CARDIAC CARE
With each passing year,
the risks posed by cardiovascular diseases (CVD) seem to grow in magnitude. On
World Heart Day (29th September), researchers need to gain more knowledge by attending several
webinar series to throw light on different topics pertaining to the heart and related
ailments. The prediction and prevention of CVD is a must, since a lot of people
suffering more when compared to the last 5 or 10 years.
Many countries were not
ready with the requisite health infrastructure when Covid suddenly hit them.
Similarly, the sheer number of people who are likely to end up with heart
diseases is disquieting. But the good news is that 70 percent of CVDs can be
tackled through lifestyle choice; almost 28 percent of risk can be reduced by
simply not smoking and around 17 percent with exercises.
Many patients who come
with CVD are as young as 26. They have just finished college and are in the
early years of their career. The most common factors leading them to CVD are
stress, smoking, and many other lifestyle factors. Among non-communicable
diseases, CVD is the leading cause of death. It is important to take care of
what you eat. Avoid eating too many carbs, exercise for 20-30 minutes five days
a week, and get good sleep. For detecting erratic heart rhythms, the concept of
electrophysiology is used. It is a widely known fact that genetically, Indians
are prone to heart ailments. Some other factors need to be changed in our
day-to-day life, such as calorie intake. We love excess oil, salt, and sugar but
these are very detrimental for our heart. The idea is not how long you live but
how well you live. Sit down and eat. Do not use gadgets and television while
eating and watch your portion size. Diabetics do not often experience symptoms
pointing to hypertension or heart ailments and for that, we need to go for
regular check-ups.
Today AI can predict
heart ailments and monitor the risk factors. When people come with symptoms of
giddiness and palpitations, a small patch is stuck to their body and they are
sent home. They go about their routine activities even as the machine
continuously records their heart rhythm.
In the current scenario on daily
life in this pandemic time, we now know that if you people wear a mask, you may
not get infected. Similarly, you should not neglect symptoms. Heart diseases
have seemingly reduced during Covid. It could be because of ample rest, proper
eating, and exercise.
Healthcare has seen
sweeping changes over the past decade thanks to the innovation and research
happening in that space. In the next three years, telemonitoring is going to
create an explosive revolution.
Robotics and minimally invasive technologies have changed the way surgeries are conducted today. We have got into the big league with robotics. The advantages have magnified by 10 times and the system is foolproof. Everyone in the operating room can see what is happening and there is hardly any blood loss or pain. Trauma is thus avoided. Splitting the chest open was always a concern and there are patients who will still need open-heart surgeries. But with these advancements, we have been able to reduce the hospital stay after the surgery for the elderly and for younger patients who have to get back to work.
COVID-19 IMMUNE SYSTEM
Immunity against COVID-19
may persist for at least five months after being infected with the SARS-CoV-2
virus, according to a study led by an Indian-origin researcher in the US.
The researchers from the University of Arizona studied the production of antibodies from a sample of
nearly 6,000 people infected with the novel coronavirus.
"We clearly see
high-quality antibodies still being produced five to seven months after
SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor at
the University of Arizona.
"Many concerns have
been expressed about immunity against COVID-19 not lasting. We used this study
to investigate that question and found immunity is stable for at least five
months," who led the study, published today in the journal Immunity,
alongside Professor Janko Nikolich-Zugich from UArizona.
Those antibodies appear
in blood tests within 14 days of infection, they said.
The second stage of the immune response is the creation of long-lived plasma cells, which produce
high-quality antibodies that provide lasting immunity, according to the
researchers.
Deepta Bhattacharya and
Janko Nikolich-Zugich tracked antibody levels over several months in people who
tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
They found SARS-CoV-2
antibodies are present in blood tests at viable levels for at least five to
seven months, although they believe immunity lasts much longer.
"Whether antibodies
provide lasting protection against SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the most
difficult questions to answer," said UArizona Health Sciences Senior Vice
President Michael D Dake.
"This research not
only has given us the ability to accurately test for antibodies against
COVID-19, but also has armed us with the knowledge that lasting immunity is a reality," Mr. Dake said.
Earlier studies
extrapolated antibody production from initial infections and suggested antibody
levels drop quickly after infection, providing only short-term immunity.
Mr. Bhattacharya believes
those conclusions focused on short-lived plasma cells and failed to take into
account long-lived plasma cells and the high-affinity antibodies they produce.
"The latest
time-points we tracked in infected individuals were past seven months, so that
is the longest period of time we can confirm immunity lasts," Mr
Bhattacharya said.
He said people who were
infected with the first SARS coronavirus, which is the most similar virus to
SARS-CoV-2, are still seeing immunity 17 years after infection.
"If SARS-CoV-2 is
anything like the first one, we expect antibodies to last at least two years,
and it would be unlikely for anything much shorter," the scientist added.
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