Latest news with #heart health
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- Health
- Digital Trends
The Galaxy Watch 8 is the first to have this lifesaving feature
Have you ever noticed your heart racing or felt like your heart skipped a beat? There are many plausible reasons this can happen, but one of the most common is the occurrence of ectopic beats. An ectopic heartbeat is when your heart beats too soon, and it's extremely common. Like many intermittent health symptoms, it may not appear when you're at the doctor's office, which makes diagnosing it much harder. Recommended Videos Thankfully, there's a new way, and it's a world first. Last week at Galaxy Unpacked in New York City, I was invited to a panel with a handful of other reporters to learn more about the new Galaxy Watch 8 series, which was announced alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. During this panel, Samsung also announced that the Galaxy Watch 8 is the first smartwatch to detect an ectopic heartbeat. Here's how it works and why it's so important. What is an ectopic heartbeat? You've probably noticed an ectopic heartbeat, even if you didn't know it was called that. It's an extra or premature heartbeat that can cause a fluttering or pounding sensation in the chest, dizziness or lightheadedness, or a brief shortness of breath. It sounds fairly serious, but almost everyone will experience an ectopic heartbeat during their lifetime. It's a natural part of the heart's rhythm, and you will likely have seen it displayed on an ECG graph if you've run one. Lifestyle factors such as stress, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, some medications, lack of sleep, or hormonal changes can all impact ectopic beats. Still, given its prevalence, it's not a concern for most people. However, if you have underlying conditions, it can be a cause for concern or something to watch for. An exciting development for wearables If you experience ectopic beats frequently, that's when it can become more serious. The chances of having an ectopic heartbeat while being measured for it in a doctor's office are slim to none. However, the ability to test for it automatically from your wrist? That's far more useful for both doctors and patients alike. The Galaxy Watch 8 measures for an ectopic heartbeat as part of its ECG feature. A 30-second single-lead ECG can be run directly from the Galaxy Watch 8 or the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, and it adds an ectopic heartbeat as one of the determinations under the Inconclusive category. The addition of the ectopic heartbeat as a listed response sets the Galaxy Watch 8 apart from the competition, like the Apple Watch Series 10 and Pixel Watch 3. Both of these rival wearables capture ECGs — and you can detect an ectopic heartbeat in the ECG results — but neither directly lists the ectopic heartbeat as a result. I've never been diagnosed with an ectopic heartbeat. Still, I've had a heart attack before, which puts me at risk, as cardiac disease is listed as a high-risk medical condition. I would never have thought to look for an ectopic heartbeat before, so it's particularly useful that I know the Galaxy Watch 8 can detect it, and specifically call it out. It also affects my colleague Gareth Beavis, who has experienced an increase in unusual heartbeats, especially when tired or recovering from strenuous exercise. He said that while he doesn't receive many of the heartbeat notifications from rival devices, this feature on the Galaxy Watch 8 would be useful in helping determine whether it's worth worrying about. The Galaxy Watch 8 has plenty of new features It's not the only new Galaxy Watch 8 feature, representing a significant update to Samsung's wearable lineup. This feature wasn't even mentioned during the main keynote, as the other key new features will also improve your life and could make it one of the best smartwatches. First, there's the new antioxidant feature, which uses a combination of the new yellow, blue, violet, and IER LEDs to detect carotenoids in your skin. It's a key biomarker of your antioxidant level, which are molecules that help protect the body from damage caused by unstable molecules that can lead to disease in excessive concentrations. There are many different types of carotenoids, but the Galaxy Watch 8 is designed to test a small range of these. Yet, as the first smartwatch to do so, it has me excited for a potential future where we can test far more from the skin. Then there's the new vascular load monitoring during your sleep. My heart attack occurred while I was asleep, and many vascular symptoms present themselves while the body is at rest. Companies have recently added more heart monitoring features specifically for while asleep, and Samsung's new feature is designed to estimate the stress on your vascular system while you're sleeping. It's a feature that I hope I never need, but I will be grateful if I do.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Big City Lights Could Be Damaging Your Heart Health
It might be time to invest in some blackout curtains, turn off the TV before bed, and dim those lamps. New research suggests that exposure to light at night could elevate your risk of multiple heart issues. The association makes biological sense. Our bodies use light signals to tell when it's time to sleep, and any disruption to that routine can interfere with our circadian rhythms, which regulate countless internal processes. "Light at night causes circadian disruption, which is a known risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes," writes the international team of scientists in a new study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed or published. "However, it is not well understood whether personal light exposure patterns predict an individual's risk of cardiovascular diseases." Related: To investigate, the researchers analyzed data from 88,905 adults who wore wrist sensors to track light exposure over the course of a week, with follow-up health checks for the next 9.5 years. The volunteers were grouped based on how much light they were exposed to overnight. Compared to the bottom half of the participants, the 10 percent exposed to the most light at night had a significantly higher risk of heart issues, including coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. The researchers accounted for factors that impact heart health, including smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, sleep duration, physical activity, socioeconomic status, and genetic risk, to try and better isolate the effect of light exposure at night. The data from this type of study doesn't prove direct cause and effect – only that there's a strong association. It's enough to suggest light at night as a risk factor for heart health problems and that minimizing it could be a simple and effective way of reducing risk. "Relationships of night light with risk of heart failure and coronary artery disease were stronger for women, and relationships of night light with risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation were stronger for younger individuals in this cohort," write the researchers. The researchers point to the many functions of our bodies that rely on regular, well-defined circadian rhythms – everything from blood pressure to glucose tolerance. Disrupting those rhythms, with night shifts for example, can impact our health. One of the mechanisms at play could be hypercoagulability – an increased tendency for blood to clot, which has previously been linked to disruptions in circadian rhythms. However, there are likely to be numerous reasons for these associations. The researchers hope to see future studies collecting nighttime light data over a longer period of time, and with extra information about the sources of light, which should help improve our understanding of this relationship. Most of us will now have at least one glowing screen inside our bedrooms, and this gives us another reason to turn those screens off: a survey suggests more than half of the US population actually falls asleep with the TV on. "Avoiding light at night may be a useful strategy for reducing risks of cardiovascular diseases," write the researchers. The research has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, but a preprint is available on MedRxiv. Ice Bath Trend Raises Health Concerns. Here Are 6 Tips For Staying Safe. Scientists Identify a Trait in Speech That Foreshadows Cognitive Decline Massive 16-Year Study Links Wellbeing to Stronger Memory in Aging
Medscape
6 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Myth Busting: No, Red Wine Isn't Good for Your Heart
This transcript has been edited for clarity. If you're a cardiologist like me, people probably love to tell you that red wine is good for your heart. It's not. First off, alcohol is loaded with sugar. Drink enough of it, and you will get fat. That's why they call it beer belly, not celery belly. Also, the antioxidants in red wine are not as helpful as people think. You have to drink maybe a hundred liters of red wine per day to get enough resveratrol for it to have any effect, which would almost certainly kill you. But even setting all that aside, and it's a lot to set aside, the problem with red wine is reverse causation. Basically, it's not the people who drink zero alcohol who get sick; it's that people who are sick tend to give up alcohol. The U-shaped curve you see with alcohol is a statistical illusion. If you do the research using Mendelian randomization studies, which can get rid of a lot of the statistical confounding, you see that the risk to alcohol is very linear. The more you drink, the worse you are. Now, I'm not saying you can't drink alcohol, but you can't think it's good for your heart. That's a myth. For Medscape, I'm Christopher Labos.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Why you shouldn't be afraid of the sun this summer: The health benefits of sunshine
Many people worry that spending too much time in the hot summer sun could have serious consequences. And it's true that people are at a heightened risk of skin damage, sun poisoning, melanoma, and other maladies during the season. However, feeling the sun's warm rays also comes with potentially unexpected benefits. 'The 'never go outside without S.P.F. 50' approach treated sun exposure as if it were universally harmful,' Dr. Lucy McBride, an internal medicine physician in Washington, D.C., told The New York Times. However, 'moderate, thoughtful sun exposure,' in accordance with personal risk factors, she added, 'may offer benefits we're still discovering.' Here's what to know before your next trip to the park or the beach. The benefits Exposure to sunshine has been linked to lower blood pressure, regardless of the temperature. And while that study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association was observational, one doctor said its findings could prove beneficial. Another study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found moderate exposure to sunlight may be a prevention strategy for heart failure. It's not just heart health that sees a benefit. A group of German scientists at Münster University found that the sun's ultraviolet B rays -- the ones responsible for melanoma -- support the build-up of a healthy immune system and protect the central nervous system. Professor Karin Loser said that a similar effect, in the case of other diseases, is already known. Research has shown that ultraviolet light exposure can improve symptoms in people with eczema, and experts prescribe light therapy to treat psoriasis. "From our treatment of psoriasis," she said, "we know that ultraviolet light has a positive effect on the immune system." The drawbacks Still, there are some serious risks to spending too much time outside. For one, any tan you may get is a sign of skin damage. Sunburn can lead to sun poisoning, which may result in blisters that cause skin infection. In addition, skin cancer remains the most common form of cancer in the U.S. Nearly 20 Americans die from melanoma every day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. 'Everyone's skin can be impacted by the sun and other forms of UV rays – regardless of their skin color,' Dr. Shanthi Sivendran, senior vice president at the American Cancer Society, said.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Should you swap fish oil with krill oil? Experts weigh in on the popular alternative
Americans are getting hooked on an alternative to fish oil that's packed with omega-3s and is easier for the body to absorb. Krill oil, which comes from tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans abundant in the Antarctic Ocean, boasts omega-3 fatty acids that may help improve heart health, fight inflammation and support brain and nervous system health, according to medical experts. The global krill market is expected to grow substantially over the next 10 years as an alternative to fish oil, according to data from Allied Market Research, as people seek the benefits that are abundant in fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel and anchovies. "Whole food comes first, but krill oil makes a powerful second line of defense," Joseph Mercola, a board-certified family physician in Florida and author of the book, "Your Guide to Cellular Health," told Fox News Digital. "The major benefit of krill oil over fish oil is that, in krill oil, the omega-3 fats – EPA and DHA – come bound to phospholipids, which makes them easier for your body to absorb and use," Mercola said. DHA in fish oil struggles to reach the retina, for example, while krill-based DHA crosses into the eyes and helps preserve vision, he said. Krill oil's ability to cross cellular barriers more effectively also allows it to better fight inflammation, improve memory and even counter age-related decline, Mercola added. Synthetic fish oils are especially hard for the body to process and offer fewer benefits, he said. Krill oil may also lower cholesterol and triglycerides, which can increase the risk of heart disease, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease. Krill also has astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant with additional anti-inflammatory benefits, said Dr. David Rizik, an interventional cardiologist at HonorHealth in Arizona. The small crustaceans have fewer toxins like mercury, often found in large fish, according to experts. Krill are also a more sustainable option, Fox News Digital previously reported, because they are so plentiful in the Antarctic. There are some downsides to consider, however. "Krill oil tends to be lower in EPA and DHA when compared to high-quality fish oils, and is often more expensive," Rizik, also chief medical officer at High Level Science, told Fox News Digital. "Fish oil, particularly when in superior triglyceride form and combined with clinically-backed nutrients, delivers consistent omega-3 levels at a better value," he said, adding that the key is how it's sourced and formulated. But because krill oil is absorbed better, less of it is needed to see results. The research is still new on krill oil, Rizik noted. For more Health articles, visit "Most of the long-term and large-scale clinical data on omega-3s, especially for heart, brain and metabolic health, is on EPA and DHA from fish oil," he added. For most adults, about 500 to 1,000 mg of krill oil daily delivers effective amounts of EPA and DHA, Mercola said. Those with a shellfish allergy should check with a doctor before taking it, he advised. Fish oil and krill oil are known to have blood-thinning effects, and krill oil's use among pregnant and breast-feeding women has not been heavily researched, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The organization recommends consulting with doctors before adding any supplements to your diet.
