Urine test may predict high blood
pressure risk in kids
Washington: Measuring sodium in a child's urine may help
doctors identify those at risk of having high blood pressure, according to a
new study.
Researchers screened 19 children, ages 10 to 19, and found
that of the eight who retained sodium seven had high blood pressure.
The inability to properly excrete sodium in the body can
occur during stress, such as when kids get nervous while in a doctor's office,
so the children were asked to provide a urine sample before and after their
visit to a physician.
Sodium retention increases fluid in the blood vessels, which
can impact blood pressure. High blood pressure can develop over time if the
body can't properly regulate sodium, and is a serious risk factor for heart
disease and stroke.
"Hypertension is no longer an adult disease," said
Gregory Harshfield, study senior researcher and director of the Institute of
the Georgia Prevention Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia
Regents University, Augusta.
"The results of this test could also provide useful
information that could help pediatricians better manage and treat hypertension
in their patients," Harshfield said.
The study was presented at a meeting of the American Heart
Association in New Orleans.
14.09.2013
US firm brings next generation
pacemaker in India
Mumbai: St Jude Medical Inc, a global medical device
company, today announced the launch of next generation pacemaker in India.
The NYSE-listed firm announced the first commercial implant
of `Allure Quadra', a cardiac resynchronisation therapy pacemaker (CRT-P), in
the country.
The first-to-market quadripolar pacemaker system offers more
pacing options for patients with heart failure (HF), a company release said
here.
Quadripolar leads allow for increased implant efficiencies,
which clinical data indicates can result in fewer surgical revisions. Broad
clinical evidence on the advantages of the quadripolar technology has been
documented in more than 100 publications worldwide, it said.
Explaining how this new technology works, Anil Saxena of
Fortis Escorts Hospital, said: "Historically, pacing systems that treat
heart failure included a lead with only one electrode in the heart. Later,
these were replaced by leads with two electrodes.
"Nearly 40 per cent of patients do not effectively
benefit from traditional pacing due to potential complications all of which
require repeat surgeries."
The new technology has four electrodes and 10 programmable
pacing configurations, allowing electro-physiologists to manage their patients
with greater flexibility and improved patient outcomes, Saxena said.
The worldwide prevalence of heart failure has been rising over
the last few decades. More than 26 million people globally suffer from HF, with
a prevalence rate in India estimated to range from 1.3 to 4.6 million people.
14.09.2013
Between two
evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both
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