Here were some of the my highlights from ISC 2011:

• PFO/Heart/Brain/Research: MingMing  Ning, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, Harvard Medical School, vascular neurologist, Massachusetts general Hospital, Boston presented “How the Heart Whispers to the Brain: Serotonin as Neurovascular Mediator in Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)-Related Stroke” With further investigation Dr. Ning’s important research may help explain and quantify how and why unfiltered blood which bypasses the detoxifying lung filters through a PFO may trigger oxidative stress to the brain by way of the heart. I hope we can get Dr. Ning on a call for the PFO Research Foundation soon because her exciting research might be the first to finally quantify and possibly confirm why the heart of a PFO patient could be guilty of “dumping trash” out the “back door to the brain (PFO)”.  I know many patients (including myself) would love to hear more about Dr. Ning’s research to gain a better understanding of the “why” (after PFO closure) they immediately report increased energy and cessation of headaches/migraine.  Congratulations Dr. Ning for your award and great work on this important and potentially ground breaking PFO/stroke-related research!

• Stroke Rehabilitation Research: The results of the largest stroke rehabilitation study ever conducted in the United States were announced at the International Stroke Conference. In this study stroke patients who had physical therapy at home improved their ability to walk just as well as those who were treated in a training program using a body-weight supported treadmill device, followed by walking practice.  The study found that earlier was better when it came to rehabilitation therapy. The patients who were not assigned to a study group until six months after their stroke recovered only about half as much as the participants who received one of the two therapy programs at two months. This finding suggests that either the treadmill training program or the at-home sessions are effective forms of physical therapy, and both are superior to usual care.  This is great news for stroke survivors and physical therapists to think “outside the box” when and how we deliver our services. [personal sidebar] I’m on the right track with my home stroke recovery guide.  For more on this rehab study click here.

David Dansereau wearing Tibion Bionic leg

• Great new technology for stroke recovery: I had the chance to try out the Tibion Bionic Leg as well as other great cutting-edge rehab technologies.  This promising technology (shown in this photo courtesy of Charlie Ungashick) can provide a robotic rehabilitation tool to help retrain impaired gait.  The challenge remains how to get these great tools in the hands of therapists and patients at an affordable price.

• The Food and Nutrition Connection with Stroke Risk: A report that was widely circulated in the news this week that came out of this conference was the increased stroke risk noted with users of diet soft drinks.  The increased risk of stroke was significant (61 percent higher risk of “vascular events”) with only one diet soda daily.  See more press on this study by clicking here.

• Dilemmas in Childhood Stroke: A study showed the symptoms and signs of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke are similar in adults and children, but in children stroke is not considered early enough and patients do not receive brain imaging early enough. Rapid recognition, response and treatment of children with stroke will start with the development of pediatric brain attack protocols in the emergency department and pre-hospital setting. This presentation described how adults and medical professionals dismiss stroke warning signs in kids “because kids can’t have strokes” and points to the need for better awareness and community education as a first line defense in pediatric stroke.  [personal sidebar] ASA-Fund my grant and I’ll make it happen.  For the complete slide show of this presentation click here.

• Ok, what does Justin Bieber have to do with Stroke Awarness? Nothing as it turns out but my 10 year old daughter certainly thought this should be included as a highlight of my trip to LA.  When I arrived in LA I walked out the back door of my hotel and unexpectedly stepped right out on the LA premier of “the Bieb’s” new movie “Never Say Never” and along with it about a couple thousand screaming young girls.  BTW, I haven’t heard the end of it because I didn’t get a photo (or autograph) for my daughter, I just wanted to find a place to eat.

David Dansereau (Know-Stroke.org)

David Dansereau

Know-Stroke.org

I’ve tested this easy web assessment tool  recently and am sharing my report below because I believe it is one of several great web tools to help you assess your cardiovascular and brain health that you probably didn’t know existed.   I’ve been researching many of these new tools to possibly integrate in with my grant proposal for the American Stroke Association (ASA) kids stroke education project, entitled Bright Minds.  I thought you’d like a quick overview of this free health assessment tool here.  I’d suggest you should try to perhaps incorporate your assessment results in with your health resolutions for the New Year to identify health behaviors you can improve upon.

I’ll bring you several tools, including a great one to improve kids awareness about healthy food choices in my next post, but here’s one I think the adults will find helpful.  It is called My Life Check (AKA- Life’s Simple Seven) and this “virtual” check-up will take only a few minutes of your time.

The American Heart Association’s My Life Check empowers Americans to take a big step toward a better life.   In just a few minutes, you can get your personal heart score and a custom plan with the seven simple steps you need to start living your best life.   You can click on the link above or visit http://www.heart.org/mylifecheck to start your new life resolution.

Life’s Simple 7 Summary:

To find out where you stand with the simple seven, just take the My Life Check assessment. In a few minutes, you will know how you’re doing with each one of life’s simple seven; you will also get your own personal heart score and life plan. Your results will include seven recommended areas of focus and an action plan that is customized to your lifestyle and health outlook.  Your last step is a promise: a resolution to make healthy positive changes step-by-step, for a long, healthy future.

Here’s a sample report from the Life’s Simple 7 Assessment:

a screenshot of my heart score summary

Go Get Your Own Cardiovascular Health and Stroke Risk Assessment Now!

Review by David Dansereau for Know-Stroke.org

Passing Along: Just posted on My-Physical-Therapy-Coach.com

Childhood-Obesity Study: Young Obese Kids Have Old Hearts

In this study that looked at childhood-obesity and the changes in the heart, it was the aorta specifically that showed early changes, consistent with the hearts of much older adults.

Permalink — click for full blog post “Childhood-Obesity Study: Young Obese Kids Have Old Hearts”

Are “heavy” kids at early risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke ?

Childhood-Obesity Study Says: “YES” !!

Post by David Dansereau

know-stroke.org

- DP Dansereau, MS,PT  for know-stroke.org

According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center  at least a quarter of patients who have suffered a stroke stop taking one or more of their prescribed stroke prevention medications within the first three months after being hospitalized.   The study identified several modifiable factors that are associated with stroke survivors’ compliance in taking medication that can help prevent recurrent stroke. The paper appears online in the Archives of Neurology.

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist and Duke Clinical Research Institute looked at compliance issues, as well as system and provider issues, such as what type of physician the patients saw, what kind of follow-up care they had and the patients’ understanding of their medications.

The researchers studied 2,598 patients from the Adherence Evaluation after Ischemic Stroke-Longitudinal Registry to evaluate how many stroke patients continued taking their prescribed medications to prevent a second stroke three months after their discharge from the hospital. They found about 75% of those studied had continued with their full regimen of medications three months after discharge, while almost 20% of patients had stopped taking one or more of their prescribed medications and 3.5% of patients weren’t taking any of their medications at three months.

Researchers learned from the study that multiple factors were associated with persistence in continuing secondary medication regimens, including, among other things, the presence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors prior to stroke, having insurance, having a better quality of life, and having an understanding of these medications and how to refill them.

post by David Dansereau,MS PT for know-stroke.org

Heart disease and stroke are the number one and three causes of death in the United States.  Inflammation has been shown to be a primary factor in the development of atherosclerosis, the major cause of cardiovascular disease.  But did you ever think you could be “digging your grave with your teeth”.

If you keep up with the articles and posts from my nutrition site, my-nutrition-coach.com you might naturally think I’m referring to the heart disease and stroke risks associated with all the poor food choices we make.

While studies show dietary choices do contribute to the disease process and can lead to an early grave, the focus of this post is on the link between heart disease and gum disease.

A private comment on my stroke blog recently asking me about what meds one would need to take after PFO closure initiated this post.  I generally leave specific medical advice to the docs, and most of the controversy and need for better patient guidelines post PFO closure surround the topic of continued blood thinning. One very important medication, and the one most often minimized after PFO closure, is the need to take some form of prophylaxis by antibiotics before dental procedures.  Why?

Some surgical and dental procedures can cause a brief bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream).  No big deal, right?  Well, if you have abnormal heart valves, prosthetic cardiac valves, congenital heart disease or have had cardiac procedures like stenting or occluders (PFO closure devices) placed then these bacteria can become lodged on these abnormal surfaces.  The life threatening medical condition that results is called bacterial endocarditis and it is a heart risk that occurs when this normal bacteria from your mouth (source can also come from the respiratory tract, intestines or urinary tract) enters the bloodstream and causes inflammation in heart tissue.

Bottom line:

The people with the highest risk for bacterial endocarditis include those who have:

• Prosthetic cardiac valve
• Previous endocarditis
• Congenital heart disease
• Cardiac transplantation with cardiac valve abnormalities

For all others:

The obvious-Avoid periodontitis by brushing and flossing regularly and get those regular checkups and cleaning from your dentist-to help your cardiovascular system and keep you from “digging a grave with your teeth”.

[Sidebar and Quick Tip for those new members of the “heart plug club”]

Keep an extra dose of antibiotics on hand in case of dental emergencies and remember to take your dose as prescribed before you arrive at your dentist for your regular check-ups.

Article by David Dansereau for know-stroke.org

Sources:

Ide M et al,J of periodontology,2004

Yong-Hee P et al, J of Periodontal Research,2007

In my last post I had asked if you could spare  a moment to give me your 2 cents on how you are keeping your blood thin after your stroke, PFO closure or in general for brain and heart health / stroke prevention.  While I should have this article  ready for you early next week I could still use your help if you haven’t taken my quick poll (one click-maybe two- that’s all!)

Go to my nutrition poll and previous post at know-stroke.org

Here’s the link to Dr. Oz’s brain boosting smoothie recipe with Omega 3′s:

Dr. Oz’s Brain-Boosting Smoothie | The Dr. Oz Show.

ps- in case you are not in to using hemp oil as your source of Omega-3′s as  Dr. Oz’s recipe suggests, then simply break open a few capsules (depending on your product dose) of omega-3 fish oil and blend…

Here’s the omega oil I use- Mercury Free Ester C Omega

Final word:  While you are visiting Dr. Oz’s site be sure to make a show request there for the importance of knowing your stroke risks and the connection between the heart and brain.  Dr. Oz has discussed headaches, stroke, migraines on  his shows or with Oprah in the past.  The problem is the topics need to be discussed along with the mention of PFO.  So, drop the Dr. O, or the other Big O a line.  Here’s a few talking points to make- see my Oprah Challenge post

David Dansereau

know-stroke.org

Making progress for stroke /migraine / PFO awareness but many gray areas remain

I’m working on an article for my nutrition site my-nutrition-coach.com . The topic for this article is Omega-3 oils and  I am researching the latest nutritional science and what (if any) advice medical professionals are giving to suggest alternate methods to keep your blood thin.   I am especially interested in the nutritional advice given for those at risk of a repeat stroke or who might be  on a prescription med, for example post-op after PFO closure).

How you can help me with your 2 cents:

If you are on a prescription medicine protocol of any kind after your event, what dietary advice was offered to you (in addition to traditional blood thinning meds)?

Please take this 2 second nutrition/medication poll:

I’d appreciate your feedback.  I’ve had many readers ask me what are my thoughts on Omega-3′s, so I’ve provided this link to a recent article on the Omega3  I use.

As you may know it is buyer beware with all supplements so here’s what you should know to review your own brand.

I’ll keep you posted when the results from this poll roll in.  Thanks for helping me tackle these PFO/Stroke/Migraine “Gray Areas” one  topic at a time.

David P. Dansereau

Know-Stroke.org

Why not? It’s free and full of diet reviews,tips to boost your nutrition IQ, and a quack list of products to avoid! In addition it provides quick therapeutic exercises suggestions related to your condition. You’ll also be granted a free access pass to my webinars on timely stroke rehabilitation and technology topics of interest. As a bonus, get free access to back issues with links to hundreds of my training and rehab articles. Don’t miss out-it will not be free forever… Get it now!