News Tips for Tuesday, Nov. 10
From the American Heart Association's 71st Scientific Sessions Nov. 8-11, 1998, Dallas County Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
To complement our news releases, here are additional news tips reported by News Media Relations from more than 4,000 abstracts. Note: Stories are embargoed until papers are presented or poster sessions begin. For more information, Nov. 8-11, call Cathy Yarbrough, Carole Bullock, Brian Henry, Bruce Lewis, (broadcast), Darcy Spitz or Berna Creel in Room A215-217 of the Dallas County Convention Center: (214) 853-8056. Before or after those dates, call News Media Relations in Dallas: (214) 706-1379 or 706-1135.
1:30 p.m. -- #3062 (poster) -- Cigarette smoking's deadly effects confirmed in seven-country study. A 25-year follow-up of how smoking increases the risk of death from heart and lung disease and cancer is dramatically demonstrated in a new study. Collaborating researchers put together data on 12,763 men living in Europe, the United States and Japan. Only 22 percent never smoked. After numerous variables were taken into account, the risk of death from smoking was greater in all countries and all cultures: a 30 percent higher risk for those who smoke fewer than 10 cigarettes per day, and 80 percent higher for those smoking 10 or more cigarettes daily. David R. Jacobs Jr., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: phone (612) 624-4196; fax (612) 624-0315; e-mail: [email protected] See poster #4338 (1:30 p.m. Nov. 11) for a report suggesting that smoking significantly weakens the beneficial effects of HDL, the "good" cholesterol, on helping blood vessels stay healthy. R! yusuke Tsunoda, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan: phone 819-637-35175; fax 819-636-23256; e-mail: [email protected].
1:30 p.m. -- #3072 (poster) -- Margarine vs. butter: variation in responses a family affair. To find out if genes affect blood cholesterol levels in response to diet, researchers conducted a study involving 57 people from nine families. Participants in the "crossover" trial alternately ate meals prepared with margarine or butter. Margarine was associated with lower total cholesterol and LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, compared with butter, University of Texas researchers report. Although there was "marked variability" within each family, the responsiveness did not appear to correspond to a dominant genetic trait. Sharon D. Simpson, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas: phone (214) 648-2898; fax (214) 648-7150; e-mail: [email protected].
2:15 p.m. -- #2381 -- Higher levels of activated factor VII: a trigger for death? A new study indicts a blood element known as activated factor VII (FVIIa) is highly correlated with an increased risk of death among men. Oklahoma researchers probed blood samples from a large group of white men who had coronary angiography -- a heart ultrasound used to view blockages in the blood vessels. Various biological and genetic markers were tracked for possible connections to increased risk of death. During the two-year study of 399 men, there were 22 deaths. Those who died had higher blood levels of FVIIa, were older and had more blocked coronary blood vessels. Each unit increase in FVIIa resulted in a 54 percent increase in risk of death. FVIIa circulates at very low levels in the blood, the scientists say, and is not related to the extent or degree of atherosclerosis. High-risk patients with elevated FVIIa may require more anti-clotting therapy, the team suggests. June E. Eic! hner, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City: phone (405) 271-2229, x48064; fax (405) 271-2068; e-mail: [email protected].
3:00 p.m. -- #2709 -- Clarifying heart risk from various saturated fats in women. A major new trial involving 80,990 women in the Nurses' Health Study validates current dietary recommendations to lower overall saturated fat. Boston researchers conducted a trial to sort out differences in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk according to the different saturated fatty acids found in the nurses' diets over 14 years. While other studies have suggested that stearic acid, found mainly in beef, may not cause a higher level of risk, the new finding indicates that intake of all so-called "long-chain" fatty acids, which include stearic acid, is associated with increased CHD risk, scientists say. Short- and medium-chain fatty acids, which also were in dairy products, were not linked to higher risk. Frank B. Hu, Harvard University: phone (617) 432-0113; fax (617) 432-2435; e-mail: [email protected].
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