Swine Flu and Heart Disease Update – May 5th 2009
We’re monitoring the state of the latest influenza pandemic alert – swine flu, as it has special implications for our readers, and anyone else who suffers from a compromised immune system due to high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes.
It’s only just over a week since news about an imminent deadly influenza pandemic due to the swine flu influenza virus that originated in Mexico, hit the news headlines around the world.
Relatively few deaths worldwide to date from influenza pandemic
However, if we study the global influenza map, it is now apparent that there have been relatively few deaths around the world due to this new strain of influenza bacteria, and there have been no deaths yet in the the UK, possibly due to the very strict isolation of all suspected cases, and the use of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
To date there have been 30 deaths and almost 1500 cases worldwide, and in the UK there are now 28 confirmed cases with a further 330 potential cases under investigation.
However, the UK government Chief Medical Officer – Sir Liam Donaldson has warned the public not to become complacent about swine flu, and has stated that it is too early to confirm that the virus is just a mild version compared to previous influenza viruses. As we predicted on April 30th the UK government has now begun distributing leaflets about swine flu to every UK household, giving advice and information on influenza, and influenza prevention – how to prevent infection from the virus.
Are we over-reacting to swine flu or are we complacent about the threat ?
Well, the UK has adopted a dual strategy to combat the replication of the influenza virus from person to person by implementing a physical and a pharmaceutical barrier, through isolation of suspected cases, and use of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, which is one of very few influenza vaccines available.
The main concern is that if this influenza virus were to mutate, or combine in a new way with existing human influenza or avian flu strains, then it may return later in 2009 with a far more virulent and deadly strain that could become resistant to all existing anti-viral drugs.
In the meantime, medical authorities in several different countries are racing against the clock to find out more about this new strain of the influenza virus in the hope of developing a vaccine before a potential explosion of cases during the next flu season in the winter of 2009.
Tachycardia – definition, causes and symptoms
What is Tachycardia ?
Tachycardia is a type of heart arrhythmia where the heart beats excessively fast. Most people experience the odd additional or missed heartbeat, usually without noticing it, as a result of excitement, anxiety or stress. However, persistent abnormal beating of the heart is a medical condition known as an ‘arrhythmia’. The heart may develop a condition where it beats too quickly, too slowly, or flutters irregularly with missing or additional beats. The condition may be temporary, or it may happen regularly. The average adult resting heartbeat lies within a range of between 60 and 100 per beats minute. Tachycardia is the name given to the condition where your heart beats at more than 100 times per minute.
Is Tachycardia a dangerous condition ?
Most arrhythmia including Tachycardia are not serious. However, any abnormality associated with the heart can quickly develop into a serious, or even life threatening emergency, leading to heart attack or death. It essential to seek qualified medical attention if you start to suffer from an excessively high heart rate, so that a proper medical diagnosis can be made, and you can be given the correct treatment.
What causes Tachycardia ?
The heart is a mechanical pump that operates by the expansion and contraction of it’s component muscles. The operation is controlled by electrical impulses that are regulated by an internal pacemaker known as the sinus node, and it is the disruption of these electrical signals that can cause irregular beating, or arrhythmia.
Each heartbeat starts in the upper right chamber of the heart, known the right atrium. An electrical pulse causes the contraction of the muscle that in turn causes the lower chambers (ventricles) to fill with blood. The electrical pulse then crosses over to the ventricles through a conduit known as the AV node, causing them in turn to contract and squeeze the blood out into the rest of the body.
This basic repetitive cycle can become interrupted due to an internal medical problem, or an externally induced cause such as stress, fatigue, excess intake of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine, alcohol or medications, such as decongestants and alcohol. This interruption can cause the heart to beat too fast, and trigger a Tachycardia.
What are the Symptoms of Tachycardia ?
The result of the heart beating too fast during a Tachycardia is that it may become inefficient in it’s task of controlling the circulation of blood around the body. This inevitably leads to a deprivation of oxygen rich blood in other parts of the body, and apart from the physical sensation of a racing pulse, the following additional symptoms may be experienced (or there may be no noticeable symptoms at all) :-
- Chest pain or unusual feeling in the chest
- Heart palpitations
- loss of consciousness
- feeling of anxiety
- Breathlessness
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
Miracle ‘weight loss’ cures that aren’t
Obesity is a major risk factor in many diseases and illnesses, including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
There have been some bold claims made recently by companies promoting various types of consumer products that claim to enable you to lose weight without the usual ‘no pain no gain’ factor.
Here are some of the tempting claims that try to separate you from a substantial amount of your hard earned cash, and promote lazy weight loss:
- Slimming Chocolate – a new type of chocolate that is claimed to reduce your weight by burning fat, it’s effectiveness being proportional to the amount that you eat – eat more chocolate – lose more weight! this chocolate costs $45 per month for the average recommended quantity
- Slim Ball gastric balloon – an edible device that supposedly expands within the stomach, reducing appetite – cost one off payment of $75
- Lipo-Slim Liposuction device – an external pad that attaches to the feet to ‘extract 6 pounds of fat per week’ – cost $50 per month
- Fat ‘burning’ pills – one per day to lose up to 10 pounds per week without any exercise or diet – cost $15 per month
Information supplied by the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading indicates that nearly a quarter of a million Britons placed their trust and their money in these products last year, and now spend approximately 30 million dollars each year attempting to beat back the seemingly relentless weight gain that afflicts so many of the population.
The Director of the UK Office of Fair Trading, Mike Haley, stated that three quarters of the people who responded to these phoney were women, and that the victims of these weight loss ‘scams’ are becoming victims due to their desperation to find an easy cure for being overweight. He added that the products are effectively of no value, and without any evidence supplied by the manufacturers to substantiate their weight loss claims. In some cases they may actually contain ingedients that are untested and potentially harmful to consumers.
The fact is that when it comes to being overweight, in most cases this is due to a greater number of calories being consumed by the individual than those that are used by the daily requirements for that person.
This leads to surplus calories being converted by the body into fatty deposits that accumulate around the waist, buttocks upper arms or thighs.
Our advice is – let the buyer beware!