Patient Focus
CARDIOSMART CORNER
Living Well With CHD
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the
most common type of birth defect, with
about 8 in 1,000 babies born with some
sort of structural heart problem. These
problems, such as atrial septal defect,
coarctation of the aorta, and aortic
stenosis, cause more deaths in the first
year of life than any other birth defects.
Thankfully the majority of states
in the U.S. have passed legislation
mandating screening of newborns for
certain conditions in the first couple
days after birth, even before symptoms
even appear. The ACC and its chapters
have played important roles in lobbying
in favor of these laws. With September
being Newborn Screening Awareness
Month, the College will continue to promote the importance of early screening
for the detection of certain conditions
like heart defects.
Patients can learn more about new-
born screening and CHD by visiting
Cardiosmart.org. The website offers
information on symptoms, testing,
treatment and more. Cardiosmart’s
newest infographic also offers patients
information on how to live well with
CHD. As we get better at treating CHD,
more patients are living longer lives,
and it’s critical we educate our patients
and their families on the roles they can
play in managing CHD.
Martha Gulati, MD, MS
CardioSmart Editor-in-Chief
New Research Showcases
Opportunities to Reduce CV Risk
in the Modern World
Opportunities to reduce cardiovascular risks in today’s modern
world were the focus of several studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s Congress 2016 in Rome.
One study out of Sweden suggested low socioeconomic
status, as well as marital status, is associated with a higher
risk of a second heart attack or stroke. The study of nearly
30,000 patients with a prior heart attack found that the risk
of a second event was 36% lower for those in the highest
income quintile compared to the lowest. Being divorced
was independently associated with a 14% greater risk of a
second event than being married.
In a second study, moderate physical activity was associated with a greater than 50% reduction in cardiovascular
death in adults over the age of 65. The study looked at
nearly 2,500 adults aged 65 to 74 enrolled into the National FINRISK Study between 1997 and 2007. Median
follow-up was 11.8 years. Study authors found that moderate and high leisure time physical activities were associated with a 31% and 45% reduced risk of an acute cardiovascular event, respectively, while moderate and high
leisure time physical activities were associated with a 54%
and 66% reduction in cardiovascular mortality.
In a third study, a school intervention costing less than 20
cents per child in Brazil has stopped unhealthy weight gain
and could be a low-cost way for other developing countries
to prevent obesity beginning in childhood. More than 200
students aged five to 16 from four public schools in Feliz,
Brazil, were randomly assigned to an intervention group focused on lifestyle changes at school and home or a control
group focused on the regular school curriculum. While there
was no difference in BMI between groups before the intervention, the children in the control group showed a significant increase in BMI after the nine months of the study (p ≤
0.01). The BMI in the intervention group remained the same,
but there was a significant increase in fruit consumption and
physical activity (p < 0.05).
ACC.org/CSWN
CardioSource WorldNews
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