Ransomware Attack

Research

Physical activity reduces instant death risk from heart attack: Study

London - Regular physical activity can not only improve our overall fitness but it can also lower the chance of dying immediately from a heart attack, a new study suggests. The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, showed that a higher level of physical activity was associated with a lower risk of instant and 28-day fatal heart attack, seemingly in a dose-response-like manner. Patients who had engaged in moderate and high levels of leisure-time physical activity had a 33 per cent and 45 per cent lower risk of instant death compared to sedentary individuals. At 28 days these numbers were 36 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. "Almost 18 per cent of patients with a heart attack died within 28 days, substantiating the severity of this condition. We found an immediate survival benefit of prior physical activity in the setting of a heart attack, a benefit which seemed preserved at 28 days," said researcher Kim Wadt Hansen of Bispebjerg Hospital in Denmark. For the study, the team used data from 10 European observational cohorts including healthy participants with a baseline assessment of physical activity who had a heart attack during follow-up - a total of 28,140 individuals. Participants were categorised according to their weekly level of leisure-time physical activity as sedentary, low, moderate or high. The association between activity level and the risk of death due to a heart attack (instantly and within 28 days) was analysed in each cohort separately and then the results were pooled. A total of 4,976 (17.7 per cent) participants died within 28 days of their heart attack - of these, 3,101 (62.3 per cent) died instantly. The guidelines recommend that healthy adults of all ages perform at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination thereof, the study suggested. (Agency)
Research

Long-term stress linked to increased risk of heart attack

London- Taking stress may be not be good for your heart as a new study suggests that long-term stress may lead to increased risk of heart attack. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, indicated that people with higher levels of cortisol are at an increased risk of heart attack. "The levels of the stress hormone cortisol differed between people who have had a heart attack and those not affected. This suggests that cortisol in hair may be a new risk marker for heart attacks," said Tomas Faresjo from the Linkoping University in Sweden. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body, including metabolism and the immune response. It also has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress. To study the long-term stress due to a lack of reliable methods, the team improved the use of a new biomarker, in which they measure the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in hair. This enables measurements of cortisol levels backwards in time, similar to the growth rings in a tree. This analysis method is at the moment only available in research settings. In the present study, the researchers used hair samples of length between 1 and 3 centimetres, corresponding to 1-3 months of hair growth. They measured cortisol levels in hair samples from 174 men and women in professional life who had been admitted for myocardial infarction to cardiology clinics. As control group, the researchers used hair samples from more than 3,000 similarly aged participants in the Swedish SCAPIS study (Swedish CardioPulmonary bioImage Study). The researchers showed that patients who suffered a heart attack had statistically significant higher levels of cortisol during the month preceding the event. "It's surprising that this biomarker for long-term stress seems to be strong even compared with traditional cardiovascular risk factors," said Tomas Faresjo. (Agency)
CoronaVirus Updates

Hacker changed water chemical levels

San Francisco- In a sophisticated cyber-attack, a hacker accessed the computer systems of the water treatment facility in a US city and modified drinking water chemical levels to dangerous parameters in an attempt to poison the city of nearly 15,000 residents. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners, used to control water acidity and remove metals from drinking water in the water treatment plant. "The hacker changed the sodium hydroxide from about 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million. This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase," Bob Gualtieri, Sheriff of Oldsmar city in Florida state in the US, was quoted as saying in local media reports on Monday. The intrusion took place on February 5 when the hacker remotely accessed a computer system that was set up to allow for the remote control of water treatment operations. According to a report in Tampa Bay Times, local and federal authorities including the FBI were investigating the attempt to poison the city of Oldsmar. The city's water supply was not affected. "A supervisor working remotely saw the concentration being changed on his computer screen and immediately reverted it," Gualtieri said. The city officials on Monday emphasised that "several other safeguards are in place to prevent contaminated water from entering the water supply and said they've disabled the remote-access system used in the attack". Though some cities get water through Pinellas County, Oldsmar provides water directly to its businesses and roughly 15,000 residents. The computer system at the water treatment plant was set up to allow authorised users to remotely access it for troubleshooting. Contact with sodium hydroxide can kill skin and cause hair loss and ingestion can be fatal. In November last year, a water utility in Illinois was targeted by suspected Russian hackers and the attempt was foiled. (IANS)
CoronaVirus Updates

Covid virus may cause body to attack itself

New York, Feb 3 (IANS) Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have identified that the Covid-19 virus may prompt the body to make weapons to attack its own tissues.According to the researchers, including Saborni Chakraborty from Stanford University in the US, the finding could unlock a number of Covid-19's clinical mysteries."It suggests that the virus might be directly causing autoimmunity, which would be fascinating," said lead author Paul Utz from the varsity.For the study, preprinted in medRxiv, the research team included data from more than 300 patients from four hospitals and used blood tests to study their immune responses as their infections progressed. They looked for autoantibodies -- weapons of the immune system that go rogue and launch an attack against the body's own tissues. They compared these autoantibodies to those found in people who were not infected with the virus that causes Covid-19.As previous studies have found, autoantibodies were more common after Covid-19 -- 50 per cent of people hospitalised for their infections had autoantibodies, compared to less than 15 per cent of those who were healthy and uninfected, WebMD reported.Some people with autoantibodies had little change in them as their infections progressed. That suggests the autoantibodies were there to begin with, possibly allowing the infection to burn out of control in the body.But in others, about 20 per cent of people who had them, the autoantibodies became more common as the infection progressed, suggesting they were directly related to the viral infection, instead of being a pre-existing condition.Some of these were antibodies that attack key components of the immune system's weapons against the virus, like interferon, suggests the study, to be peer reviewed. Interferons are proteins that help infected cells call for reinforcements and can also interfere with a virus's ability to copy itself. "Our studies have begun to quantify the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on autoimmunity, identifying which antigens and specific autoimmune diseases to surveil in patients who have been infected, and contributing to our mechanistic understanding of Covid-19 pathogenesis," the researchers said.--IANSvc/bg
Research

Covid attack on brain, not lungs, triggers severe disease in mice

New York- Researchers have found that infecting the nasal passages of mice with the virus that causes Covid-19 led to a rapid, escalating attack on the brain that triggered severe illness, even after the lungs were successfully clearing themselves of the virus. According to researchers, including an Indian-origin researcher, the findings have implications for understanding the wide range in symptoms and severity of illness among humans who are infected by SARS-CoV-2. "Our thinking that it's more of respiratory disease is not necessarily true. Once it infects the brain it can affect anything because the brain is controlling your lungs, the heart, everything. The brain is a very sensitive organ. It's the central processor for everything," said lead researcher Mukesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Georgia State University in the US. The study, published by the journal Viruses, assessed virus levels in multiple organs of the infected mice. A control group of mice received a dose of sterile saline solution in their nasal passages. His team found that virus levels in the lungs of infected mice peaked three days after infection, then began to decline. However, very high levels of infectious virus were found in the brains of all the affected mice on the fifth and sixth days, which is when symptoms of severe disease became obvious, including labored breathing, disorientation, and weakness. The study found virus levels in the brain were about 1,000 times higher than in other parts of the body. The researcher said the findings could help explain why some Covid-19 patients seem to be on the road to recovery, with improved lung function, only to rapidly relapse and die. His research and other studies suggest the severity of illness and the types of symptoms that different people experience could depend not only on how much virus a person was exposed to but how it entered their body. (IANS)
Nirog Health Tips

Staying Young at Heart: Cardiovascular

Heart diseases among Indians occur five to ten years earlier than in other populations across the globe. According to the 2018-19 INTERHEART study, the median age for the first presentation of acute Myocardial Infarct (commonly known as a heart attack), in the South Asian (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) population is 53 years, whereas that in Western Europe, China, and Hong Kong it is 63 years. In India, the most worrying part is that heart ailments among younger people are on a constant rise. We can easily blame this on the sedentary lifestyle and increased stress levels amongst the youth in India. The young age group of 25 to 39 years is mainly the victim of this kind of lifestyle. With the advent of technology, OTT platforms, mobile games, traditional modes of relaxation like going out with friends for a walk or sports are less common now. Lack of open space for playing, cycling, or recreation in most urban centers is only adding to the problems. Most of our school curriculums also have very little emphasis on sports or physical activity. A heart attack suffered by a Bollywood choreographer Remo D' Souza at the age of 46 years throws light on the need for addressing cardiac concerns amongst the young population. Dr. Brajesh Kunwar, Director-Interventional Cardiology, Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi, points out: "The minimum requirement of exercise as per guidelines is 35-45 minutes a day for four to five days a week, to fulfill the requirement of the heart and vital organs. Importantly, there is no work-life balance; the competitive culture of corporate entities has increased man-hours at work leading to chronic stress amongst the youth. "Multiple other factors like smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Diabetes, Obesity, and hereditary factors play a major role. Smoking is a major dominant modifiable risk factor associated with young Coronary Artery Disease, patients. India is witnessing an increase in the incidence of smoking, especially among adolescents." Also, it is important to note that our diagnostic capabilities have improved over the years. That's another reason why we see much higher numbers. But that of course is a good part. Having said that, we must understand that there is a critical need to prevent and tackle Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) among youth by way of a lifestyle change, he adds. Now you might be wondering how people who seem fit or are fitness enthusiasts get heart diseases? Kunwar explains: The role of genetic cholesterol: Well, while we feel that fitness and exercise are extremely necessary for a healthy life, it is not the only thing that can protect you from heart ailments. The food we eat, the lifestyle we lead, our stress levels, and genes also play an equivalent role. We all know that Indians are predisposed to Diabetes and CVDs, similarly many people also suffer from Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) which is a genetic condition. People who have this condition are born with it; this defect prevents the body from ridding itself of the type of Cholesterol that can build up in your arteries and cause heart disease. So, people having this condition need to be more careful. There is medication available for treating this condition and patients can easily manage it with the help of a clinical expert. Stress: A Silent killer: The grinding pace of modern lifestyle distracts our minds and affects our health for the worse. Stress has been said to be a major reason why the younger generation is prone to heart diseases. When you are exposed to long periods of stress, your body gives warning signals that something is wrong. These physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral warning signs should not be ignored. They tell you that you need to slow down. If you continue to be stressed and you don't give your body a break, you are likely to develop health problems like heart disease. You could also worsen an existing illness. Symptoms of Heart Attacks Some of the warning sign of heart attacks include: - Extreme chest pain and pressure - Stabbing pain in the arm, neck, or jaw - Sudden shortness of breath - Sweating, and dizziness Prevent Heart Ailments Going forward, it is important to follow these healthy practices to prevent heart ailments at an early age: - Control your blood pressure - Keep your cholesterol and triglyceride levels under control - Maintain a healthy weight - Eat a healthy diet - Get regular exercise - Limit alcohol intake and don't smoke - Manage stress - Make sure you sleep well - Indulge in a moderate-intensity exercise like a brisk walk, swimming, etc. (Agency)