EP Lab Digest - March 2008 - (Page 58)

58 NEWS MARCH 2008 Boston Scientific Launches Educational Initiative to Address Disparities in Cardiovascular Care ‘Close the Gap’ Brings Together Advocates from Cardiologists to Coaches he company said it is collaborating on the Close the Gap initiative with a number of organizations, including WomenHeart, Black Coaches and Administrators, the Athlete’s Heartbeat and the National Coalition of Pastors’ Spouses. Several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member schools are also supporting Close the Gap efforts. The campaign is being led by a steering committee of leading physicians from across the country and will have a strong focus on community education. “Heart disease causes more deaths in Americans of both sexes and all racial and ethnic groups than any other disease,” said Close the Gap steering committee member Charles Noble, MD, a Columbus, Ohio-based electrophysiologist and incoming Vice President of the Association of Black Cardiologists. “Many different medical conditions or lifestyle habits can affect one’s chance of developing heart disease. Close the Gap seeks to help Americans understand risk factors and know what actions can be taken to lower their risk of Continued from page 1 T developing heart disease.” Close the Gap will work to increase awareness of cardiovascular risk factors through community programs involving faith-based organizations, collegiate and professional athletic teams, and patient advocacy groups. A key focus of the campaign will be to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest as a leading cause of death among young athletes.Toward this end, Close the Gap has established a close relationship with the Black Coaches and Administrators organization, a national nonprofit whose members are mentors and leaders in their communities. Statistics reveal that in the United States, a young competitive athlete dies from sudden cardiac arrest every three or four days.The average age of those who die is 17.5 years; ninety percent of them are male, and more than half are black. “As coaches, we are on the front lines of the battle against sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes,” said Floyd Keith, Executive Director of Black Coaches and Administrators. “We have the power to help save lives, and we’re proud to join with Boston Scientific to spread the word about this largely unrecognized crisis and work to make a difference.” Close the Gap plans to conduct outreach events during 2008 at several NCAA basketball games, local public school districts and major women’s conferences. For more information on the Close the Gap campaign and updates on outreach venues as they become available, please visit: http://www.hearthealth-disparities.org/. Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: http://www.bostonscientific.com/. Statistics cited in this release are taken from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Heart Rhythm Society, the American College of Cardiology and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Aircraft Noise Raises Blood Pressure Even While People are Sleeping N ight-time noise from aircraft or traffic can increase a person’s blood pressure even if it does not wake them, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal of the European Society of Cardiology. Scientists from Imperial College London and other European institutions monitored 140 sleeping volunteers in their homes near London Heathrow and three other major European airports. The researchers measured the volunteers’ blood pressure remotely at 15-minute intervals and then analyzed how this related to the noise recorded in the volunteers’ bedrooms. People with high blood pressure have an increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia. High blood pressure is defined by the World Health Organization as being 140/90 mmHg or more. The researchers found that volunteers’ blood pressure increased noticeably after they experienced a ‘noise event’ — a noise louder than 35 decibels — such as aircraft travelling overhead, traffic passing outside, or a partner snoring.This effect could be seen even if the volunteer remained asleep and so was not consciously disturbed. Aircraft noise events caused an average increase in systolic blood pressure of 6.2 mmHg and an average increase in diastolic blood pressure of 7.4 mmHg. Similar increases in blood pressure were seen also for other noise sources such as road traffic. The researchers found that the increase in blood pressure was related to the loudness of the noise, so that a greater increase in blood pressure could be seen where the noise level was higher. For example, for every 5dB increase in aircraft noise at its loudest point, there was an increase of 0.66 mmHg in systolic blood pressure. The decibel level — and not the origin of the sound — was the key factor in determining the effect that each noise event had on the volunteers’ blood pressure, with similar effects regardless of the type of noise, where the ‘loudness’ of the noise was the same. The research follows recent findings by the same researchers, showing that people who have been living for at least five years near an international airport, under a flight path, have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure than a population living in quieter areas. That study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, showed that an increase in night-time airplane noise of 10dB increased the risk of high blood pressure by 14 percent in both men and women. Dr. Lars Jarup, one of the authors of the study from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London, said, “We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people’s health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international airports. Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension. It is clear to me that measures need to be taken to reduce noise levels from aircraft, in particular during night-time, in order to protect the health of people living near airports.” The researchers are continuing their analyses to find out whether combined exposure to noise and air pollution increases the risk of heart disease. http://www.heart-health-disparities.org/ http://www.heart-health-disparities.org/ http://www.bostonscientific.com/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - March 2008

EP Lab Digest - March 2008 ECG 101: The Case of a Dizzy Patient with a Left Bundle Branch Block Delayed Defibrillation: Research and Results Interview with Paul S. Chan, MD Contents Letter from the Editor Spotlight Interview: St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Parent Heart Watch from 36,000 Feet… Perspectives from the Annual Leadership Conference Clinical Trial Overview: 2008 Are MRI-Safe Pacemakers and Leads on the Horizon? Q & A with J. Rod Gimbel, MD Navigating Tortuous Coronary Sinus Anatomy Using a Bipolar Lead Email Discussion Group: March 2008 Guidelines on ECG Interpretation Spotlight Interview Update: What Have We Learned? The Value of Educating Staff Events Calendar Industry News and Products Classifieds Advertisers Index In Memoriam

EP Lab Digest - March 2008

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