PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Electronic monitoring device may help lower salt intake

2014-11-16
(Press-News.org) Using an electronic monitoring device may help heart failure patients and their families stick to a low-salt diet, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.

The Family Sodium Watcher Program (Family SWAP) focuses on a partnership between the heart failure patient and a caregiver/member of the family to adapt to the taste of a low-salt diet and includes using an electronic monitoring device to detect salt content in food and avoid high-salt food during the adaptation period.

In the three-month trial of 15 patient-caregiver pairs: The intervention group of eight patients received 12 weeks of self-care education for heart failure with gradual adaptive strategies in salt intake. Participants said the device was easy to use and helped them maintain a low-sodium diet. Some said they enjoyed their low-salt diets more and 90 percent noticed a change in their ability to taste salt in their food. Caregivers reported no increased burden due to the program.

The usual care/control group of seven patients didn't change behavior.

The Family SWAP may help the entire family improve their lifestyles, researchers said.

INFORMATION:

The pilot study was funded by the American Heart Association and the University of Kentucky.

Misook L. Chung, R.N., Ph.D., associate professor, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, and co-director, RICH Heart Program, Lexington, Kentucky



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

High hospital admissions for acute aortic dissection coincide with peak flu season

2014-11-16
Hospital admissions for acute aortic dissection were highest during peak flu season November-March, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening condition in which blood leaks from the aorta, the major artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. The leak is often caused by a tear in the inside wall of the aorta. The most common symptom of aortic dissection is sudden and severe chest or upper back pain. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center ...

Young heart health linked to better overall health in later years

2014-11-16
Maintaining a healthy heart while young may help prevent future disease and disability, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014. In this study spanning more than three decades, participants who were at low risk for heart and blood vessel disease when young adults were 60 percent less likely to report disability as older adults. To determine risk level, researchers used blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index measurements, as well as diabetes and smoking status. "People should adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle ...

High blood pressure control in United States continues to improve

2014-11-16
High blood pressure control continues to improve in the United States, with more than half of those with the condition now achieving readings below 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014 and simultaneously published in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2003 and 2012, researchers found: The percentage of patients with hypertension achieving optimal blood pressure ...

'Not just a flavoring:' Menthol and nicotine, combined, desensitize airway receptors

2014-11-16
WASHINGTON -- Menthol acts in combination with nicotine to desensitize receptors in lungs' airways that are responsible for nicotine's irritation, say neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). "We know that a menthol cough drop soothes a scratchy, sore throat. The question we looked at is if and how it works when the irritant is nicotine," says a study author, Kenneth Kellar, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at GUMC. The findings, which represent work by Georgetown University investigators in GUMC's Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, will ...

High mortality associated with STEMI heart attacks that occur in hospitalized patients

High mortality associated with STEMI heart attacks that occur in hospitalized patients
2014-11-16
In 2013, University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers published a study with a surprising finding: Patients who suffered an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attack while in the hospital for something else are more likely to die than patients who had the same type of heart attack outside the hospital. Today the UNC researchers published a new study, based on data from more than 62,000 patients treated at hundreds of hospitals in California, which confirms their earlier finding. "This study is the largest ever performed on patients who ...

Risk of death may be higher if heart attack occurs in a hospital

2014-11-16
Prashant Kaul, M.D., of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues conducted a study to define the incidence and treatment and outcomes of patients who experience a certain type of heart attack during hospitalization for conditions other than acute coronary syndromes. The study appears in the November 19 issue of JAMA, a cardiovascular disease theme issue. Early restoration of blood flow with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; a procedure such as stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) or administration of medication to dissolve ...

Overall death rate from heart disease declines, although increase seen for certain types

2014-11-16
Matthew D. Ritchey, D.P.T., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, and colleagues examined the contributions of heart disease subtypes to overall heart disease mortality trends during 2000-2010. The study appears in the November 19 issue of JAMA, a cardiovascular disease theme issue. Despite considerable information on overall heart disease (HD) and coronary HD (CHD) mortality trends, less is known about trends for other HD subtypes. The researchers analyzed mortality data from the CDC WONDER database, which contains death certificate information ...

Device's potential as alternative to warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with a-fib

2014-11-16
Vivek Y. Reddy, M.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and colleagues examined the long-term efficacy and safety, compared to warfarin, of a device to achieve left atrial appendage closure in patients with atrial fibrillation. The study appears in the November 19 issue of JAMA, a cardiovascular disease theme issue. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a pouch-like appendix located in the upper left chamber of the heart. Studies have suggested that the LAA is the major source of clots that block blood vessels in patients with atrial fibrillation ...

Use of beta-blockers for certain type of heart failure linked with improved survival

2014-11-16
Lars H. Lund, M.D., Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether beta-blockers are associated with reduced mortality in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction).The study appears in the November 19 issue of JAMA, a cardiovascular disease theme issue. Up to half of patients with heart failure have normal or near-normal ejection fraction, termed heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). The risk of ...

Prevalence, risk of death of type of coronary artery disease in heart attack patients

2014-11-16
Duk-Woo Park, M.D., of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, and Manesh R. Patel, M.D., of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, N.C., and colleagues investigated the incidence, extent, and location of obstructive non-infarct-related artery (IRA) disease and compared 30-day mortality according to the presence of non-IRA disease in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; a certain pattern on an electrocardiogram following a heart attack). Obstructive non-IRA disease is blockage in arteries not believed to be the cause ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Deep emission cuts before mid-century decisive to reduce long-term sea-level rise legacy

New research uncovers how the brain’s activity, energy use, and blood flow change as people fall asleep

Scientists develop floral-scented fungus that lures mosquitoes to their doom

Discovery of elusive solar waves that could power the Sun's corona

Protection against winter vomiting bug spread with arrival of agriculture

Key nervous system components shown to influence gastrointestinal tumour growth

A food tax shift could save lives – without a price hike in the average shopping basket

Development of new candidate agent for lethal and severe cutaneous drug reaction

Teenagers and young adults who use cannabis have a higher risk of progressing to regular tobacco use

Baltic countries lead the way in supporting media freedom internationally, according to new index

New center aims to make the future of trauma survivors brighter

Research-backed defense of DEI programs published today

From sewage to super soil: Dual breakthrough in phosphorus recycling unveiled by Chinese research teams

Sustainable use of woody biochar boosts soil carbon and crop yields in pepper fields

Smart hormone technologies could help sugarcane survive droughts and floods

Updated CPR guidelines released for pediatric and neonatal emergency care and resuscitation

Psilocybin plus mindfulness shows promise for healthcare worker depression

New study documents functional extinction of two critically endangered coral species following record heatwave in Florida

UC Irvine researchers find new Alzheimer’s mechanism linked to brain inflammation

Ancient stone tools trace Paleolithic Pacific migration

New ‘molecular dam’ stops energy leaks in nanocrystals

Hidden toxins in e-cigarette fluids may harm lung cells

Ancient Mediterranean origin of the “London Underground Mosquito”

Functional extinction of Florida’s reef-building corals following the 2023 marine heatwave

Duck-billed dinosaur “mummies” preserve fleshy hide and hooves in thin layers of clay

Fatty winter snacks may trick the body into packing on the pounds

Hitchhiking DNA picked up by gene, saves a species from extinction

Cellarity publishes framework for discovery of cell state-correcting medicines in Science

Peatlands’ ‘huge reservoir’ of carbon at risk of release

Dinosaurs in New Mexico thrived until the very end, study shows

[Press-News.org] Electronic monitoring device may help lower salt intake