Sleeplessness increase risk of heart failure

A recent Norwegian study reported that sleeplessness increase risk of heart failure. However, the study does not found any causative links of sleeplessness with heart failure but just increasing the risk of incidence. Insomnia aka sleeplessness is a major health problem that can be caused by a variety of physical and mental problems.

The research results have been published in the European Heart Journal.

Insomnia is mainly diagnosed with three main symptoms. If a person experience: Trouble falling asleep, unable to stay asleep and waking up in the morning without feeling refreshed.

A sleep study was conducted by a team of researchers including Dr. Lars Laugsand, Researcher, Department of Public Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. According to Dr. Lars, the team found a concrete evidence and association between three major symptoms of insomnia and incidences of heart failure. The symptoms increase the risk of heart failure but do not cause heart failure, the researcher said.

Around 54, 279 people, aged between 20 – 18 years who were suffered from symptoms of insomnia, and were monitored over a period of eleven years. All the participants were free from heart disease at the time of enrollment. The participants need to answer a questionnaire, and they need to answer about the difficulty in falling, staying asleep, and how they woke up in the morning.

Other factors including nature of work, work shifts, blood pressure, sex, marital status, physical activity, food, anxiety, depression, alcohol and smoking habits were also considered.

At the end of the study, the researchers found more than three-fold (353%) increase in risk of heart failure in patients with all three symptoms. Around 1412 cases were diagnosed with heart failure and were suffered from all three symptoms of insomnia. However, no such risks were associated in patients with one or two symptoms of insomnia.

The risk of heart failure is more in patients who experience difficulties in falling asleep or staying asleep daily. The other factor that increases the risk is at least once a week incidence of morning wake ups without refreshment.

Upon considering other risk factors such as anxiety and depression, the risk of heart failure was found to be four folds (425%) in patients with all three symptoms of insomnia.

So, stay cool, sleep well. If not, consult your healthcare provider right away.

Resuscitation can bring back the clinically dead people

It is now hot news in several western media which airs this news. According to the claim by a new book, resuscitation can bring back the clinically dead people. Though it sounds weird, the book has been authored by Dr. Sam Parnia, an Intensivist and Director of resuscitation research, Stony Brook University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Sam wrote his findings in the book, Erasing Death: The science that is rewriting the boundaries between Life and Death.

The development of medical science in the last decade has made us understand the actual underlying processes in death. Actually, after death, a human becomes a corpse when the brain cells starts to die, Dr. Sam said.

Most of us think that the brain death happens within four to five minutes. We now understand that the brain cells are alive up to eight hours after the last breath. A human becomes a corpse only after the complete death of brain cells, that is, after eight hours.

Any trained critical care expert can restart the heart functions by resuscitation, and bring back a person from death, he added.

Similar findings were previously reported by Dr. Jan Bondeson, a researcher who wrote an infamous book, Buried Alive: The terrifying history of our most primal fear, in 2001.

Even before two centuries, in 1978, a French physician, Francois Thierry published a book with similar findings. In his book, he stated that many patients do not die for some time even after the onset of cardinal signs of death.

In his book, Francois suggested for waiting lounges in mortuaries to monitor the corpses for some time, and to make sure they were actually died. Francois suggested that appearance of flies over the corpse and bloating of the stomach were the symptoms of actual death and then the corpses were sent for burial.

The recent book of Dr. Parnia attracted some controversies that he is trying to advocate the theory of life after death or near-death experiences. However, his findings are known by millions of physicians over decades. The experts believe that a person never dies immediately after cessation of heart beat, and the line between life and death is dark and gloomy.

High-fiber diet can promote heart health

Not a health secret, high-fiber can promote digestive health. Surprisingly, now an expert says that high-fiber diet can promote heart health.                                                                                    

According to Jody Gilchrist, a practicing nurse at the Heart and Vascular Clinic, University of Alabama, dietary bulk or fiber from dietary sources such as vegetables, whole grains and fresh fruits can reduce the blood cholesterol levels. It is now clear that the dietary fiber particularly the soluble fiber from dietary sources is promoting heart health directly.

Soluble fiber adds bulk to the diet and makes us feel full quickly after food intake. Soluble fiber helps us to keep control on the amount of food intake. Several research studies reported that soluble fiber lowers LDL-cholesterol levels in blood by disturbing the intestinal absorption of LDL-cholesterol from fatty foods. 

In a balanced diet, a normal adult needs at least 25gm of dietary fiber. The American Heart Association recommends us to take approximately 14 gm of dietary fiber including 10 gm of soluble fiber for every 1, 000 calories consumption, Jody said.

Apple pulp, oat bran, oatmeal, strawberries, bran, oranges, unpolished rice, beans, barley are the richest source of soluble fiber. 

Insoluble fiber is also good for digestive health and prevents constipation. Cabbage, whole-wheat breads, whole grains, turnips and carrots are the richest source of insoluble fiber. 

Make sure to check the nutrition labels carefully if you’re buying waffles and muffins. The manufacturers of these products often list the ingredients like oat and/or wheat bran. Actually, these products contain meagre levels of bran but high levels of fat, calories (sugar) and sodium. 

You can gradually increase the dietary fiber intake by adding fiber supplements in soups, beverages and yogurts. Make sure to drink plenty of water while you’re taking high fiber diet to achieve full benefits.