Signs of
heart disease detected in newborns
Thickened arteries, the first signs
of heart disease, are emerging in babies born
to overweight mothers, says a new study.
The thickening of body's major artery, the aorta, which heralds heart disease, is independent of the child's birth weight.
It may explain how obese mums, who make up more than half the women of child bearing age in the developed world, could heighten their babies' subsequent risk of cardiovascular disease, suggest authors of the study, reports the journal Foetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease of Childhood.
A group of women, with an average age of 35 years, were included in the study when they were 16 weeks pregnant. Ten of the babies born were boys, and birth weights ranged from 1.85 kg to 4.31 kg, according to a Sydney University statement.
The abdominal aorta, which is the section of the artery extending down to the belly, was scanned in each newborn within seven days of birth to find out the thickness of the two innermost walls - the intima and media.
Intima-media thickness ranged from 0.65-0.97 mm, and was tied to the mother's weight. The higher a mum's weight, the greater was the baby's intima-media thickness, irrespective of how much the baby weighed at birth.
"The earliest physical signs of atherosclerosis (clogging of the arteries) are present in the abdominal aorta, and aortic intima-media thickness is considered the best non-invasive measure of structural health of the vasculature in children," says Michael Skilton from the University of Sydney, who led the study.
This may explain how a mother being overweight might affect her child's subsequent risk of heart disease and stroke later in life, the study said.
Source: www.timesofindia.com
01.03.2013
Walking wards off stroke for women
Women who
devote at least three hours to walking every week are more likely to ward off
strokes than their inactive cousins, says a study.
"The message for the general population remains similar: regularly engaging in moderate recreational activity is good for your health," said Jose Maria Huerta of the Murcia Regional Health Authority in Spain, who led the study.
Women walking briskly for 210 minutes or more per week had a lower stroke risk than inactive women but also lower than those who cycled and did other higher-intensity workouts for a shorter amount of time, the journal Stroke reported.
Nearly 33,000 men and women answered a physical activity questionnaire given once in the mid-1990s as part of a larger European cancer project.
Huerta and his team divided participants by gender, exercise type and total time spent exercising each week, according to the Daily Mail.
During the 12-year follow-up period, a total of 442 strokes occurred among the men and women.
The results for women who were regular walkers translated to a 43 per cent reduction in stroke risk compared to the inactive group, Huerta said.
Source: www.timesofindia.com
01.03.2013
Simpletons talk of the past, wise men of the present
and fools of the future
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