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

Symptoms and care of irregular heartbeats differ by gender

2013-03-11
(Press-News.org) DURHAM, NC – Women with atrial fibrilation have more symptoms and lower quality of life than men with the same heart condition, according to an analysis of patients in a large national registry compiled by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

The finding adds to a growing body of research that highlights gender disparities in how cardiovascular disease is managed, and serves as a caution to doctors to be alert to treatment decisions that might perpetuate the differences.

"We need to pay close attention to women with atrial fibrillation, and it's important for physicians to know that women with the condition have more symptoms and a lower quality of life than their male counterparts," said Jonathan P. Piccini, M.D., MHSc, an assistant professor of medicine and electrophysiology at Duke. Piccini presented the data March 10, 2013, during the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Sessions & Expo.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm, affecting more than 2 million people in the United States. Symptoms include heart palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue. The condition is associated with an increased risk of stroke and reduced survival.

Piccini and colleagues at Duke analyzed outcomes data from more than 10,000 patients with atrial fibrillation enrolled in a long-term, observational study called the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, or ORBIT-AF.

The study was launched in 2010 to help healthcare providers understand how atrial fibrillation is managed and to better understand long-term outcomes among patients in "real-world" situations. The registry is tool to evaluate long-term health outcomes, quality of life, and the impact of existing and emerging treatments.

The current analysis involved 10,132 people with atrial fibrilation from 176 clinics and practices across the country. About 42 percent of study participants were women.

Both men and women took blood thinners at about the same rate, but beyond that, several disparaties emerged. Compared to men, women in the study:

Tended to be older; Generally had lower rates of coronary artery disease and sleep apnea, as well as a less severe form of atrial fibrillation that occurs periodically; Had higher risk for stroke; Reported lower quality of life on a survey that measures symptoms, daily activities and treatment concerns in patients with atrial fibrilation; Had less optimal control of their anticoagulation.

"If you look at many disease processes, the experience and outcomes of men and women are different," Piccini said. "Although women live longer than men in general, in many cardiovascular diseases, women have more functional limitations. Why this occurs is the $64,000 question."

Despite having more symptoms and worse quality of life, women with atrial fibrilation tended to live longer than their male peers. Piccini said additional studies could help pinpoint the causes of the disparities.

###

In addition to Piccini, study authors include Sunghee Kim, Benjamin A. Steinberg, DaJuanicia N Holmes, Jack Ansell, Gregg C Fonarow, Bernard J Gersh, Alan S. Go, Elain Hylek, Peter R Kowey, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, Laine Thomas, Paul Chang and Eric D Peterson.

Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, provided funding for the study.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Denied the chance to cheat or steal, people turn to violent video games

2013-03-11
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study suggests that people get frustrated when they are offered the opportunity to cheat or steal and that chance is then taken away from them. Other studies have shown that blocking people from achieving their positive goals increases frustration, which is not surprising. But this is the first to show that even denying people the chance to commit forbidden behaviors can increase frustration. That's not all. The researchers also found that people who are frustrated in their attempts to cheat or steal are more likely than others to be attracted ...

Pittsburgh's leaky faucet: How aging sewers are impacting urban watersheds

2013-03-11
PITTSBURGH—Aging sewer systems are spilling a considerable amount of nitrogen into urban watersheds, diminishing both the quality of water and ecosystems' habitats. However, many studies documenting the impacts of nitrogen on urban environs have not properly estimated the contribution of leaky sewer systems—until now. Aging sewer systems are spilling a considerable amount of nitrogen into urban watersheds, diminishing both the quality of water and the ecosystems' habitats. Using water samples from the Pittsburgh-based Nine Mile Run watershed, a Pitt research team reveals ...

New program available to reduce stress among teenagers

2013-03-11
This press release is available in French. Families with a child completing elementary school this year are now preparing their registration for high school, a transition that is often stressful for children. A new program has demonstrated that it is possible to significantly reduce stress in some of these children thanks to a new educational tool designed under the leadership of Sonia Lupien, Director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) and professor at the University of Montreal. A study published in February in Neuroscience confirms the benefits of ...

Discovery may explain how prion diseases spread between different types of animals

2013-03-11
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have made a discovery that may explain how prion diseases, like chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease, adapt in order to spread between various types of animals. The research team, led by neurologist Valerie Sim, discovered that a miniscule change in the prions' makeup appears to give the disease the ability to adapt – to mimic and recreate new strains with which it comes into contact. The team has been studying this area for two years. "Prion diseases don't always successfully go from one animal to another, but when ...

Untangling life's origins

2013-03-11
URBANA – Researchers in the Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory at the University of Illinois in collaboration with German scientists have been using bioinformatics techniques to probe the world of proteins for answers to questions about the origins of life. Proteins are formed from chains of amino acids and fold into three-dimensional structures that determine their function. According to crop sciences professor Gustavo Caetano-Anollés, very little is known about the evolutionary drivers for this folding. In collaboration with scientists at the Heidelberg Institute ...

The dynamic of Spain's population follows the maximum entropy principle

The dynamic of Spains population follows the maximum entropy principle
2013-03-11
A team of Spanish and Argentinean researchers have verified that the distribution of the inhabitants in each Spanish province evolves in accordance with the maximum entropy principle in the field of physics. Therefore, this evolution is predictable. The results have allowed authors to put forward a 'socio-thermodynamic' theory that applies the laws of thermodynamics to collective human behaviour. Spanish and Argentinean scientists have researched the way in which we as people group together on a large scale as a way of seeing whether there is any law or pattern that explains ...

Ground-level ozone falling faster than model predicted

2013-03-11
There is good news and better news about ground-level ozone in American cities. While dangerous ozone levels have fallen in places that clamp down on emissions from vehicles and industry, a new study from Rice University suggests that a model widely used to predict the impact of remediation efforts has been too conservative. Particularly in Northeastern cities, ozone levels dropped even beyond what was anticipated by cutting emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from 2002 to 2006. The study published online by the journal Atmospheric Environment suggests the Community Multiscale ...

Can energy drinks improve the physical and mental performance of cyclists?

Can energy drinks improve the physical and mental performance of cyclists?
2013-03-11
New Rochelle, NY, March 11, 2013–Consumption of energy drinks containing caffeine may have beneficial effects on exercise but probably not for mental function. The effects of pre-exercise caffeine consumption by trained cyclists on racing times and cognitive performance were measured and are reported in Journal of Caffeine Research, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Caffeine Research website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jcr. Race performance improved for all study participants after consuming ...

Common MS drugs taken together do not reduce relapse risk

2013-03-11
A recent clinical trial found that interferonβ-1a (INF) and glatiramer acetate (GA), two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS), provide no additional clinical benefit when taken together. While findings published today in Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, suggest that taking both INF and GA together was not superior to GA monotherapy in reducing relapse risk; the combination therapy does appear to reduce new lesion activity and total lesion volume. The National Institute ...

The closest star system found in a century

The closest star system found in a century
2013-03-11
A pair of newly discovered stars is the third-closest star system to the Sun, according to a paper that will be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. The duo is the closest star system discovered since 1916. The discovery was made by Kevin Luhman, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University and a researcher in Penn State's Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds. Both stars in the new binary system are "brown dwarfs," which are stars that are too small in mass to ever become hot enough to ignite hydrogen fusion. As a result, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people

Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance

Pre-eclampsia is associated with earlier onset and higher incidence of cardiovascular risk factors

Warwick astronomers discover doomed pair of spiralling stars on our cosmic doorstep

Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world’s megastorm hotspots

NK cells complexed with bispecific antibody yield high response rates in patients with lymphoma

Planetary health diet and mediterranean diet associated with similar survival and sustainability benefits

Singapore launches national standard to validate antimicrobial disinfectant products

Molecular stool test could improve detection of tuberculosis in adults with HIV

Suspected fibrocartilaginous embolus in Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)

Enhancing heat transfer using the turbulent flow of viscoelastic fluids

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

[Press-News.org] Symptoms and care of irregular heartbeats differ by gender