Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

myticker.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

271–280 of 501 posts

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#271

Post by Beijinger »

There is an old pharmaceutical product that was available in Germany, but can not be obtained anymore. Ouabain /Strophanthin

"Ouabain /wɑːˈbɑːɪn/[1] or /ˈwɑːbeɪn, ˈwæ-/ (from Somali waabaayo, "arrow poison" through French ouabaïo) also known as g-strophanthin, is a plant derived toxic substance that was traditionally used as an arrow poison in eastern Africa for both hunting and warfare."

It was later found naturally occuring in the human body:

Key Paper: Gottlieb SS, et al. "Elevated concentrations of endogenous ouabain in patients with congestive heart failure." Circulation. 1992;86(3):846-849. Details: Researchers measured plasma EO in 21 patients with severe heart failure (NYHA class III-IV), finding mean levels of 1.59 nM—over 3x higher than in controls. EO correlated inversely with cardiac index (r = -0.62) and positively with mean arterial pressure, but not with atrial pressures, suggesting a compensatory role in cardiac output regulation rather than simple volume overload.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#272

Post by tamimio »

Heart disease is the leading cause for death, but the root cause is definitely obesity. There’s a an obesity-pandemic that no one’s talking about it, there should be a national program that encourages people getting fit and discourages them from getting obese. And by encouraging/discouraging I don’t mean some random posters posted around, no, things like tax cut for fit people, free access to xyz if your bmi is less then abc, cheaper flights and insurance if you are fit, and so on.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#273

Post by tonymet »

64718283661 wrote: post #264
tonymet wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nicotine is likely one of the best appetite-control , cognative-enhancing and anti-anxiety medications ever known to man. A large driver of obesity , anxiety and psychotropic abuse was smoking cessation. Giving out nicotine gum , would decimate the drugs industry, but likely resolve a lot of our chronic health and depression issues.

I've actually considered taking nicotine for these reasons. But I don't because it appears you build tolerance very quickly.

i know a number of people with moderate ADHD who use it instead of Adderall.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#275

Post by maxnevermind »

giardini wrote: post #266

The discussion seems unduly focused on lipids, whereas I would think that blood pressure would be a, if not the , primary concern. Also for those who do take blood pressure medication: never quickly change the dosage , and especially never quit taking it w/o supervision! I've seen several untimely deaths b/c someone ran out of their BP medication and could not get to a pharmacist quickly enough. Alternatively the per…

I was also surprised by that. It is relatively cheap to measure as you can just buy BP monitor and do it yourself at home. Considering that high BP is very often asymptomatic, I, for example, even feel better with high BP, many people walking around accumulating damage for years. Not to mention it also goes with a baggage of other side-effects like increased chances of a stroke and kidney failure. For some reason it hits differently when you go eat something salty or drink coffee or get all stressed out for now reason and then see increased BP with your own eyes. That was what motivated me to stick to a better diet, cut caffeine and chill out.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#276

Post by jorvi »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #137
jorvi wrote: post #100

The "be an advocate" thing is both true but also incredibly selfish and egotistical. If everyone did that, the whole system would grind to a halt. Doctors aren't in a rush because they enjoy so, they are because they're already overworked. 1 out of every 25 patients (their family) demanding extra attention is possible although still a burden. 21 out of every 25 is not possible.

My assumption was that we have to be our own advocate because the system itself is non-ideal. My takeaway: if bloodwork were broader, covered more markers, there would be one less reason to have to advocate for your own health. I find it odd that you would instead "advocate" for not being an advocate for your own health? Are we waiting for a friend to say, "Hey, you're looking a little rough."

> Are we waiting for a friend to say, "Hey, you're looking a little rough."

If you are "looking rough", unless you are in imminent danger you should just go to the GP. Your GP is there to triage care. He'll recommend whether you need something prescribed from the pharmacy, a blood test or see a specialist.

If you get refered to a specialist, the hospital will try to ascertain if you need a really experienced specialist or if you have a relatively simple case that can be handled by one with, say, 11 years experience. If he decides the case is too complex, he can ask the more experienced specialist to preside.

If you short-circuit that and demand to be seen by the most experienced specialist, you are robbing a patient that might need that experienced hand of extremely valuable care, when you could have done with less. Like I said, egotistical.

> My takeaway: if bloodwork were broader, covered more markers, there would be one less reason to have to advocate for your own health.

Blood work needs lab workers who also have limited time. They could indeed do 10 tests but that means more labs and more lab workers which increases costs, which are already exploding. Better tests would be good.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#277

Post by jorvi »

gbacon wrote: post #192
jorvi wrote: post #100

The "be an advocate" thing is both true but also incredibly selfish and egotistical. If everyone did that, the whole system would grind to a halt. Doctors aren't in a rush because they enjoy so, they are because they're already overworked. 1 out of every 25 patients (their family) demanding extra attention is possible although still a burden. 21 out of every 25 is not possible.

Behaving like docile, compliant cattle benefits only the farmer.

Perhaps you could feed the cattle with your strawman instead.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#278

Post by Flere-Imsaho »

giardini wrote: post #241
Flere-Imsaho wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learnt a great trick about exercise: find a podcast or audio book that you really enjoy listening to. Here's the trick: you're only allowed to listen when you're exercising. Also with food and drink: place friction between the treat and yourself. The easiest example is to not have biscuits / alcohol in the house. Bonus tip: alcohol free beer is really good these days.

Fiere-lmsaho says >Bonus tip: alcohol free beer is really good these days. Could you recommendation some good alcohol-free beers, please?!

Sure:

[https://luckysaint.co]

[https://brewdog.com/collections/alcohol-free]

[https://www.majestic.co.uk/beer/peroni-0-0-4x330ml-bottles-7...]

Note that not all "zero %" beers are actually zero %... some have 0.5% alcohol.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#279

Post by xandrius »

Fire-Dragon-DoL wrote: post #252
ericmcer wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the global population like 50% obese? What is your actual risk of dying from it if you are relatively in shape and in your 40s?

We don't know how to treat obesity 100% though

Yep because the system around you wants you to consume to obesity.

Re: Ticker: Don't die of heart disease

#280

Post by IshKebab »

carbocation wrote: post #56

Key Takeaway: Get a CT or CTA scan, and if you can afford it go for the CTA with Cleerly. There is a reason that we don't recommend getting imaging for everyone, and that reason is uncertainty about the benefit vs the risks (cost, incidentalomas, radiation, etc, all generally minor). Most guidance recommends calcium scoring for people with intermediate risk who prefer to avoid taking statins. This is not a normative…

That seems like a super dumb reason to me. "We don't look because we might misinterpret the results"?? Fix the interpretation then!

It's crazy that we haven't optimised MRI scans so that they can be routine.

Post reply on HN