National Heart Month at Vimo - Comparison Shopping for Health

Heart Tech -Creating a New Heart Muscle

It looks, contracts and responds almost like natural heart muscle - even though it was grown in the lab. And it brings scientists another step closer to the goal of creating replacement parts for damaged human hearts, or eventually growing an entirely new heart from just a spoonful of loose heart cells.

University of Michigan researchers are reporting significant progress in growing bioengineered heart muscle, or BEHM, with organized cells, capable of generating pulsating forces and reacting to stimulation more like real muscle than ever before.

The three-dimensional tissue was grown using an innovative technique that is faster than others that have been tried in recent years, but still yields tissue with significantly better properties. The approach uses a fibrin gel to support rat cardiac cells temporarily, before the fibrin breaks down as the cells organize into tissue.

The U-M team details its achievement in a new paper published online in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A.

And while BEHM is still years away from use as a human heart treatment, or as a testing ground for new cardiovascular drugs, the U-M researchers say their results should help accelerate progress toward those goals. U-M is applying for patent protection on the development and is actively looking for a corporate partner to help bring the technology to market. Note to patients: Although this heart cell research is promising, it will be several years before it can be applied to patients even as an experimental treatment.

Heart Disease: A Post-World War II Illness

During the years 1940-1967, age-adjusted mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) rose in the USA by 14.1% for all persons aged 35-74, before it began a decline of 3% per year beginning in 1968. The downturn could be attributed to change in eating habits and behavior after a massive public awareness campaign.

(Source: The marked decline in coronary heart disease mortality rates in the United States, 1968-1981. Cardiology.)

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Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs

Sudden loss of responsiveness (no response to tapping on shoulders).
No normal breathing (the victim does not take a normal breath when you tilt the head up and check for at least five seconds).

Walking Fights Heart Disease: American Heart Association Launches Start!

The statistics are alarming. Each year Americans suffer 1.2 million heart attacks. Cardiovascular disease and stroke continue to be the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, claiming 870,000 lives each year. Furthermore, 140 million people - 66 percent of Americans - are overweight.

Americans also are working longer hours. In fact, they are working an astonishing 164 more hours per year than 20 years ago. More of the nation's workforce is in sedentary occupations, which leads to physical inactivity, which leads to greater risk for heart disease and stroke.

To get Americans up and moving, the American Heart Association is launching Start! - a new movement to help Americans improve their health by walking. American Heart Association President Raymond Gibbons, M.D., professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in Rochester, Minnesota, is joined by award-winning actress Jane Seymour in launching the movement.

Start! encourages corporations and the workforce to promote physical fitness and break down the obstacles that keep Americans from being physically active. The movement focuses on walking as an activity because it's accessible, free and has the lowest dropout rate of any type of exercise.

"I'm excited to be part of this groundbreaking new movement," Seymour said. "I want to do my part to help get America in shape and eating better. Start! is a great way for busy Americans to find the time to make a real change for the better in their lives."

Walking has many proven health benefits. In fact, adults may gain as much as two hours of life expectancy for each hour of regular, vigorous exercise, even if they don't begin exercising until middle age.

"Regular walking has many proven benefits for an individual's overall health. Brisk walking for 30 minutes a day can lower both bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and high blood pressure. It can help individuals who are overweight achieve and maintain weight loss, and reduce their risk of stroke," Dr. Gibbons said.

The overall health and wellness of Americans is influenced by the fact that, each year, productivity is on the rise as workers are increasingly given more work-place responsibilities.

The American Heart Association has built Start! around four key elements to help Americans live longer, heart-healthy lives:

MyStart! Online, a Web-based fitness and nutrition tracker, is the hub for a walking program that offers constant, measurable, personal improvement.
The Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Recognition Program officially recognizes employers that champion the health of their employees and work to create a culture of physical activity in the workplace. The Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program has several key aspects to help companies embrace a culture of physical activity and wellness.
The Start! Walking Program encourages companies to promote walking at work and recognize and reward employees who move from a sedentary to a more active lifestyle. It is a key component for removing a significant barrier to regular exercise for millions of American workers.
A reinvigorated Start! Heart Walk, the American Heart Association's premier fundraiser, gives people an opportunity to improve their health through walking while helping fund the fight against heart disease and stroke.

In addition to Seymour, other celebrities are signing on to support the Start! movement by participating in a Wake-Up Call promotion. From Jan. 8 through Feb. 5, individuals can visit the Start! Web site at www.americanheart.org/start or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 and sign up to receive recorded phone calls from celebrities encouraging them to start walking and eating better to lead a healthier, longer life. The promotion is free. In addition to Seymour, Vanessa Williams, Vanna White, Dave Koz, Hector Elizondo, Robin Roberts, Jared Fogle - and others - are participating.

Start! is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY(R), Healthy Choice(R) and AstraZeneca. For more information about the Start! Fit Friendly Companies Program and how it is helping improve the health of Americans by focusing on an activity that is convenient, free and easy, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit the website .

Be one of the first 10,000 people to register now for MyStart! Online and receive a Start! shoe wallet - a perfect way to carry your keys, ID and money while on the go. Just clip it on your shoe and Start! walking!

How to Prevent Heart Disease

Lower Your Cholesterol
Lowering your cholesterol lowers the chance that you will suffer from heart disease. Exercise regularly, eat foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, maintain a healthy weight and follow your doctor's recommendations to keep your own cholesterol levels low.
Stop Smoking
If you smoke, be aware: Your risk of heart attack greatly increases with each cigarette you consume. Smoking causes atherosclerosis - a buildup of fatty substances in the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack.
Exercise More
According to the American Heart Association, lack of physical activity is also a major risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. Lack of exercise also contributes to other risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, a low level of HDL ("good") cholesterol and diabetes.

About Cardiac Arrest

A cardiac arrest, or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively during systole.

The resulting lack of blood supply results in cell death from oxygen starvation. Cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen supply to the brain, causes victims to lose consciousness and to stop breathing, which in turn causes the heart to stop. Brain damage is likely to occur after 3-4 minutes, except in cases of hypothermia. To improve survival and neurological recovery immediate response is paramount.

Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that, in certain groups of patients, is potentially reversible if treated early enough. When cardiac arrest leads to death this is called sudden cardiac death (SCD). The primary first-aid treatment for cardiac arrest is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (commonly known as CPR).

(Source: American Heart Association)

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