In the study conducted in about 14000 persons who had a heart attack, it was found that people who developed depression were 4 times more likely to develop heart failure and die than those without depression. Also antidepressants were not found to reverse these effects.

A recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association by Jörg Hausleiter and associates and an accompanying editorial discusses this issue. They found that the radiation dose varied widely between different systems and centres. Modalities to reduce radiation dosasge did not significantly reduce the image quality. Hence they recommend the use of effective strategies to reduce the radiation dose in order to bring down any potential future risks.

Dr. Deepak Srivastava of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease speaks about the genetics of heart disease.

The study was conducted on 809 members of the Old Order Amish community. It involved going to the clinic in Lancaster and drinking a rick milk shake made mosty of heavy cream. Their blood was sampled over the next six hours and the amount of triglcerides – a type of fat –  in their blood stream was assessed.

Most of them responded as expected. The blood level of triglycerides rose for 3-4 hours and then decreased. But nearly 5% of them responded differently. Their triglyceride level started out at a low level and showed hardly any increase.

The researchers have linked this interesting phenomenon, to a mutation in a gene – apoC-III. This is the gene which is responsible for production of the protein APOC3, which slows down the metabolism of triglycerides.

In the individuals with the mutated copy of the gene, the breakdown of triglycerides occured extremely quickly and hence resulted in hardly any increase in the blood level of triglycerides. Also, they had low levels of LDL – the bad cholesterol – high levels of which tends to be bad for the heart. Their HDL – the good cholesterol – was at a higher level too. This coincided with a lower level of arterial plaques – the factor responsible for heart attacks and strokes.

The gene responsible for this was identified after rigorous research led by Toni I. Pollin, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Alan R. Shuldiner, head of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore suggested that the Amish were ideal for the research as they were an isolated population living in this country for 14 generatoins and they shared many genes. The gene mutation was traced back to a member of the Amish community who lived in the 18th century.

The gene is also influenced by insulin, said Dr. Daniel J. Rader, a heart disease researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, and individuals with diabetes have higher levels of APOC3 protein, resulting in high levels of triglycerides and inturn an increased risk of heart disease.

This discovery opens up a new area of research. This could possibily help in decreasing the incidence of heart disease in the population and also for the treatment of heart disease. Clinical applications of this new discovery may take many years to be made available to the public.

ECG Pattern in Brugada Syndrome.

Long qt syndrome is a rare congenital heart disease. Learn more about long qt syndrome by watching this video.

Andrew D. Blaufox, MD Pediatric Electrophysiology speaks on long qt syndrome.