HEALTH INFO - Mouthwashes 'can raise risk of heart attack and strokes': Antiseptic gargles kill good bacteria that help keep blood pressure down

Mouthwashes 'can raise risk of heart attack and strokes': Antiseptic gargles kill good bacteria that help keep blood pressure down

• Mouthwash brand Corsodyl has been found to increase blood pressure
• Study found blood pressure rose between 2 and 3.5 units for daily users
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By BEEZY MARSH and STEPHEN ADAMS

PUBLISHED: 01:42 GMT, 26 January 2014 | UPDATED: 01:42 GMT, 26 January 2014

 
 
 

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Sharp edge: Mouthwash Corsodyl can lower blood pressure

Using mouthwash is a ‘disaster’ for health, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, scientists are warning.

Swilling kills off ‘good’ bacteria that help blood vessels relax – so increasing blood pressure.

When healthy volunteers used Corsodyl, a brand containing a powerful antiseptic, their blood pressure rose within hours.

Professor Amrita Ahluwalia, who led the study, last night condemned the widespread use of antiseptic mouthwash. 

She said: ‘Killing off all these bugs each day is a disaster, when small rises in blood pressure have significant impact on morbidity and mortality from heart disease and stroke.’

More than half of British adults regularly use mouthwash, creating a market worth £180 million a year.

The study compared blood pressure levels in 19 healthy volunteers who started using Corsodyl twice daily. Their blood pressure rose by between 2 and 3.5 units (mmgh).

This effect ‘appeared within one day’ of using the mouthwash, researchers wrote in the journal Free Radical Biology And Medicine. 

For each two-point rise in blood pressure, the risk of dying from heart disease rises by seven per cent, according to separate research. Such a rise also increases the risk of dying from stroke by ten per cent.

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Heart disease and stroke are the biggest killer in Britain.

Prof Ahluwalia, from Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘We are not telling people to stop using antiseptic mouthwashes if they have a gum or tooth infection – but we would ask why anyone else would want to.’

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Dangerous rinse: The study by Queen Mary University in London found that blood pressure in daily Corsodyl users rose by between 2 and 3.5 units

Corsodyl contains 0.2 per cent by volume of the antiseptic chlorhexidine. Other antiseptic mouthwashes made by Boots and Superdrug contain the chemical in the same concentration. It kills microbes needed to help create nitrite, essential for blood vessels to dilate properly. But the mouthwash caused nitrite production in the mouth to fall by over 90 per cent, and  blood nitrite to fall by 25 per cent.

Not all mouthwashes contain chlorhexidine: Listerine, for example, does not. However, Prof Ahluwalia said: ‘Other mouthwashes could still disrupt the healthy bacteria.’

Dentist Richard Guyver said he would be ‘very cautious about drawing conclusions’ from such a small study.

Corsodyl makers GlaxoSmithKline said their product was for short-term use to stop plaque and prevent gum disease and it also makes another product, Corsodyl Daily, which contains 0.06 per cent chlorhexidine for everyday use.

The spokesman said their own research had ‘not highlighted any concerns regarding the use of Corsodyl 0.2 per cent mouthwash as directed and increases in blood pressure’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2546092/Mouthwashes-raise-risk-heart-attack-strokes-Antiseptic-gargles-kill-good-bacteria-help-blood-pressure-down.html#ixzz2rXbA00uk
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STROKE - Wonder drugs cut toll of strokes by 40%

Wonder drugs cut toll of strokes by 40%: How the use of statins has helped thousands control their blood pressure 

• - Strokes have fallen by 40 per cent in just 16 years thanks to statins
• - The drugs have also helped rates to fall among older people
• - Six million Britons take the drugs to lower their blood pressure
• 
  

By JENNY HOPE

PUBLISHED: 21:02 GMT, 11 October 2013 | UPDATED: 22:06 GMT, 11 October 2013

Strokes have fallen by 40 per cent in just 16 years thanks to the growing use of statins.

The prescribing of blood pressure drugs have also helped cause rates to plummet among older people - those most vulnerable to their devastating effects.

Huge advances have been made in the treatment of patients with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of charity Blood Pressure UK, said stroke rates were plummeting 'throughout the UK' as a result 

of better treatments

Six million Britons take drugs to lower their blood pressure, usually for life. In addition, more than eight million take statins to reduce cholesterol levels - meaning these are now the most widely prescribed drugs in Britain. 

Many older people have also heeded campaigns to have medical checks, and to make lifestyle changes such as cutting back on salt.

As a result, the incidence of strokes has dropped from 247 per 100,000 in 1995 to 149.5 in 2010, according to researchers at King’s College London.

Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of charity Blood Pressure UK, said stroke rates were plummeting ‘throughout the UK’ as a result of better treatments.

‘We’ve got better blood pressure drugs now and they are used more effectively,’ he said. ‘In the past GPs would prescribe one drug.

‘But we now know they work more effectively in combination, and they are often more acceptable to patients, with fewer side effects, so they take them and don’t leave them in the medicines cupboard.

‘Statins cut the risk of stroke by 30 to 40 per cent so they have also played a part, but we need to do more.’ He said the study demonstrated a huge proportion of strokes were preventable.

‘Every patient who ends up on a stroke ward is a sorry indictment of our failure to help prevent it,’ he said.

Huge advances have been made in the treatment of patients with high cholesterol and high blood pressure

Dr Yanzhong Wang, lecturer in medical statistics at King’s College London and lead author of the research, said ‘This study on the trends in stroke is the most comprehensive in the UK. It shows a 40 per cent overall reduction of stroke over 16 years, which is good news.’

Strokes affect around 152,000 Britons each year, often triggered by high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.

Patients with hypertension – the medical term for high blood pressure  – are routinely advised to change their lifestyle and eat less salt, lose weight, drink less alcohol, eat more fruit and vegetables and exercise more. 

The study, published in the medical journal Stroke analysed records on 4,245 patients living in South London who had their first-ever stroke between 1995 and 2010. But the findings are likely to apply to the rest of the country, say researchers.

Six million Britons take drugs to lower their blood pressure, usually for life. In addition, more than eight million take statins to reduce cholesterol levels - meaning these are now the most widely prescribed drugs in Britain

The rate fell in men, women, white groups and those aged more than 45. But it did not drop among those aged 15 to 44 years and black groups. ‘The reasons for this are not entirely clear but it could be because of a rise in diabetes and obesity in these groups,’ Dr Wang said.

‘If this trend is not reversed we could face a major public health concern because long-term disability, as a result of stroke, will put a strain on health and social care services.’

Researchers are calling for greater efforts to identify younger people at risk, including those with diabetes. 

Co-author Professor Tony Rudd said: ‘It is essential we begin to understand the reasons for the differences in incidence and how we can address them. Without this we are only going to see widening health inequalities amongst the UK population.’

STROKE - 6 Bizarre Stories of People Who Changed After a Stroke

6 Bizarre Stories of People Who Changed After a Stroke

8/25/2013 under Bizarre Medical Stories - by  Grace Murano 

 Man Suffers a Stroke and Loses the Ability to Feel Sad

Malcolm Myatt, 68, had a stroke. It affected the frontal lobe of his brain, which is the part of the brain that governs emotions. As a result, he's lost the ability to feel sad. Experts say it is not uncommon for strokes to cause psychological, emotional, and behavioral changes.

The retired lorry driver said, "I am never depressed. Being sad wouldn't help anything anyway. I would definitely rather be happy all the time than the other way round. It's an advantage really."

According to The Stroke Association, many of the psychological changes that occur after a stroke are down to the physical damage of the brain and depend upon which part of the brain has been affected, as well as the extent of the damage. 

 Rugby Player Suffers a Stroke and Then Becomes a Gay Hairdresser

Former rugby player Chris Birch suffered a stroke in training and woke up to discover that he was gay.

Mr. Birch was straight and engaged to be married when he suffered a freak accident in the gym. The 26-year-old tried to impress his friends with a backflip, but broke his neck and suffered a stroke, instead. When he woke up, he underwent a drastic personality change that included an attraction to men.

Mr. Birch broke off his engagement and found a boyfriend. He also left his job at a bank to retrain as a hairdresser. 

 Englishman Speaks Only Welsh After a Stroke

After a brain injury caused by a serious stroke, 81-year-old Englishman Alun Morgan forgot his native tongue and could only speak Welsh, a language he thought he had never learned. 

Mr. Morgan grew up in England and spoke only English for most of his life. However, after his stroke he discovered that he could only communicate in Welsh – even though he had never learned the language and had last visited the country 70 years before.

Doctors believe that Mr. Morgan's experience is caused by a brain disorder called aphasia, which caused damage to the parts of the brain that governed his use of the English language.

With his faculty for English damaged, Mr. Morgan's brain appears to have fallen back on a language that he thought he never even knew; there are signs that Mr. Morgan may have picked up some Welsh when he was young. He lived with his Welsh-speaking grandmother as a child, and during World War II he was sent with other children to Wales as an evacuee to escape the German bombing. 

 Stroke Gives a Woman a Jamaican Accent

Linda Walker woke up from a stroke to find that her brain had changed her Newcastle accent into something else. The 60-year-old may have Foreign Accent Syndrome, a condition where patients speak differently after a brain injury. Linda is one of only 50 recorded cases in the past 65 years.

The former university administrator hates what has happened to her and now feels like a different person. Mrs. Walker says, "My sister-in-law said that I sounded Italian, then my brother said I sounded Slovakian and someone else said I sounded French Canadian (...) But the latest is that I sound Jamaican, I just don't know how to explain it." 

 Man Has a Stroke and Becomes a Digital Artist

Ken Walters was not the artistic type when he suffered a stroke in 2005. The former engineer was disabled and living on benefits after a horrific accident left him wheelchair-bound and jobless, which triggered a 19-year depression. 

When things looked like they couldn't get any worse, Mr. Walters suffered a stroke at his home in 2005. However, the cerebral hemorrhage that could have made Walters' life much more difficult came with an unexpected gift in the form of newfound artistic ability and creative drive. Walters began developing digital art, which led to him starting his own software company and a lucrative job with EA games at the age of 51. 

 Woman Starts Feeling a Phantom Third Arm After a Stroke

After experiencing a stroke, a Swiss woman at Geneva University Hospital began experiencing a phantom limb for an arm that didn't exist -- and never had. Therefore, doctors subjected her to a MRI.

After examining the case, the woman's neurologist, Asaid Khateb of the hospital's experimental neurophysiology laboratory, called the rare phenomenon credible.


When doctors asked her to move her phantom arm, her brain reacted as though the arm really existed and could be moved. In addition, the patient's visual cortex was also activated, indicating that she actually saw the imaginary limb.

When she was instructed to scratch her cheek, regions of the brain relating to touch were activated, as well. 

STROKE - Women and Stroke

Source :

Unique Symptoms in Women

It is important to recognize stroke symptoms and act quickly.

Common stroke symptoms seen in both men and women:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg -- especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Women may report unique stroke symptoms:

• sudden face and limb pain
• sudden hiccups
• sudden nausea
• sudden general weakness
• sudden chest pain
• sudden shortness of breath
• sudden palpitations

Call 9-1-1 immediately if you have any of these symptoms

Every minute counts for stroke patients and acting F.A.S.T. can lead patients to the stroke treatments they desperately need.  The most effective stroke treatments are only available if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within the first three hours of the first symptoms. Actually, many Americans are not aware that stroke patients may not be eligible for stroke treatments if they arrive at the hospital after the three-hour window.

If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and do this simple test:

FACE:        Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

ARMS:       Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

SPEECH:   Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

TIME:         If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

NOTE THE TIME WHEN ANY SYMPTOMS FIRST APPEAR. 

If given within three hours of the first symptom, there is an FDA-approved clot-buster medication that may reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.

Learn as many stroke symptoms as possible so you can recognize stroke as FAST as possible. 

“Understanding the warning signs is important because there are treatments we can give for stroke. If you understand the warning signs and get to the hospital quickly we can even possibly reverse the stroke itself,” says Dr. Dawn Kleindorfer, assistant professor of neurology at University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.

STROKE - Warning Signs of Stroke

Source :

Learn the many warning signs of a stroke. 

Act FAST and CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY at any sign of a stroke.

Use FAST to remember the warning signs:

	FACE:Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
	ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
	SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
	TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

NOTE THE TIME WHEN ANY SYMPTOMS FIRST APPEAR. 

If given within three hours of the first symptom, there is an FDA-approved clot-buster medication that may reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke. There are also two other types of stroke treatment available that might help reduce the effects of stroke. 

Learn as many stroke symptoms as possible so you can recognize stroke as FAST as possible. 

Stroke symptoms include:

• SUDDEN numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg - especially on one side of the body.
• SUDDEN confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• SUDDEN trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• SUDDEN trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• SUDDEN severe headache with no known cause.

Call 9-1-1 immediately if you have any of these symptoms

Note the time you experienced your first symptom.
This information is important to your healthcare provider and can affect treatment decisions.

STROKE - Medication Adherence

Source :

Medication adherence is a prevalent issue surrounding recurrent stroke prevention. Over 50 percent of aging patients on multiple prescription medications admit that they forget to take their medications at varying degrees, with some patients habitually missing their medications. Many patients also admit to not taking their medications exactly as prescribed. Taking medications as prescribed is central to recovery post-stroke and recurrent stroke prevention. Ask Your Healthcare Professional or Pharmacist: What is the medicine’s name and what is it for? When and how do I take this medicine? What are the possible side effects? When should I expect the medicine to start working? Will the medicine interact with any of my other medicines? Is it okay to take this medicine with my supplements (e.g., vitamins, omega-3, etc.)? What should my medicine look like? What do I do if I forget my dose? What are the repercussions if I stop taking this medicine altogether? Besides time of day, is there anything else I should know about taking my meds (e.g., on a full stomach, with milk, etc.)? Are there foods I need to avoid when taking this medicine? One of the best ways to manage your medications is stay organized with a medication tracker.   Medication Assistance Generic Name Brand Name Assistance Program  Class Condition It Treats Atorvastatin calcium Lipitor® Pfizer Statin High cholesterol Baclofen Kemstro™, Gablofen®, Lioresal® Medtronic Inc. GABA receptor antagonist Spasticity OnabotulinumtoxinA Botox® Allergan Neurotoxin Upper limb spasticity and incontinence Dextromethorphan hydrobromide and quinidine sulfate Nuedexta™ Avanir Miscellaneous central nervous system agent Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) Dipryidamole Persantine® Boehringer Ingelheim Antiplatelet Prevents blood clots Aspirin/Extended-release dipyridamole Aggrenox® Boehringer Ingelheim Antiplatelet Prevents blood clots Clopidogrel bisulfate Plavix® Bristol-Myers Squibb Antiplatelet Prevents blood clots Dabigatran etexilate Pradaxa® Boehringer Ingelheim Anticoagulant Atrial fibrillation (Afib) Losartan potassium Cozaar® Merck Angiotensin II receptor antagonist High blood pressure Rosuvastatin calcium Crestor® AstraZeneca Statin High cholesterol Telmisartan Micardis® Boehringer Ingelheim Angiotensin II receptor antagonist High blood pressure Ticlopidine hydrochloride Ticlid® Roche Laboratories Antiplatelet Prevents blood clots Alteplase Activase®—Also known as tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) Genentech Thrombolytics Breaks down blood clots Warfarin Coumadin®, Jantoven®, Marevan® Bristol-Myers Squibb Anticoagulant Prevents blood clots There are other medications that are prescribed to treat conditions associated with stroke that may not be listed above.  Explaining Stroke-Related Medications Drug Class What They Do Examples Anticoagulants Reduce the risk of blood clots and prevent existing blood clots from getting bigger by thinning the blood Heparin®, Pradaxa®, Coumadin® Antiplatelets Prevent platelets (blood cells) from sticking together Plavix®, Aggrenox®, Persantine®, Ticlid® Angiotensin II receptor antagonists Block angiotensin II, a chemical that triggers muscle contraction around blood vessels, narrowing them. By inhibiting the chemical, blood vessels can enlarge and blood pressure is reduced. Micardis®, Cozaar®, Hyzaar®  GABA (gamma-Amino butyric acid) receptor antagonists Inhibit the action of GABA, which inhibits neurotransmitters and regulates the nervous system. Kemstro™, Gablofen®, Lioresal® Miscellaneous central nervous system agents Affect physiological and psychological processes in the central nervous system Nuedexta™ Neurotoxins Interact with proteins in nerves to relax muscles Botox® Statins Lower cholesterol by inhibiting the enzyme in the blood that produces cholesterol in the liver Lipitor®, Crestor®, Zocor®, Mevacor®, Lescol® Thrombolytics Break up blood clots  Activase®

STROKE - Afib-Stroke Connection

Source :

Making the Afib-Stroke Connection 

It can be difficult to receive an atrial fibrillation (Afib) diagnosis.

People with Afib are often overwhelmed by the condition and how it may impact them, as well as their family and friends. Many people with Afib are unaware of the five-times greater risk of stroke as a result of having Afib.

Jason, 32, has Afib. Pat, 62, is a two-time stroke survivor with Afib. Learn why raising awareness about Afib and its connection to stroke is important to both of them.

To help raise awareness about the association between Afib and the increased risk of stroke, National Stroke Association has developed a new initiative, the Afib-Stroke Connection. The initiative aims to provide educational resources to people with Afib, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

The Afib-Stroke Connection currently provides tools to primary care physicians and their staff to help begin—or continue—discussion about Afib-related stroke between people with Afib and those who provide support and/or healthcare. 

Resources

» Fact: About 15 percent of all people who have strokes also have atrial fibrillation.