High altitude activities and patients with cardiovascular risk

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Houston, TX – A new review aiming to help physicians advise patients who are considering high-altitude activities such as trekking and skiing has been published in the January 2010 issue of the American Heart Journal [1].

Dr John P Higgins

Lead author Dr John P Higgins (University of Texas Medical School, Houston), a sports cardiologist, told heartwire: “We have issued two sets of recommendations. The first is for doctors seeing anyone who is relatively healthy and mentions that they are thinking of doing a trek to Kilimanjaro, for example. The second set is specifically for cardiac patients.”

Higgins says much of the advice is “common sense” and many cardiac patients anticipating such activities are pretty sensible and know what they are capable of. “If the disease is not too bad, in most cases the travel is possible with some very minor adjustment in medications and education about what to look out for,” he notes.

But there are those “who are having a mid-life crisis, have just turned 60 and might have had a heart attack in their 50s, and say, ‘Before I die, I want to do this expedition,’ ” he observes. Some of these latter patients “have no idea, and they can really run into trouble.”

Click on this link to read the whole article at www.theheart.org.

More Mediterranean

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Categoirzed Under: Diet, Healthy Habits
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I can’t cook for a darn, but the doctors at Zepick Cardiology recommend following the Mediterranean diet as an alternative to what you might be eating right now.

“The traditional Mediterranean diet is also proven to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks), cancer, and dementia. So I’m a huge advocate of the diet.”

Excerpted from www.eatingwell.com. Click on the link to see recipes.

Fresh and delicious recipes, plus tips on healthy Mediterranean foods

Rich in culture and food history, the nations on the shores of the brilliant azure Mediterranean Sea—Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Israel—have all contributed something special to the colorful, vibrant tapestry that is Mediterranean cuisine. Key components of Mediterranean cuisine include heart-healthy olive oil, protein-rich legumes, fish and whole grains with moderate amounts of wine and red meat. The flavors are rich, and the health benefits for people choosing a Mediterranean diet are hard to ignore—they are less likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol or become obese. This collection features delicious and nourishing recipes that evoke the essence of the Mediterranean region while helping you work your way toward optimal health.