cause. Article Source >> BS