Earthquakes
up heart disease risk!
The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan March
11 last year, in which nearly 16,000 people were killed, also triggered a sharp
rise in the incidence of heart disease, according to medical records. Based on
the 124,152 ambulance records in the Miyagi prefecture, which registered the
greatest damage in its vicinity, cardiologist Hiroaki Shimokawa and colleagues
from the Tohoku University, found that the weekly occurrence of conditions
linked with cardio-vascular disease (CVD) increased sharply soon after the
quake.
CVD are a class of diseases which refers to cardiac disease,
vascular (blood vessel) disease of the brain and kidney, and peripheral
arterial disease (when arteries get blocked with plaques, restricting blood
supply to the heart). Such reactions have been reported before, said Shimokawa,
in Japan, China and the US. However, these studies reported only the short-term
occurrence of individual CVD events, and the mid-term CVD effects of such great
earthquakes remain to be elucidated, the journal ACS Stroke and Pulmonary
Embolism reports. Incidence records from before, during and after the
earthquake disaster were compared, the aftershocks counted and recorded
according to a seismic intensity of one or greater, according to a Tohoku
statement.
“To the best of our knowledge,” Shimokawa added, “this is
the first report to describe the mid-term course of major cardiovascular events
and pneumonia after a great earthquake in a large population. In particular,
our findings provide the first evidence that the incidence of heart failure was
markedly increased over a long period afterwards.” Prevalence of pneumonia, a
well known risk factor for deteriorating heart failure, was significantly
increased.
Source:
http://health.india.com
29.08.2012
President stresses the need to provide
healthcare to all
President Mukherjee stressed the
need to evolve a universal healthcare system for the nation, calling it
important for economic growth. He pitched for setting up more healthcare
institutions in the country. ”At the national level, the estimated economic
loss to India due to deaths caused by all diseases in 2005 was 1.3 percent of
the GDP. With the growing number of non-communicable diseases, the loss is
apprehended to reach five percent of GDP by 2015 if it is not checked,” he
said.
Mukherjee was addressing a seminar
at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here. ”An
assured access to health coverage, that ensures medicine and treatment at
affordable prices, is an objective essential for the whole utilisation of human
resources capacity,” the president said. He said that both making new
institutions and creating more human resource for health were important. He
also called upon the private sector for cooperating with the government in
building quality healthcare infrastructure. FICCI president R.V. Kanoria,
welcoming the president, said health care sector should be given the status of
infrastructure sector. The industrial chamber has organised a three-day seminar
on universal health care.
Source:
http://health.india.com
29.08.2012
The beautiful thing
about learning is that no one can take it away from you
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