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Query: UMLS:C0018799 (heart disease)
 34,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Food reformulation is commonly used as a strategy to produce foods for improved health; for example, replacing sugar with aspartame, and salt (NaCl) with KCl may help to reduce the incidence of obesity and heart disease. However, such reformulations will also change the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the food, which may in turn support the growth of foodborne pathogens and ultimately increase the incidence of foodborne disease. Thus, we need a better understanding of the microbiological food safety issues associated with product reformulation. Herein we review the most recent advances in our understanding of how microbial pathogens adapt to changes in the food composition, and how this information may ultimately be used for the design of effective pathogen control measures.
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PMID:Molecular analysis of the microbial food safety implications of food reformulations for improved health. 1866 62

Structural, chemical, mechanical and surface changes were studied in expanded polytetrafluroethylene vascular grafts explanted from children undergoing planned surgical management of congenital heart disease. These grafts were implanted when recipients were aged 7 days to 8 years (median--48 weeks) and they had been in circulation for a period of 10-52 months (median--74 weeks). While no chemical changes were observed in the shunt, on average the tensile strength had decreased by 50%, total elongation by 61% and crystallinity by 3%. No salt deposits were observed on the surface of the graft. Soluble and insoluble proteins were bound to the polymer surface, which had made the surface hydrophilic. The external surface roughness had increased by 254.5 and the internal surface roughness by 2.6 times the initial value. The fine polymer structure had become fused and clumped. The fusing of strands on the polymer surface became more pronounced with longer duration of implantation. In one instance of previously documented graft stenosis, the heat capacity was found to be more than that of the unimplanted sample, indicating an increase in crystallinity. A longer period of study with a larger sample size would likely shed more light on the relation between physico-chemical changes and graft stenosis.
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PMID:Analysis of explanted ePTFE cardiovascular grafts (modified BT shunt). 1870 3

Natriuretic peptides are important in regulating salt and body-fluid balance. In cells, these peptides are made as precursor forms that are converted to active forms by proteolyic processing. Corin is a transmembrane serine protease identified in the heart. Corin converts pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (pro-ANP) to active ANP in a sequence-specific manner. In mice, lack of corin prevents the conversion of pro-ANP to ANP and causes salt-sensitive hypertension. The hypertensive phenotype is exacerbated when the mice become pregnant. In humans, single nucleotide polymorphisms in the corin gene have been identified in African Americans with hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy. These data indicate that corin is important in maintaining normal blood pressure in vivo and that corin deficiency may contribute to hypertension and heart disease in patients.
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PMID:Corin: new insights into the natriuretic peptide system. 1871 1

Sodium proton exchangers (NHEs) constitute a large family of polytopic membrane protein transporters found in organisms across all domains of life. They are responsible for the exchange of protons for sodium ions. In archaea, bacteria, yeast and plants they provide increased salt tolerance by removing sodium in exchanger for extracellular protons. In humans they have a host of physiological functions, the most prominent of which is removal of intracellular protons in exchange for extracellular sodium. Human NHE is also involved in heart disease, cell growth and in cell differentiation. NHE's physiological roles and the intriguing pathological consequences of their actions, make them a very important target of structural and functional studies. There are nine isoforms identified to date in humans. This review provides a brief overview of the human NHE's physiological and pathological roles and cellular/tissue distribution, with special attention to the exemplar member NHE1. A summary of our knowledge to date of the structure and function of NHE1 is included focusing on a discussion of the recent discrepancies reported on the topology of NHE1. Finally we discuss a newly discovered relative of the NHE1 isoform, the Na(+)/Li(+) exchanger, focusing on its predicted topology and its potential roles in disease.
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PMID:Structure and function of the human Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1. 1900 64

A water-soluble extract of a traditional Chinese black tea (Pu-Ehr) has been shown to precipitate mixed bile salt micelles in foods. In addition, long-term ingestion of this black tea extract (BTE) significantly reduces blood cholesterol levels in rats. We investigated the effects of BTE tablets (a formula designed to enhance compliance) as a dietary supplement in a 3-month double-blind randomized group comparison study in borderline hypercholesterolemic human subjects (n = 47). All subjects ingested BTE tablets (333 mg) or placebo 3 times daily before meals for 3 months. In the BTE-treated group, the initial mean blood total (6.14 +/- 0.14 mol/L) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (4.32 +/- 0.14 mol/L) levels decreased with time and were significantly (P < .01) lower (total cholesterol, 5.62 +/- 0.11; LDL cholesterol, 3.81 +/- 0.13 mol/L) after 3 months of ingestion. Furthermore, the mean body weights (P < .05) and triacylglycerol levels (P < .01) were also significantly reduced after 3 months of BTE intake compared with the baseline levels. Significant improvements in the mean LDL cholesterol, body weight, and triacylglycerol values were not accompanied with undesirable changes in other biochemical parameters measured in the subjects. None of the subjects complained of any adverse effects (eg, abdominal distension). The results indicate that BTE intake elicited a significant antihypercholesterolemic effect and might be useful for improving blood cholesterol levels in subjects at risk for heart disease or obesity.
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PMID:Antihypercholesterolemic effect of Chinese black tea extract in human subjects with borderline hypercholesterolemia. 1908 45

Salt as a commodity to preserve and flavor food and to treat ailments has been in existence for hundreds of years. Sodium (salt) restriction to treat hypertension and fluid retention has been practiced for several decades. More recently, evidence-based best practice guidelines have been developed and published on websites to guide medical and healthcare practitioners to treat patients with hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and other sodium-sensitive conditions. As the consequences of hypertension affect many people around the world, the World Health Organization is involved in helping to prevent the development of hypertensive risk factors by advocating a global reduction in salt and a healthy lifestyle. Many governments have or are in the process of adapting these recommendations for local implementation. This paper provides information about existing guidelines for healthy individuals and patients with chronic kidney disease and practical aspects to achieve a lifelong change in dietary habits.
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PMID:Salt restriction and practical aspects to improve compliance. 1912 74

In 2005-2006, an estimated 29% of U.S. adults had hypertension (i.e., high blood pressure), and another 28% had prehypertension. Hypertension increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. Greater consumption of sodium can increase the risk for hypertension. The main source of sodium in food is salt (sodium chloride [NaCl]); uniodized salt is 40% sodium by weight. In 2005--2006, the estimated average intake of sodium among persons in the United States aged >/=2 years was 3,436 mg/day. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended that adults in the United States should consume no more than 2,300 mg/day of sodium (equal to approximately 1 tsp of salt), but those in specific groups (i.e., all persons with hypertension, all middle-aged and older adults, and all blacks) should consume no more than 1,500 mg/day of sodium. To estimate the proportion of the adult population for whom the lower sodium recommendation is applicable, CDC analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the period 1999--2006. The results indicated that, in 2005--2006, the lower sodium recommendation was applicable to 69.2% of U.S. adults. Consumers and health-care providers should be aware of the lower sodium recommendation, and health-care providers should inform their patients of the evidence linking greater sodium intake to higher blood pressure.
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PMID:Application of lower sodium intake recommendations to adults--United States, 1999-2006. 1932 29

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the UK and risk increases substantially with age. It is estimated that more than 1 in 3 men and around 1 in 4 women aged 75 and over is currently living with the condition. Evidence from epidemiologic studies indicates that the same factors that are associated with increased risk of CHD in middle-aged people are relevant in older adults. Clinical trials have shown that changing these risk factors in older adults can reduce CHD risk as effectively as it does in middle-aged adults. A diet that is low in fat (particularly saturates), rich in carbohydrate (particularly whole-grains), contains plenty of fruits and vegetables, and a portion of oily fish each week and is not too high in salt can offer significant protection against heart disease. Such diets, together with regular physical activity, avoidance of smoking, sensible drinking habits and maintenance of a healthy body weight, may prevent the majority of cardiovascular disease in Western populations. The greatest benefit will be achieved by adopting these habits throughout the life-course.
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PMID:Diet and lifestyle measures to protect the ageing heart. 1942 Oct 86

The development of the understanding of the underlying causes of coronary heart disease has undergone several stages. Ecological studies, such as the Seven Countries' Study, showed a possible relationship between mortality in coronary heart disease and intake of saturated fats. The investigated area with the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease was the island of Crete, Greece. A discussion soon started to evolve around the Mediterranean diet, which at the time consisted of mainly foods of vegetable origin, olive oil and cereals of unrefined nature. Several clinical trials have been undertaken since, including the Lyon Heart Diet Study where it was clearly shown that both mortality and morbidity in coronary heart disease was substantially lowered by Mediterranean food compared to controls. Dean Ornish proved that an extreme regimen actually could reduce already existing sclerotic plaques, while the WHI study showed that a more modest diet change diet not cause the intended reduction in heart disease in middle-aged women. Another prospective study of a similar age group of women showed that a diet with a low glycemic load gave a good reduction in coronary heart disease. Multiple studies of different components of food have shown no positive result, pointing at the whole diet rather than its components of nutrients being of importance. Today, the experts agree on the optimal diet to prevent not only heart disease but also cancer forms and other chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes mellitus. This diet is consisting of a lot of fruit and vegetables, lots of fish, less salt and sugar, more unrefined cereals, beans and nuts. Going from a general notion of Mediterranean food to testing that food in clinical settings and testing nutrients as preventative agents, we can conclude that a generally healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, appropriate amounts of physical activity, good sleep and less stress, is the way to a heart healthy life.
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PMID:A Historical Perspective of the Understanding of the Link between Diet and Coronary Heart Disease. 2004 57

Photovoice, a qualitative methodology using photography by study participants, is an ideal tool for collecting information on awareness of cardiovascular health from the perspective of persons of different cultural backgrounds and English-speaking abilities who are often subject to health disparities. Participants of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean ethnicity were provided disposable cameras to photograph their perceptions of scenes promoting or acting as barriers to cardiovascular health. After the pictures were developed, they returned for a discussion in their native languages to contextualize the stories told in their photographs. Group facilitators spoke the respective native languages and transcribed sessions into English. Twenty-three adults participated (7 to 9 persons per ethnicity), ranging in age from 50 to 88 (mean 71.6) years; 48% were women. The photographs stimulated conversations of knowledge, beliefs, and concerns regarding heart disease and stroke. Issues surrounding food and exercise were most dominant across ethnic groups, focusing on fat and salt intake and the need to remain active. Cultural beliefs and issues of emotional health, including stress and loneliness related to living in a new country, were also depicted. Photovoice provided insight into perceptions of cardiovascular health that is vital for developing health promotion and education interventions in limited-English-speaking communities.
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PMID:Using photovoice to understand cardiovascular health awareness in Asian elders. 2105 47


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