New Brunswick researchers find flaw in heart failure diagnostic among women – New Brunswick
Researchers at Dalhousie Medical New Brunswick in St. John have found that women’s view of heart failure is flawed. This is a potentially life-saving discovery.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) — dubbed the “silent killer” — is only discovered with medical attention, but accounts for nearly half of all heart failure cases today. researchers said. Obese and diabetic women are more likely to develop heart failure during or after menopause.
Doctors attribute it to inefficient pumping of the left ventricle. This happens over time and if not treated by a medical professional.
Dr. Thomas Pulinilkunnil and a team of researchers studied patients with cardiovascular disease to find out why women had worse outcomes. They found that prescriptions for this condition were offered for both men and women, but they did not work as intended for women.
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Researchers are using tissue from patients who came to St. John Regional Hospital for heart surgery. We used about 500 samples to find out the reason behind some of the failures.
“The hope is that drugs will become available to treat patients differently for men and women, such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and sleep apnea,” Pulinilkunnil told Global News in an interview. .
“So we have a lot of data to cover. We need to use that data to improve diagnostic criteria and help patients.”
Until just a few years ago, heart failure was not classified into different types. Developments such as improved diagnostics and imaging scans have paved the way for the detection of many types of heart failure, including HFpEF.
Pulinilkunnil said heart disease was “highly prevalent” in the sea, accounting for up to 200 deaths per 100,000 people. He pointed out that it is the most common cause of death among people suffering from diabetes and obesity.
He expects to find more complicated cases of heart failure in the future as the population becomes more obese. He said this is due to common stomach fat, or “fat droplets”, moving to the heart and other vital organs.
One example Dr. Pulinilkunnil gave Global News was of a diabetic patient containing cells with an increased amount of lipid droplets which is common among diabetic patients.
Intracellular lipid droplets are common among diabetics.
Zach Power / Global News
His team hopes to receive more funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation 2023 Innovation Fund.
To date, the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF) has also provided funding.
“He started with a $40,000 grant, but the NBHRF was able to help him by turning it into more than $4 million in research funding,” said Damon, NBHRF CEO. Goodwin said in a release.
“I am delighted to partner with his team and the many people who are working hard to bring positive change to our healthcare system and to people around the world.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
