Heart disease patients with positive
attitudes live longer
Heart disease patients with positive attitudes
are more likely to exercise and live longer, a new study has found. Researchers
found that heart disease patients with a B positive attitude were 42 per cent
less likely to die over a five-year period than those with a negative attitude.
Researchers used a questionnaire to assess the
moods of 600 ischemic heart disease patients in a Denmark hospital. Ischemic
heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, is caused by narrowed
arteries that don't provide enough blood and oxygen to the heart.
After a five-year follow-up period, researchers
found that the most positive patients exercised more and had a 42 per cent less
chance of dying for any reason during the follow-up period; deaths were less
than 10 per cent.
Among patients with less positive attitudes, 50
deaths occurred (16.5 per cent).
Positive mood and exercise also cut the risk of
heart-related hospitalisations, the study found.
Exercise levels the playing field between
positive and negative patients, researchers said.
So the differences in death rates between upbeat
and sad heart patients weren't as striking when both groups exercised. However,
information on the types and amounts of exercise were not available.
"We should focus not only on increasing positive
attitude in cardiac rehabilitation, but also make sure that patients perform
exercise on a regular basis, as exercise is associated with both increased
levels of optimism and better health," said Susanne S Pedersen, one of the
study authors and professor of cardiac psychology, the Department of Medical
and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
She is also adjunct professor of cardiac
psychology, the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital,
Denmark.
The study was published in the American Heart
Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
12.09.2013
Exercise
may cut epilepsy risk in men
Men who exercise vigorously as young adults may reduce their risk
of developing epilepsy later in life, a new study has found.
Researchers found that men who had a high level of fitness were 79
per cent less likely to develop epilepsy than those with low fitness levels and
36 per cent less likely to develop epilepsy than those with medium fitness
levels.
Epilepsy is a brain disease that causes repeated seizures over
time.
"There are a host of ways exercise has been shown to benefit
the brain and reduce the risk of brain diseases," said study author Elinor
Ben-Menachem, with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and an associate
member of the American Academy of Neurology.
"This is the first study in humans to show that exercise may
also reduce the risk of epilepsy, which can be disabling and
life-threatening," Ben-Menachem said.
In the study, 1.17 million Swedish men were given cycle tests that
measured cardiovascular fitness at age 18. The participants were then assessed
for epilepsy for an average of 25 years. During follow-up, 6,796 men were
diagnosed with epilepsy.
The proportion of men with high fitness who developed epilepsy in
the study was 0.48 per cent, the proportion of men with medium fitness who
developed epilepsy was 0.62 per cent and the proportion of men with low fitness
who developed epilepsy was 1.09 per cent.
The results were lessened only slightly after considering genetic
factors and a prior history of traumatic brain injury, stroke or diabetes. "Exercise
may affect epilepsy risk in two ways. It may protect the brain and create
stronger brain reserve, or it may simply be that people who are fit early in
life tend to also be fit later in life, which in turn affects disease
risk," Ben-Menachem said.
The study is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the
American Academy of Neurology.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
12.09.2013
Listen to advice and accept correction, then in the end you will be
wise
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