Health Extra!
Wellness news from the world over

Getting tough on heart disease

Because heart disease is the number one killer of women, the American Heart Association now advocates a more aggressive and personal approach to preventing the condition. If you're a woman over age 20, the new guidelines suggest you talk to your doctor about whether you are at low, intermediate or high risk for having a heart attack within the next 10 years. Lifestyle interventions like exercising, quitting smoking, eating healthy and maintaining a proper weight are strongly urged for all risk categories. If youre at intermediate or high risk, you may want to talk to your doctor about drug therapy with aspirin or cholesterol-lowering medications--even if you dont yet have elevated cholesterol. And drugs such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers are advised for all high-risk women.

Dashing diabetes

People trying to lower blood pressure have achieved successful results from the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet plan sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The diet is low in saturated fat and incorporates lots of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Now researchers say the plan improves insulin sensitivity, too--which means better blood sugar regulation and a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. After studying a group of DASH dieters, researchers found that the dieters lost pounds and inches from their waists, and their insulin sensitivity increased by 50 percent. They think the diet's combined foods and nutrients may improve body composition during weight loss, leading to the enhanced insulin sensitivity.

Another reason not to drink and drive

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children over age 1--with one in four of these crashes involving alcohol. Most of the children involved in the alcohol-related accidents were passengers in the vehicle being driven by the intoxicated adult, according to recent national statistics. Tragically, many of these crashes appeared survivable--68 percent of the drivers lived, but the children died because most weren't wearing seat belts. Experts urge families to take a zero-tolerance attitude toward drinking and driving. Never allow children in a car with a driver who has been drinking alcohol, and always make sure kids buckle up.

Another plus for green tea?

It sounds like more good news for tea drinkers who favor the green variety. Already credited with containing a healthy dose of anti-oxidants, green tea may contain an ingredient that can kill certain leukemia cells. In a laboratory study, Mayo Clinic researchers used samples from 10 patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the second most common type of leukemia in American adults. They discovered that a component in the tea, called EGCG, interrupted the communication signals of the leukemia cells, causing them to die in eight of the 10 samples. Scientists hope their discovery leads to new, less toxic therapies for the disease, currently treated with chemotherapy.

Angry enough to smoke

Kicking the cigarette habit may be harder for people with hostile or aggressive personality traits. A study in the journal Cognitive Brain Research reports that this group may be genetically programmed to become addicted to nicotine. Researchers sorted volunteers into two groups--those with higher tendencies for anger, aggression and anxiety and those with low-hostility traits. Volunteers were given nicotine patches and submitted to PET scans of their brains. Experts found the brain response to nicotine was dramatically different among those in the hostile group, suggesting a genetic predisposition to nicotine addiction, even before a first cigarette.

Holy bat spit!

What do vampire bats and people who suffer strokes have in common? An experimental drug developed from a protein found in vampire bat saliva may offer a promising treatment for stroke victims. The drug, desmoteplase, may reverse stroke symptoms such as paralysis and speaking difficulties when given to patients up to nine hours after their stroke begins. That gives doctors three times longer to help patients than they now have using other clot-busting drugs. While early clinical trials are helpful, it will take time for the new drug to be approved in the United States.

A threatening skin condition

If you have a patch of skin that's red, swollen, warm or tender, you may have cellulitis, an infection caused when bacteria enters your body through a cut, an ulcer, a surgery wound or other break in the skin. The condition isn't contagious but needs to be treated promptly before the infection enters your bloodstream. You may be at increased risk for the condition if you suffer from diabetes, a weakened immune system, a chronic skin condition such as eczema or a chronic swelling in your arms and legs.To prevent cellulitis, keep wounds clean, apply an antibiotic cream and cover them with a bandage. Your doctor can treat cellulitis with an oral antibiotic.

Hold that salt

Do you know how much sodium you consume each day? If you're like most Americans, you're getting too much, says the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Healthy 19- to 50-year-olds need about 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day (about one-half teaspoon of salt). Older adults need slightly less. But many Americans are regularly consuming more than the recommended limit of 2,400 mg of sodium a day. Most of the extra salt is coming from processed and prepackaged foods. The extra amount can put some people at risk for blood pressure problems. To shake your salt habit, check labels for sodium content and make more meals from scratch.