Heart Disease
Research
Alternative
& Complementary Therapies
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Acupuncture
Acupuncture offers valuable therapeutic benefits for stroke
patients, according to a recent Norwegian study(1). Researchers monitored 24 stroke
patients over a six week period during which time the patients were given classical
acupuncture 3-4 times a week (each session lasting 20-30 minutes) for six weeks. All of
the patients were evaluated by three measurement systems: the Motor Assessment Scale for
stroke patients, Sunnaas Index of ADL and Nottingham Health Profile and all patients
underwent individually adapted rehabilitation therapy. The results were then compared with
a control group of patients who received the rehabilitation therapy but no acupuncture.
The data showed that whilst both the acupuncture and
control groups improved significantly in motor function and ADL, the improvement was
significantly greater among the acupuncture group than among the controls. The patients in
the acupuncture group also recorded a significantly improved quality of life, whereas none
of the patients in the control group gave this response.
The study concluded that the ‘results indicate that
acupuncture gives an additive therapeutic benefit when given to stroke patients during
their rehabilitation programme’.
A further study conducted at the Department of Neurology,
Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China came up with similar
conclusions for even acute stroke symptoms.
In a randomized, controlled study designed to investigate
the feasibility of acupuncture in combination with conventional supportive treatment for
acute stroke patients, 30 patients, aged 46-74, with the onset of symptoms within the
previous 36 hours were monitored.
All of the patients gave informed consent, and based on the
same supportive treatment, patients were randomly assigned to a treatment with or without
acupuncture. The procedure and acupoint selection were discussed and decided through
several meetings of a group of senior acupuncture doctors in Taiwan.
Acupuncture was applied 3 times/week for 4 weeks. During
the study period, there were no problems in conducting this trial in terms of patient
availability and acceptance, and physician cooperation. A significantly better neurologic
outcome was observed in the acupuncture group and there were no important side effects
related to the acupuncture treatment except for one episode of dizziness.
Hopefully, the data and results of this study will be used
as a guideline for planning a full-scale clinical trial which will provide more conclusive
results.
(1) Sallstrom S; Kjendahl A; Osten PE; Stanghelle
JK;
Borchgrevink CF [Acupuncture therapy in stroke during the subacute phase. A randomized
controlled trial] Akupunkturbehandling ved hjerneslag i subakutt fase. En randomisert
kontrollert studie. Sunnaas sykehus, Nesoddtangen. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen (NORWAY) Sep 30
1995, 115 (23) p2884-7
(2) Hu HH; Chung C; Liu TJ; Chen RC; Chen CH; Chou P; Huang WS; Lin JC; Tsuei JJ A
randomized controlled trial on the treatment for acute partial ischemic stroke with
acupuncture. Neuroepidemiology (SWITZERLAND) 1993, 12 (2) p106-13
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Traditional
Chinese Medicine
Researchers at the Guangzhou Hospital of TCM in China
investigated the effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) a traditional Chinese herbal
preparation on patients suffering from coronary heart disease. 102 patients diagnosed with
coronary heart disease (CHD) were divided randomly into two groups: the first group (70
patients) were given the Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) orally for 15 days and they were
compared with 32 controls.
The total effective rate of treating angina pectoris was
91.4% although the difference was not statistically significant compared with the control
group. However, the patients’ EKG improvement rate was 85.7% in BYHWD group, and the
difference was very significant when compared with patients in the control group. The
blood samples also showed what the researchers described as ‘remarkable’
improvements in the treatment group.
The report concluded that BYHWD was effective in removing
the oxygen free radicals, reducing the injury of lipoperoxide (LPO) and regulating the
apolipoprotein metabolism in the patients suffering from CHD. The researchers stated that
they believed that their study showed that BYHWD is an effective TCM remedy for patients
suffering from CHD.
Zhang H; Liang MJ; Ma ZX [Clinical study on effects of
buyang huanwu decoction on coronary heart disease] . Chung Kuo Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa
Chih (CHINA) Apr 1995, 15 (4) p213-5,
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The Sunshine Remedy
A DOSE of sunshine can help save the lives of heart attack
victims, say researchers. They found that patients recovering in the sunniest part of an
intensive care unit were the most likely to survive. It is already known that lack of
sunshine can cause depression and that sufferers can be cured by exposure to more light.
The researchers, In Canada, decided to check whether the
story would be similar for other patients, such as heart victims. They examined the
records of 628 men and women admitted to a cardiac intensive care unit over four years
after a first heart attack.
Just over half the patients had been in rooms on the north
side of the unit while the remainder recovered in rooms on the south side, where sunshine
levels were up to ten times higher, says a report in the Journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine.
The researchers found that 39 of those on the darker side
failed to survive, compared with 21 in the sunny rooms. ‘Deaths were consistently
more frequent on the dark side in each of the four years studied,’ said Professor
Peter Hays, of the University of Alberta, who led the study.
The findings were most striking among women. Those treated
in the sunnier rooms were able to leave the unit one day earlier on average than those on
the darker side. ‘Women did less well in the sunless rooms but did just as well as
men when treated in the sunny rooms,’ said Professor Hays, adding that previous
research had shown lack of sunshine affected women's mental health more badly than
men’s.
Sunlight is thought to cause depression by altering the way
the brain responds to a ‘mood’ chemical called serotonin. It is not known why
the sun affects heart attack victims.
Professor Douglas Chamberlain, a leading cardiologist at
the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, commented yesterday: ‘I’m
convinced sunshine is good for the morale whatever medical condition you have. But it
would be difficult in practical terms to increase light levels in cardiac units,
especially as the sun has been in short supply this summer'
Source: Daily Mail – 28/7/1998 – By Jenny
Hope
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Vegetarianism & Heart disease
Cardiovascular disease is the major
cause of mortality in Britain, being responsible for around 50% of all
deaths. The majority of these deaths are from coronary heart disease.
Vegetarians suffer markedly lower mortality from coronary heart disease
compared to non-vegetarians. This reduced risk may be related to the lower
blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians.
Findings from the Oxford Vegetarian Study, a 12 year study of 6000
vegetarians and 5000 meat-eater found that the incidence of coronary heart
disease mortality was 28% lower in vegetarians compared with matched
omnivores, after all non dietary factors had been taken into consideration
(Thorogood, 1994).
Burr & Butland (1988) found vegetarians to suffer significantly
lower mortality from heart disease than health conscious non-vegetarians.
Mortality from ischaemic heart disease was 57% lower in vegetarians than
the general population, and 18% lower than in non-vegetarians following a
healthy lifestyle. Deaths due to cerebrovascular disease was 43% lower in
the vegetarians compared with the general population.
A study of nearly 28 000 Seventh Day Adventists in California noted a
clear trend of increasing incidence of heart disease with rising frequency
of meat consumption (Snowdon, 1988).
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults
(CARDIA) Study
examined diet in relation to health in over 5000 young adults aged 18 to
30. Vegetarians were found to have greatly improved cardiovascular fitness
and a lower risk of heart disease (Slattery, 1991). A low level of meat
consumption was linked to improved general health.
An eleven-year study of 1900 German vegetarians has found mortality
from cardiovascular disease to be 61% lower in male vegetarians and 44%
lower in female vegetarians than the general population. For ischaemic
heart disease, mortality was reduced still further, to only one-third of
that expected (Claude-Chang, 1992).
The protective effect of a vegetarian diet is believed to be related to
the lower blood cholesterol levels seen in vegetarians. Repeated studies
have demonstrated the low blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians (Resnicow,
1991). Thorogood (1990) found vegetarians to have cholesterol levels 10%
lower than health conscious meat-eaters. High blood cholesterol is a
primary risk factor in heart disease. Significantly, vegetarians have
lower levels of Iow-density-lipoprotein ([DL) cholesterol. This is the
cholesterol fraction particularly associated with heart disease.
Research has suggested that a 10% reduction in blood cholesterol may be
associated with a 30% reduction in the incidence of coronary heart disease
(Martin, 1986).
A recent collaborative analysis of 8,300 deaths among 76,000 men and
women in five prospective studies concluded that vegetarians have a 24%
reduction in mortality from ischaemic heart disease, this increased to 45%
in the under 65s. When compared with regular meat eaters the vegetarians
showed 34% less mortality (Key, 1998).
The California Lifestyle Heart Trial has indicated that a low fat
vegetarian diet together with other lifestyle changes such as exercise and
stress management can in fact reverse the progress of heart disease, by
reducing cholesterol plaques in coronary arteries (Ornish, 1990).
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