Saturday, 30 November 2024

New imaging technique accurately detects aggressive kidney cancer

 A new study led by investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has demonstrated a new, non-invasive imaging technique can accurately detect clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer.

The findings, published in The Lancet Oncology, could greatly reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries and ensure that patients receive the right treatment at the right time, potentially changing how doctors diagnose and treat the disease in the future.

"If kidney cancer is diagnosed late, the chances of survival drop significantly, especially if the cancer has spread," said Dr. Brian Shuch, director of the Kidney Cancer Program and the Alvin & Carrie Meinhardt Endowed Chair in Kidney Cancer Research at UCLA, and lead author of the study. "But if caught early, over 90% of patients can survive for at least five years. If we are going to survey more tumors, it's crucial to accurately identify clear-cell renal cell carcinoma early on as they have a greater propensity to grow and spread."

Kidney cancers, known as renal cell carcinomas, make up 90% of solid kidney tumors. Every year more than 81,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with kidney cancer. Among the many types of these cancers, the most common and deadly is clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, which accounts for 75% of cases and 90% of kidney cancer deaths. Traditional imaging methods like CT or MRI often struggle to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors, leading to either unnecessary surgeries or delayed treatment.

To help improve the detection of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, the team tested a non-invasive method that uses a monoclonal antibody drug called 89Zr-TLX250, which targets the protein CA9 that is often found in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

The phase 3 trial, called ZIRCON, included 332 patients with suspect lesions detected on their kidney from 36 research hospitals from nine different countries with UCLA leading international accrual. The average age of participants was 61 years, with 71% being male and 29% female.

The patients were injected with 89Zr-TLX250, which travels through the body and attaches to the protein CA9 if present in the kidney mass. CA9 is highly expressed in up to 95% of clear cell kidney cancers with minimal expression in normal tissue.

A few days after the injection, patients received a PET-CT scan to detect the radioactive part of the drug, which lights up on the scan wherever the protein is present, allowing doctors to see the cancer more clearly. By looking at the scan, doctors can determine if the kidney mass is likely to be cancerous based on whether or not the 89Zr-TLX250 has attached to the cancer cells.

The new imaging method accurately identified the presence of cancer in most cases while minimizing false positives, demonstrating a high performance with 85.5% sensitivity and 87.0% specificity.

The technique also proved effective even in very small renal masses (less than 2 cm), which are increasingly detected due to more frequent use of abdominal imaging. Additionally, the procedure was shown to be safe, with no significant side effects associated with the use of 89Zr-TLX250.

"The implications of this research are vast," said Shuch. "If adopted widely, 89Zr-TLX250 PET-CT imaging could become a new standard in kidney cancer diagnostics, like how PET-CT imaging has revolutionized prostate cancer management. It could also aid in the detection of other types of kidney cancers and help monitor patients at high risk of metastasis."

"Since joining the UCLA Kidney Cancer Program in the late 1990s with UCLA's Dr. Arie Belldegrun, a main research focus has been on the CA9 protein, a key marker in kidney cancer," said study co-author Dr. Allan Pantuck, professor of urology and vice chair of academic affairs for UCLA Urology. "Over the years, our group has explored its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, a therapeutic target and a tool for molecular imaging. Our work has led to significant advancements, including clinical trials involving the antibody girentuximab and a UCLA-initiated dendritic cell immunotherapy led by Dr. Alexandra Drakaki, an associate professor of medicine and urology at UCLA. It is very gratifying to see how our pioneering research has contributed to the success of the 89Zr-TLX250 clinical trial, which we believe will help reduce unnecessary surgeries and improve treatment outcomes for patients."

Source: ScienceDaily

Friday, 29 November 2024

Heart of Jovian moon's volcanic rage

 Scientists with NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter have discovered that the volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io are each likely powered by their own chamber of roiling hot magma rather than an ocean of magma. The finding solves a 44-year-old mystery about the subsurface origins of the moon's most demonstrative geologic features.

A paper on the source of Io's volcanism was published on Thursday, Dec. 12, in the journal Nature, and the findings, as well as other Io science results, were discussed during a media briefing in Washington at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting, the country's largest gathering of Earth and space scientists.

About the size of Earth's Moon, Io is known as the most volcanically active body in our solar system. The moon is home to an estimated 400 volcanoes, which blast lava and plumes in seemingly continuous eruptions that contribute to the coating on its surface.

Although the moon was discovered by Galileo Galilei on Jan. 8, 1610, volcanic activity there wasn't discovered until 1979, when imaging scientist Linda Morabito of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California first identified a volcanic plume in an image from the agency's Voyager 1 spacecraft.

"Since Morabito's discovery, planetary scientists have wondered how the volcanoes were fed from the lava underneath the surface," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Was there a shallow ocean of white-hot magma fueling the volcanoes, or was their source more localized? We knew data from Juno's two very close flybys could give us some insights on how this tortured moon actually worked."

The Juno spacecraft made extremely close flybys of Io in December 2023 and February 2024, getting within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of its pizza-faced surface. During the close approaches, Juno communicated with NASA's Deep Space Network, acquiring high-precision, dual-frequency Doppler data, which was used to measure Io's gravity by tracking how it affected the spacecraft's acceleration. What the mission learned about the moon's gravity from those flybys led to the new paper by revealing more details about the effects of a phenomenon called tidal flexing.

Prince of Jovian Tides

Io is extremely close to mammoth Jupiter, and its elliptical orbit whips it around the gas giant once every 42.5 hours. As the distance varies, so does Jupiter's gravitational pull, which leads to the moon being relentlessly squeezed. The result: an extreme case of tidal flexing -- friction from tidal forces that generates internal heat.

"This constant flexing creates immense energy, which literally melts portions of Io's interior," said Bolton. "If Io has a global magma ocean, we knew the signature of its tidal deformation would be much larger than a more rigid, mostly solid interior. Thus, depending on the results from Juno's probing of Io's gravity field, we would be able to tell if a global magma ocean was hiding beneath its surface."

The Juno team compared Doppler data from their two flybys with observations from the agency's previous missions to the Jovian system and from ground telescopes. They found tidal deformation consistent with Io not having a shallow global magma ocean.

"Juno's discovery that tidal forces do not always create global magma oceans does more than prompt us to rethink what we know about Io's interior," said lead author Ryan Park, a Juno co-investigator and supervisor of the Solar System Dynamics Group at JPL. "It has implications for our understanding of other moons, such as Enceladus and Europa, and even exoplanets and super-Earths. Our new findings provide an opportunity to rethink what we know about planetary formation and evolution."

There's more science on the horizon. The spacecraft made its 66th science flyby over Jupiter's mysterious cloud tops on Nov. 24. Its next close approach to the gas giant will occur 12:22 a.m. EST, Dec. 27. At the time of perijove, when Juno's orbit is closest to the planet's center, the spacecraft will be about 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops and will have logged 645.7 million miles (1.039 billion kilometers) since entering the gas giant's orbit in 2016.

Source: ScienceDaily

Thursday, 28 November 2024

Artificial intelligence improves mammography-based risk prediction

 The future of breast cancer screening and risk-reducing strategies is being shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a review article published by Cell Press on December 12 in the journal Trends in Cancer.

"We discuss recent advances in AI-assisted breast cancer risk prediction, what this means for the future of breast cancer screening and prevention, and the key research needed to progress mammographic features from research into clinical practice," says senior study author Erik Thompson of the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Breast tissue that appears white on a mammogram is radiologically dense, while breast tissue that appears dark is considered non-dense. It is widely accepted that women with higher mammographic density for their age and body-mass index have a greater risk of breast cancer. In addition, higher density makes breast cancer harder to detect by mammography, known as the "masking effect."

Advocacy movements across the world are demanding that women be notified of their mammographic density, with policy changes in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Mammographic density is guiding the use of supplemental imaging technologies in some places, with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) providing increased cancer detection rates in clinical studies of women with extremely dense breasts. Yet scientists and clinicians continue to struggle with the complexity arising from the masking effect, the breast cancer risk associated with mammographic density, and how to optimally implement changes in clinical practice.

To predict a future breast cancer diagnosis, advanced computational approaches such as deep learning are now being used to analyze mammographic images. In particular, AI methods are uncovering mammographic features that have potential to be stronger predictors of breast cancer risk than any other known risk factor. These features might explain a large proportion of the association between mammographic density and breast cancer risk. The discovery of the risk-predicting AI-generated mammographic features is providing new opportunities to identify women at most risk of developing breast cancer in the future and separating them from those women most at risk of having a breast cancer missed due to the masking effect.

"A woman with mammographic features associated with a high risk of breast cancer detection could benefit from more frequent screening or risk-reducing medication," Thompson says. "On the other hand, a longer interval between screens could be provided to a woman with a low chance of breast cancer diagnosis in the next five years. Additionally, a woman with high mammographic density without high-risk mammographic features might benefit from supplementary imaging such as MRI or ultrasound."

Research suggests that some AI-generated mammographic features are indicative of early malignancy that is undetectable by radiologist-read mammography, while others may be benign conditions associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The identity of AI-generated mammographic features that are not identified as cancer or a benign condition remains unclear.

"Critically, we need to identify the pathobiology associated with mammographic features and the underlying mechanisms that link them with breast cancer oncogenesis," Thompson says. "This will be essential in establishing their relevance to short- and long-term breast cancer risk, as well as future efforts to reduce that risk."

Source: ScienceDaily

Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Noninvasive imaging method can penetrate deeper into living tissue

 Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses.

But light scatters when it shines into biological tissue, limiting how deep it can penetrate and hampering the resolution of captured images.

Now, MIT researchers have developed a new technique that more than doubles the usual depth limit of metabolic imaging. Their method also boosts imaging speeds, yielding richer and more detailed images.

This new technique does not require tissue to be preprocessed, such as by cutting it or staining it with dyes. Instead, a specialized laser illuminates deep into the tissue, causing certain intrinsic molecules within the cells and tissues to emit light. This eliminates the need to alter the tissue, providing a more natural and accurate representation of its structure and function.

The researchers achieved this by adaptively customizing the laser light for deep tissues. Using a recently developed fiber shaper -- a device they control by bending it -- they can tune the color and pulses of light to minimize scattering and maximize the signal as the light travels deeper into the tissue. This allows them to see much further into living tissue and capture clearer images.

Greater penetration depth, faster speeds, and higher resolution make this method particularly well-suited for demanding imaging applications like cancer research, tissue engineering, drug discovery, and the study of immune responses.

"This work shows a significant improvement in terms of depth penetration for label-free metabolic imaging. It opens new avenues for studying and exploring metabolic dynamics deep in living biosystems," says Sixian You, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), a member of the Research Laboratory for Electronics, and senior author of a paper on this imaging technique.

She is joined on the paper by lead author Kunzan Liu, an EECS graduate student; Tong Qiu, an MIT postdoc; Honghao Cao, an EECS graduate student; Fan Wang, professor of brain and cognitive sciences; Roger Kamm, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering; Linda Griffith, the School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation in the Department of Biological Engineering; and other MIT colleagues. The research will appear in Science Advances.

Source: ScienceDaily

Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Smallest walking robot makes microscale measurements

 Cornell University researchers have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move independently, so that it can maneuver to specific locations -- in a tissue sample, for instance -- to take images and measure forces at the scale of some of the body's smallest structures.

The team's paper, "Magnetically Programmed Diffractive Robotics," published in Science.

"A walking robot that's small enough to interact with and shape light effectively takes a microscope's lens and puts it directly into the microworld," said Paul McEuen, professor of physical science emeritus, who led the team.

"It can perform up-close imaging in ways that a regular microscope never could."

Cornell scientists already hold the world's record for the world's smallest walking robot at 40-70 microns.

The new diffractive robots are "going to blow that record out of the water," said Itai Cohen, professor of physics and co-author of the study.

"These robots are 5 microns to 2 microns. They're tiny. And we can get them to do whatever we want by controlling the magnetic fields driving their motions."

Diffractive robotics connects, for the first time, untethered robots with imaging techniques that depend on visible light diffraction -- the bending of a light wave when it passes through an opening or around something.

The imaging technique requires an opening of a size comparable to the light's wavelength.

For the optics to work, the robots must be on that scale, and for the robots to reach targets to image, they have to be able to move on their own.

The Cornell team has achieved both objectives.

Controlled by magnets making a pinching motion, the robots can inch-worm forward on a solid surface.

They can also "swim" through fluids using the same motion.

The combination of maneuverability, flexibility and sub-diffractive optical technology create a significant advance in the field of robotics, the researchers said.

The research was made possible by the Cornell Center for Materials Research, the National Science Foundation and the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility.

Source: ScienceDaily

Monday, 25 November 2024

Brain tumor organoids accurately model patient response to CAR T cell therapy

 For the first time, researchers used lab-grown organoids created from tumors of individuals with glioblastoma (GBM) to accurately model a patient's response to CAR T cell therapy in real time. The organoid's response to therapy mirrored the response of the actual tumor in the patient's brain. That is, if the tumor-derived organoid shrunk after treatment, so did the patient's actual tumor, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published in Cell Stem Cell.

"It's hard to measure how a patient with GBM responds to treatment because we can't regularly biopsy the brain, and it can be difficult to discern tumor growth from treatment-related inflammation on MRI imaging," said Hongjun Song, PhD, the Perelman Professor of Neuroscience and co-senior author of the research. "These organoids reflect what is happening in an individual's brain with great accuracy, and we hope that they can be used in the future to 'get to know' each patient's distinctly complicated tumor and quickly determine which therapies would be most effective for them for personalized medicine."

GBM is the most common -- and most aggressive -- type of cancerous brain tumor in adults. Individuals with GBM usually can expect to live just 12-18 months following their diagnosis. Despite decades of research, there is no known cure for GBM, and approved treatments -- such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy -- have limited effect in prolonging life expectancy.

A treatment called CAR T cell therapy reprograms a patient's T cells to find and destroy a specific type of cancer cell in the body. While this therapy is FDA approved to fight several blood cancers, researchers have struggled to engineer cells to successfully seek out and kill solid tumors, like in GBM. Recent research suggests that CAR T cell therapy that targets two brain tumor-associated proteins -- rather than one -- may be a promising strategy for reducing solid tumor growth in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

"One of the reasons why GBM is so difficult to treat is because the tumors are incredibly complicated, made up of several different types of cancer cells, immune cells, blood vessels, and other tissue," said study co-senior author, Guo-li Ming, MD, PhD, the Perelman Professor of Neuroscience and Associate Director of Institute for Regenerative Medicine "By growing the organoid from tiny pieces of a patient's actual tumor rather than one type of cancer cell, we can mirror how the tumor exists in the patient, as well as the 'micro-environment' in which it grows, a major limitation of other models of GBM."

The first line of treatment for GBM is surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. For this study, researchers created organoids from the tumors of six patients with recurrent glioblastoma participating in a Phase I clinical trial for a dual-target CAR T cell therapy. It can take months to grow enough cancer cells in the lab to test treatments on, but an organoid can be generated in 2-3 weeks, while the individuals recover from surgery and before they can begin CAR T cell therapy.

Source: ScienceDaily

Sunday, 24 November 2024

Air pollution in India linked to millions of deaths

 A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that long-term exposure to air pollution contributes to millions of deaths in India. The research, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, emphasises the need for stricter air quality regulations in the country.

Air pollution consisting of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, PM2.5, can enter the lungs and bloodstream and is a major health risk in India. Researchers have now examined the link between these particles and mortality over a ten-year period. The study is based on data from 655 districts in India between 2009 and 2019.

"We found that every 10 microgram per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 concentration led to an 8.6 percent increase in mortality," says Petter Ljungman, last author and researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet.

The research analysed the relationship between changes in air pollution levels and mortality. The results show that around 3.8 million deaths over the period can be linked to air pollution levels above India's own air quality guidelines of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.

When compared to the stricter guidelines recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) -- only 5 micrograms per cubic metre -- the figure rises to 16.6 million deaths. That's almost 25 per cent of all mortality during the study period.

The study also highlights that the entire population of India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed WHO guidelines. This means that almost 1.4 billion people are exposed year after year to air pollution that can negatively affect health. In some regions, levels of up to 119 micrograms per cubic metre were measured, significantly higher than what both the WHO and India consider safe.

"The results show that current guidelines in India are not sufficient to protect health. Stricter regulations and measures to reduce emissions are of utmost importance," said Petter Ljungman.

The Indian government has been running a national air pollution control programme since 2017 to improve air quality, but the study shows that PM2.5 concentrations have continued to increase in many areas. The researchers emphasise the importance of both reducing emissions locally and taking into account the long range of air pollution -- PM2.5 particles can travel hundreds of kilometres.

"Our study provides evidence that can be used to create better air quality policies, both in India and globally," says Petter Ljungman.

The study was funded by Formas. The study is a collaboration between researchers from universities in India, Sweden, USA, Israel and Italy.

Source: ScienceDaily

Saturday, 23 November 2024

What to know about multivessel coronary artery disease

 Multivessel coronary artery disease is any form of coronary artery disease (CAD) that affects several major arteries.

CAD is the most commonTrusted Source type of heart disease in the United States, and in industrialized countries, it is the most commonTrusted Source cause of mortality.

Multivessel coronary artery disease is a stage of this disease involving two or more major arteries. The condition can cause serious health complications. It occurs when too much plaque builds up within the arteries, making it harder for blood to circulate to supply oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle.

This article provides information about multivessel coronary artery disease, its symptoms, causes, treatment, and diagnosis. It also discusses the outlook for people with this condition.

What is multivessel coronary artery disease?

Scientists defineTrusted Source multivessel coronary artery disease as any significant narrowing of at least 70% of two or more major coronary arteries, with the latter being greater than 2.5 millimeters (mm) in diameter.

The condition, known as atherosclerosis, develops when plaque builds up, causing a thickening, inflammation, or hardening of the arteries. Plaque is a deposit of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin.

The coronary arteries supply the heart with blood, and multivessel coronary artery disease may lead to serious complications, such as heart attacks and heart failure.

The symptoms of multivessel coronary artery disease dependTrusted Source on several factors, including the severity of the disease and other health problems.

For example, people with a more stable form of multivessel coronary artery disease might only develop symptoms during exercise.

Angina, or chest pain, is the most commonTrusted Source symptom of CAD. Other symptoms may include breathlessness.

Importantly, this chest pain can have several additional characteristics:

  • it can worsen due to physical or emotional stress
  • rest or nitroglycerin can make it less intense
  • the pain might radiate to the neck and the left arm
  • it can arise below the sternum (center of the chest), alongside a feeling of discomfort or pressure
  • a person may experience lightheadedness, nausea, or sweating

Older individuals with multivessel coronary artery disease might also experience discomfort in the upper abdomen and vomiting. This is especially common in older women and older people with diabetes.

Multivessel coronary artery disease arises when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries. This can arise for several reasons, and there are many risk factors associated with multivessel coronary artery disease.

People at an increased riskTrusted Source of developing multivessel coronary artery disease include those:

  • who are older
  • with high blood pressure
  • who smoke tobacco
  • experiencing menopause
  • who have a family history of CAD
  • who have diabetes
  • whose blood contains too many lipids
  • with high cholesterol
  • with obesity
  • with chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus disease, and HIV

Not every person from these groups will develop multivessel coronary artery disease.

There are several different treatment options for multivessel coronary artery disease.

Surgery

CAD can make it harder for blood to reach various organs in the body, including the heart. Sometimes, doctors will considerTrusted Source stenting or surgery to allow more blood to reach those organs. The medical community refers to this as revascularization.

Although revascularization surgery can sometimes be useful and may reduce mortality for many individuals, it is inappropriate for certain people. Importantly, revascularization surgery is most effective alongside lifestyle changes and other medical treatments.

Lifestyle changes and medical treatment

2021 reviewTrusted Source suggests that people should make significant lifestyle modifications and receive medical therapy to treat multivessel coronary artery disease.

Lifestyle changes can include:

Medical therapy can include:

A healthcare professional will assess the severity of the disease and recommend the best course of treatment for a person.

Healthcare professionals use various methodsTrusted Source to diagnose multivessel coronary artery disease.

A doctor will examine a person’s symptoms and may use an electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor the activity of the heart and circulatory system.

They may also use an echocardiogram, which uses ultrasound waves to create a picture of the heart. Doctors can use this image to examine how the vessels of the heart are functioning.

Other imaging techniques include coronary angiography, which uses X-rays to create images of a person’s blood vessels.

Another type of test used to diagnose heart problems is a stress test, or exercise test. This involves doctors monitoring a person’s heart rate, blood pressure, and heartbeat while they exercise on a treadmill. The results can show if a person’s artery is blocked.

It is important to leave this diagnostic work to professionals. If anyone experiences CAD symptoms, they should immediately seek a doctor’s advice. This is especially important if they are at greater risk of the condition.

The outlook for people with multivessel coronary artery disease varies depending on certain factors, such as disease severity or the presence of other health issues and heart function.

Some evidence suggests that the outlook for people with this condition is worseTrusted Source in females than males.

The coronary arteries supply the heart with oxygenated blood, which it needs to function. Because multivessel coronary artery disease may prevent enough blood from reaching the heart, this could lead to conditions such as an acute heart attack, which can have a mortality rate of 5–30%.Trusted Source

Multivessel coronary artery disease is a serious condition that involves two or more large coronary arteries narrowing due to plaque buildup.

Given the importance of these arteries, people with multivessel coronary artery disease have an increased risk of heart attack and heart failure.

Scientists have developed some treatment options to improve the outlook for people with this condition. Making significant lifestyle changes, such as exercising more, losing weight, and stopping smoking, can all help to improve outcomes in people with this condition.

However, people should make these changes alongside medication treatment and surgery, if appropriate.

Source - Medical News Today

Friday, 22 November 2024

What to know about cardiovascular disease

 Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to a number of health conditions that affect the circulatory system, including the heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries. The treatment, symptoms, and prevention of the conditions that are part of CVD often overlap.

CVD is now the most common cause of deathTrusted Source worldwide. However, there are many ways to reduce the risk of developing these conditions. There are also many treatment options available if they occur.

In this article, we look at the different types of CVD, their symptoms and causes, and how to prevent and treat them.

Types

CVD comprises many different types of condition. Some of these might develop at the same time or lead to other conditions or diseases within the group.

Diseases and conditions that affect the heart include:

  • angina, a type of chest pain that occurs due to decreased blood flow into the heart
  • arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat or heart rhythm
  • congenital heart disease, in which a problem with heart function or structure is present from birth
  • coronary artery disease, which affects the arteries that feed the heart muscle
  • heart attack, or a sudden blockage to the heart’s blood flow and oxygen supply
  • heart failure, wherein the heart cannot contract or relax normally
  • dilated cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure, in which the heart gets larger and cannot pump blood efficiently
  • hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle walls thicken and problems with relaxation of the muscle, blood flow, and electrical instability develop
  • mitral regurgitation, in which blood leaks back through the mitral valve of the heart during contractions
  • mitral valve prolapse, in which part of the mitral valve bulges into the left atrium of the heart while it contracts, causing mitral regurgitation
  • pulmonary stenosis, in which a narrowing of the pulmonary artery reduces blood flow from the right ventricle (pumping chamber to the lungs) to the pulmonary artery (blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs)
  • aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the heart valve that can cause blockage to blood flow leaving the heart
  • atrial fibrillation, an irregular rhythm that can increase the risk of stroke
  • rheumatic heart disease, a complication of strep throat that causes inflammation in the heart and which can affect the function of heart valves
  • radiation heart disease, wherein radiation to the chest can lead to damage to the heart valves and blood vessels

Vascular diseases affect the arteries, veins, or capillaries throughout the body and around the heart.

They include:

  • peripheral artery disease, which causes arteries to become narrow and reduces blood flow to the limbs
  • aneurysm, a bulge or enlargement in an artery that can rupture and bleed
  • atherosclerosis, in which plaque forms along the walls of blood vessels, narrowing them and restricting the flow of oxygen rich blood
  • renal artery disease, which affects the flow of blood to and from the kidneys and can lead to high blood pressure
  • Raynaud’s disease, which causes arteries to spasm and temporarily restrict blood flow
  • peripheral venous disease, or general damage in the veins that transport blood from the feet and arms back to the heart, which causes leg swelling and varicose veins
  • ischemic stroke, in which a blood clot moves to the brain and causes damage
  • venous blood clots, which can break loose and become dangerous if they travel to the pulmonary artery
  • blood clotting disorders, in which blood clots form too quickly or not quickly enough and lead to excessive bleeding or clotting
  • Buerger’s disease, which leads to blood clots and inflammation, often in the legs, and which may result in gangrene

It is possible to manage some health conditions within CVD by making lifestyle changes, but some conditions may be life threatening and require emergency surgery.

Symptoms will vary depending on the specific condition. Some conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension, may initially cause no symptoms at all.

However, typical symptoms of an underlying cardiovascular issue include:

  • pain or pressure in the chest, which may indicate angina
  • pain or discomfort in the arms, left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back
  • shortness of breath
  • nausea and fatigue
  • lightheadedness or dizziness
  • cold sweats

Although these are the most common ones, CVD can cause symptoms anywhere in the body.

People can take the following steps to prevent some of the conditions within CVD:

  • Manage body weight: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders advise that if a person loses 5–10%Trusted Source of their body weight, they may reduce their risk of developing CVD.
  • Get regular exercise: The American Heart Association (AHA) recommend doing 150 minutesTrusted Source of moderate-to-intense physical activity every week.
  • Follow a heart-healthy diet: Eating foods that contain polyunsaturated fats and omega-3, such as oily fish, alongside fruits and vegetables can support heart health and reduce the risk of CVD. Reducing the intake of processed food, salt, saturated fat, and added sugar has a similar effect.
  • Quit smoking: Smoking is a key risk factor for almost all forms of CVD. Although quitting can be difficult, taking steps to do so can drastically reduce its damaging effects on the heart.

The treatment option that is best for a person will depend on their specific type of CVD.

However, some options include:

  • medication, such as to reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol, improve blood flow, or regulate heart rhythm
  • surgery, such as coronary artery bypass grafting or valve repair or replacement surgery
  • cardiac rehabilitation, including exercise prescriptions and lifestyle counseling

Treatment aims to:

  • relieve symptoms
  • reduce the risk of the condition or disease recurring or getting worse
  • prevent complications, such as hospital admission, heart failure, stroke, heart attack, or death

Depending on the condition, a healthcare provider may also seek to stabilize heart rhythms, reduce blockages, and relax the arteries to enable a better flow of blood.

Researchers reported in the journal JAMA that the lifetime risk of CVD is more than 50% for both men and women.

Their study paper notes that even among those with few or no cardiovascular risk factors, the risk is still higher than 30%.

Risk factors for CVD include:

  • high blood pressure, or hypertension
  • atherosclerosis or blockages in the arteries
  • radiation therapy
  • smoking
  • poor sleep hygiene
  • high blood cholesterol, or hyperlipidemia
  • diabetes
  • a high fat, high carbohydrate diet
  • physical inactivity
  • obesity
  • sleep apnea
  • excessive alcohol consumption
  • stress
  • air pollution
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or other forms of reduced lung function

People with one cardiovascular risk factor often have more. For example, obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. A person may have all four conditions at the same time.

Many types of CVD occur as a complication of atherosclerosisTrusted Source.

Damage to the circulatory system can also result from diabetes and other health conditions, such as a virus, an inflammatory process such as myocarditis, or a structural problem present from birth (congenital heart disease).

CVD often results from high blood pressure, which produces no symptoms. It is therefore vital that people undergo regular screening for high blood pressure.

Many types of CVD are preventable. It is vital to address risk factors by taking the following steps:

  • reducing the use of alcohol and tobacco
  • eating fresh fruit and vegetables
  • reducing salt, sugar, and saturated fat intake
  • avoiding a sedentary lifestyle, particularly for children

Adopting damaging lifestyle habits, such as eating a high sugar diet and not getting much physical activity, may not lead to CVD while a person is still young, as the effects of the condition are cumulative.

However, continued exposure to these risk factors can contribute to the development of CVD later in life.

Does aspirin protect a person from CVD?

Many people will have taken an aspirin a day as a routine measure to protect against CVD. However, current guidelines no longer recommend this for most people, as it can lead to bleeding. This risk outweighs any benefit it may have.

That said, a doctor may suggest aspirin if a person has a high risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, and a low risk of bleeding. Doctors may also recommend it to those who have already had a heart attack or stroke.

Anyone taking a daily dose of aspirin to reduce their risk of CVD should ask their doctor whether or not they should continue.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide.

In 2016, around 17.9 million peopleTrusted Source died from CVD, accounting for 31% of all registered premature deaths.

Of these, 85% resulted from a heart attack or stroke. These conditions affect equal numbers of men and women.

The WHO estimate that by 2030, 23.6 million peopleTrusted Source will die from CVD conditions annually — mostly due to stroke and heart disease.

Although these conditions remain prevalent in global mortality rates, people can start taking steps to prevent them.

Can I receive regular screenings to prevent CVD if I have no symptoms?

A:

Yes. Everyone, even those with no symptoms, should receive regular screenings for CVD, starting from the age of 20 years.

The frequency of screening and the type of screening will depend on the current risk factors and any other medical problems. Discuss screening with a doctor, as it’s never too early to start.

Source - Medical News Today