Tag Archives: Heart Attacks

Heart Studies: Alcohol Abstinence For Atrial Fibrillation Reduces Arrhythmia (NEJM)

Alcohol Abstinence for Atrial Fibrillation New England Journal of Medicine January 1 2020

Abstinence from alcohol reduced arrhythmia recurrences in regular drinkers with atrial fibrillation. 

New England Journal of Medicine

January 2, 2020 Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia,1 and alcohol is consumed by a majority of U.S. adults.2 The current study showed that among regular drinkers, a substantial reduction in alcohol consumption by patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation was associated with a reduction in recurrence of atrial fibrillation and a reduced proportion of time spent in atrial fibrillation. Earlier meta-analyses showed that alcohol was associated with a dose-related increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation, with increased risk observed even among drinkers who consumed as few as 7 drinks per week.8 Current trends show a rise in alcohol consumption among adults older than 60 years of age,2coupled with greater prevalence of atrial fibrillation in this age group. The present study, with participants having an average intake of approximately 17 drinks per week at baseline, suggests that consumption at these levels may contribute to atrial fibrillation.

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Medical Diagnosis: 56-Year Old Woman Had Heart Attacks, But No Heart Disease? (New York Times)

From a New York Times Magazine article:

Diagnosis New York Times Illustration by Ina Jang 2019It was all horribly familiar — a rerun of an episode 15 months earlier, when she was with her family in River Vale, N.J. Back then, the burning pressure sent her to the emergency department, and she was told the same thing: She was having a heart attack. Immediately the cardiologist looked for blockages in the coronary arteries, which feed blood and oxygen to the hardworking muscles of her heart. That was the cause of most heart attacks. But they found no blockage.

Since childhood, she had frequent terrible canker sores that lasted for weeks. Sometimes it was hard to eat or even talk. Her mother, a nurse, told her everybody got them and thought she was being dramatic when she complained. So she had never brought them up with her doctors. Now the woman saw that her answer somehow made sense to the rheumatologist.

New York Times MagazineIndeed, that was the clue that led the rheumatologist to a likely diagnosis: Behcet’s disease. It’s an unusual inflammatory disorder characterized by joint pains, muscle pains and recurrent ulcers in mucus membranes throughout the body. Almost any part of the body can be involved — the eyes, the nose and lungs, the brain, the blood vessels, even the heart. Behcet’s was named after a Turkish dermatologist who in 1937 described a triad of clinical findings including canker sores (medically known as aphthous ulcers), genital ulcers and an inflammatory condition of the eye.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/magazine/heart-attack-diagnosis.html?te=1&nl=the-new%20york%20times%20magazine&emc=edit_ma_20191122?campaign_id=52&instance_id=14017&segment_id=19010&user_id=415092ec82728104b9ca7bbb44eeb7d3&regi_id=7441254120191122

Health Studies: NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) Increase Heart Failure Risk For Arthritis Patients

From a Harvard Medical School release:

Harvard Medical SchoolResearchers matched 7,743 people with osteoarthritis with 23,229 healthy people who rarely or never took NSAIDs. People with osteoarthritis had a 42% higher risk of heart failure and a 17% higher risk of coronary artery disease compared with healthy people. After controlling for a range of factors that contribute to heart disease (including high body mass index, high blood pressure, and diabetes), they concluded that 41% of the increased risk of heart disease related to osteoarthritis was due to the use of NSAIDs.

To manage the painful joint disease known as osteoarthritis, people often take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox). But these and related drugs — known as NSAIDs — may account for the higher rates of heart disease seen in people with osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.

To read more: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/pain-relievers-a-cause-of-higher-heart-risk-among-people-with-arthritis

Boomers Health Tip: Costochondritis Chest Pain Can Feel Very Similar To Onset Of Heart Attack (Harvard Medical School)

From a Harvard Medical School article:

Harvard Medical SchoolCostochondritis is caused by inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs and the breastbone, called the costosternal joints (see illustration). This uncommon condition can trigger a stabbing, aching pain that’s often mistaken for a heart attack.

The main symptom of costochondritis is chest pain, which may be sharp or dull and gnawing. It tends to get worse when a person takes a deep breath or coughs, and the chest may feel tender and possibly swollen when pressed. In contrast, people in the throes of a heart attack often say they feel chest discomfort rather than chest tenderness, and they describe sensations such as squeezing, tightness, pressure, or feeling like an elephant is sitting on my chest.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/chest-pain-thats-not-a-heart-attack