Older men who take loop diuretics, commonly prescribed drugs for heart failure and hypertension, appear to have increased rates of hip bone loss than men who are not taking this medication, according to a report published in the April 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Loop diuretics are one of the most commonly prescribed medications among older adults,” the authors write as background information in the article. These medications increase the amount of calcium excreted in urine, potentially damaging bones over the long term. In observational studies, use of loop diuretics has been associated with an increased risk of hip and other fractures.
DURHAM, NC — Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say they may have figured out why poor sleep does more harm to cardiovascular health in women than in men.
Their study, appearing online in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, found that poor sleep is associated with greater psychological distress and higher levels of biomarkers associated with elevated risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They also found that these associations are significantly stronger in women than in men.
The number of elderly individuals newly diagnosed with heart failure has declined during the past ten years, but the number of those living with the condition has increased, according to a report in the February 25, 2008, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Heart failure affects nearly five million people in the United States, and more than 300,000 die each year as a result of the disease. Heart failure is primarily a disease of elderly persons and, consequently, places a significant and growing economic burden on the Medicare program,” according to background information in the article. The number of people age 65 or older hospitalized for heart failure from 1984 to 2002 rose by more than 30 percent.
Over the next decade, as further studies are conducted, it will be interesting to see the correlation between sleep apnea and heart failure, as well as survival rates, show up in the statistics.
Use of calcium-channel blockers, alpha-blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors appears to offer no advantages in improving clinical outcomes compared with use of diuretics when treating hypertension among individuals with metabolic syndrome, according to a report in the January 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This appears particularly true for black patients.
Patients with hypertension (high blood pressure) and metabolic syndrome are at high risk for the complications of cardiovascular disease, according to background information in the article. The metabolic syndrome was defined as hypertension plus at least two of the following factors: diabetes or pre-diabetes; a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30; high triglyceride levels; or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (“good” cholesterol).
Heart failure patients with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more likely to die than those without this sleep disorder, says a study published in a professional cardiology journal.
The study followed 164 patients with heart failure for more than seven years and those with OSA were found to have had double the death rate of patients who did not have sleep apnea. Of the 37 patients with untreated OSA, the death rate was 24 percent in contrast to 12 percent for the 113 patients with no sleep apnea.
Reduced blood flow to the skin’s surface may be a key cause of heat-related illnesses in patients with congestive heart failure, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
The first study to investigate how heat affects people with heart failure shows that one of two ways the body can cool itself is not as effective in those with congestive heart failure relative to healthy individuals.
