Startling reduction in Heart Attack Deaths in Wartime Norway
This is a fascinating case study that brings relevant evidence pertinent to heart disease directly to the forefront. It should serve as a convincing argument about why people suffer from heart attacks, and also act as a guide on how to avoid them, which is the primary reason that the ‘Lower Blood Pressure’ website exists.
The unlikely connection with the quiet, peaceful and prosperous country of Norway is probably an unlikely place to look for heart disease statistics. Nevertheless some valuable data was obtained as a side effect of the occupation of this small nation by the invading army from Nazi Germany in the 1940′s.
Prior to the outbreak of World War 2 the Norwegian population enjoyed a high standard of living, including good nutrition – a relatively rich diet of food and drink compared with many other European countries. Unfortunately, the prosperous citizens of this tiny Scandinavian country also suffered from a high mortality rate from heart attacks and heart disease related illness.
During the occupation years, however, there was a sharp fall in the number of recorded deaths from heart attacks and other diseases of the cardiovascular system. Even more surprising was the observed reduction in the number of instances of blood clotting (thrombosis) in hospital patients recovering from surgery, due to the lack of physical activity during the post-operative sedentary period.
What could be the reason for this reduction in heart disease ?
The simple answer is that during the Nazi occupation of their country, the Norwegian people faced hardships that were previously unknown to them. This consisted of a cumulative series of denials of many of the unhealthy practices that we currently indulge in our daily lives in 2012.
This included the following :-
- Drastic reduction in smoking due to shortage of supply of cigarettes and tobacco
- Forced labor by the occupying army resulting in increased daily physical activity
- Reduced intake of Meat and Dairy Produce – much of this was exported back to Germany
- Massive increase in fish consumption – reliance on locally caught fish due to the shortage of beef, cheese and milk
The result of this forced change of lifestyle was that the majority of the population lost some weight, lowered their blood cholesterol level, became more physically fit, stopped smoking and lowered their blood pressure. Consequently, despite increasing stress levels due to the pressures on daily life imposed by the occupying forces of the invading army, the overall heart health of the people increased !!
As if this wasn’t proof enough, we need to now look at what happened during the years following the end of the War. This is quite shocking. Within two short years, with the abundance of rich foods and tobacco, and despite a reduction in stress levels associated with daily living, the heart attack and stroke death rates were once again back at the pre-war levels.
Despite the glaring and uncontrovertible evidence that was available to the medical authorities from this wartime data, it would not be for another three decades until the world finally woke up to the inescapable correlation between diet, smoking exercise and heart disease.
It should serve as a valuable lesson to us all that we CAN make a difference to our own heart health, once we accept the undeniable facts, and it only takes a relatively short time (within a year or two) to begin to lower our risk of suffering from a heart attack.
Early warning of impending Heart Attack
What if it was possible to receive an early warning of an imminent heart attack?
Coronary Heart Disease kills more people in the United Kingdom and the United States than any other disease. In the United Kingdom it claims the lives of more than a quarter of a million people each year. The problem is that nearly half of people who suffer from the early symptoms of the onset of a heart attack actually choose to delay calling 911, and prefer to wait for a while to ‘see how it goes’, rather than risk the embarrassment of calling for the paramedics to what turns out to be a false alarm.
This worrying fact has been discovered by research conducted by the British Heart Foundation, who have studied the medical records of heart patients who experienced the classic symptoms of chest pain, or pain in the arms, shoulders or jaw, before experiencing a full blown heart attack. This results in approximately 30 percent of all heart attack victims dying before they can reach the life saving treatment available at a hospital or ER Center.
AngelMed Guardian can predict imminent heart problem
Well, the solution to this is now a reality, thanks to a tiny new medical device – the AngelMed Guardian – that can be surgically inserted beneath the skin, like a heart pacemaker, and can electronically sense the tell-tale signs that precede a heart attack. This is nothing short of a miracle in the quest for the ultimate key to preventing the massive death toll from this dread disease. It is currently being tested in the United States, and has shown promising results in it’s ability to successfully provide vital warning time that allows the patient to reach essential life-saving medical help.
24/7 heart monitoring system
The unit performs 24/7 monitoring of the heart’s vital electrical impulses, looking for any signs of irregularities or arrhythmia that could indicate the possibility of a serious problem. When the alarm is triggered, the patient can immediately check in to the nearest hospital and receive the necessary anti blood clotting medication that can prevent the development of the heart attack.
Different types of heart attack
There are two different types of heart attack. The most serious type occurs when a piece of arterial plaque, or blood clot breaks away from an artery wall, and prevents the normal blood flow through the ventricular chambers of the heart. This blockage can cause massive damage to the heart muscle, and death, but it also affects the heart’s electrical rhythms. This change in the electrical signals can be detected in it’s early stages, and a warning alarm can be triggered. A mild heart attack generally does not produce the same disruption to the heart’s electrically driven system, so the device is aimed at the former more serious condition.
This incredible new breakthrough in heart health technology is a small wireless enabled electronic device similar in size to a USB memory stick, that is capable of detecting the normal electrical signals produced by the heart, and hence any changes that may indicate the possibility of an imminent heart attack. It is claimed that the equipment can provide vital hours or even days of notice prior to the onset of serious heart illness, If it detects the trigger conditions. It alerts the patient by physically vibrating inside the body, and it can also provide an external alert to a pager carried by the patient.
Eggs cleared of causing high cholesterol
Historical Suspicion of Eggs
Poultry eggs have long been regarded with suspicion and labelled as high cholesterol foods due to their association with raising levels of blood cholesterol, leading to heart disease and heart attacks. This dates back many years, due in part to decades old advice from the British Heart Foundation (revised in 2005) that egg consumption should be limited to two or three eggs per person per week because they increase cholesterol. Now experts have proven that very little of the cholesterol in eggs actually finds it way into the bloodstream.
Previous egg cholesterol research was mis-interpreted
A new report from the British Nutrition Foundation seems to indicate that conclusions drawn from this earlier research on eggs and diet may have been incorrect, due to it’s inability to differentiate between dietary cholesterol and dietary saturated fat. So, in other words poultry eggs may have been the fall guy for the real bad guy – saturated fat, which is found in great quantities in so many of the foods that we often eat every day without necessarily checking what we are eating contains.
It is still correct that high levels of blood cholesterol can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, but it has now been discovered due to improved testing science that most of the blood cholesterol in our blood actually comes from non-dietary sources – typically obesity, lack of exercise and smoking cigarettes, and dietary staurated fat. The new research concludes that this is the primary cause, not eggs, of more than two thirds of the cholesterol in our blood.
Saturated fat mainly to blame, not poultry eggs
Almost half of the people polled in a recent United Kingdom survey still thought they should eat a maximum of three eggs a week, due to the information which has been propagated by health organisations over the years. But the evidence now indicates that there is no reason to limit the weekly consumption of eggs for most people, as there is no evidence to suggest that they cause an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
A respected UK Doctor – Dr Hilary Jones, MD, has highlighted the confusion surrounding dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol. He said that many people think by reducing dietary cholesterol – for example avoiding food like eggs will reduce their risk of heart disease. But he points out that the most important dietary risk factor comes from consumption of saturated fat.
New advice about egg consumption from health organisations
The British Heart Foundation as well as other health organisations have responded to this new research by issuing their own statements. A BHF spokesperson, Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietician, responded by stating :-
“We recommend that eggs can be eaten as part of a balanced diet. There is cholesterol present in eggs but this does not usually make a great contribution to your level of blood cholesterol. She continues ”If you need to reduce your cholesterol level it is more important that you cut down on the amount of saturated fat in your diet from foods like fatty meat, full fat dairy products and cakes, biscuits [cookies] and pastries.”
The American Heart Association has also removed their previous recommendations regarding eggs and heart health.
special advice for people who suffer from familial hypercholesterolaemia
The exception to the above advice is that people suffering from the genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol levels – familial hypercholesterolaemia. If you are one of the one in five hundred of the population who suffer from this condition, then the advice to restrict your dietary intake of cholesterol still applies.
Two eggs a day can reduce cholesterol and help you lose weight!
The most amazing aspect of this latest research is that a study published by in 2008 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has shown that eating two eggs per day, as part of a calorie controlled diet, can actually reduce your blood cholesterol level, and help you to lose weight. So if youe have a favourite recipe with eggs, you may be able to enjoy it once again without worrying about your heart health. It just goes to show you that the old expression that you probably heard from your parents is probably good advice – ‘everything in moderation’.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest
SCA is a critical emergency medical condition where the heart physically stops beating or goes into fibrillation. If you suffer a SCA you will die within minutes unless you receive the correct emergency medical treatment.
According to the American Heart Association over 700 people die every single day in the United Stated from this condition. This equates to more than a quarter of a million deaths per year !
Is an SCA the same as a heart attack ?
Absolutely not !
A heart attack occurs when there is a blockage in the arteries as a result of coronary artery disease which prevents the flow of blood to the heart. With Sudden Cardiac Arrest the heart either stops dead, or it goes into a kind of spasm called fibrillation where the normal beating action which enables the heart to pump blood around the body is defeated by the muscular spasm, which effectively renders the heart useless.
What are the causes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest ?
In most instances the reason that the heart suddenly stops beating is because of a certain type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), or quivering of the heart muscle, known as a ventricular fibrillation or V-fib, and like most forms of arrythmia it is usually due to an ‘electrical problem’.
The human heart has four chambers – the left and right atria, and the left and right ventricles. The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart. The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs and the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood out to the body.
The net result of the heart fibrillation is that very little blood gets pumped around the body, which is why death always follows within minutes, unless the patient receives rapid emergency medical treatment.
Why do some people suffer from SCA ?
There are a number of reasons why you may suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest. These are summarised briefly below :-
Previous heart attack
When a person suffers from a heart attack, some heart tissue dies and forms scar tissue. This can damage the heart’s electrical system, and increase the future risk factor for arrhythmias and SCA.
Severe Physical trauma or stress
This may be due a number of reasons such as :-
* Major blood loss
* Severe lack of oxygen
* Very low blood levels of potassium or magnesium
* Intensive exercise, resulting in high levels of the hormone adrenaline to be released into the body. This may trigger an SCA in people who have other heart related problems.
Genetic or congenital heart disorders
It is possible for heart defects, including arrhythmias to run in families, and be passed from parents to children. These problems may not manifest themslves until later life. Others may be born with congenital defects in their hearts that may increase their chance of having SCA, either in infancy or in later life.
Structural Changes to the makeup of the Heart
Our hearts may alter in size or structure during our lifetime, and this can affect the functioning of it’s electrical system. These changes can include a heart which has been enlarged by high blood pressure, infection, or heart disease.
Other electrical problems that can cause SCA are extreme slowing of the rate of the heart’s electrical signals or when heart muscle stops responding to the electrical signals.
Several research studies are under way to try to understand these possible causes of SCA and to find other causes.