Sports « Weekly Gravy

The swimmer came to shore struggling to breathe and coughing up blood. A keen competitive long-distance swimmer and triathlete, the woman was fit and healthy when she started a nighttime open water swim event. But a couple weeks earlier, she’d had breathing difficulties during another open water swim that had forced her to abandon the event. She’d felt breathless for days after. The woman, in her 50s, had fallen prey to what’s becoming better known as a hazard associated with open water swimming – fluid on the lungs, or pulmonary edema. Open water swimming has become very popular, but mounting evidence points to a link between the activity and a condition called swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), according to Dr. James Oldman, lead author of a study published Jan. 9 in BMJ Case Reports. Oldman is a cardiologist with Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust in the U.K. First reported in 1989, SIPE leaves swimmers struggling to draw breath as fluid collects in the air sacs of the lungs. It affects an estimated 1% to 2% of open water swimmers, but cases are likely to be underreported, Oldman and his colleagues wrote. Older age, long distances, cold water, female gender, high blood pressure and heart disease are among the risk factors for SIPE, the researchers said. However, it often occurs even in those who are… read on > read on >

An antidote to teenage depression might be found in school gymnasiums and on sports fields, a major new review argues. Supervised exercise programs are associated with significant reductions in symptoms of depression among children and teenagers, according to the analysis of data from 21 studies involving more than 2,400 kids. “This is the first time that we’ve been able to put enough studies together so that we can make a pretty good conclusion to answer the question, ‘Is physical activity and exercise good for children with depressive symptoms?’” said co-study author Walter Thompson, a retired professor of exercise physiology with Georgia State University in Atlanta. “The answer is overwhelmingly yes.” Further, the data indicate a specific dose of exercise that will produce the biggest benefit in children: Around an hour of physical activity three days a week provided the best relief for symptoms of depression. “And you know, that’s pretty close to what the federal government has recommended as regular exercise for both children and adults, somewhere between 75 and 150 minutes a week,” Thompson said. The study also found that exercise programs shorter than 12 weeks produced greater benefits — possibly because such a tightly defined program allows participants a positive sense of achievement and accomplishment, according to an editorial co-authored by Eduardo Bustamante, an assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Jan. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) – While NFL safety Damar Hamlin is still critically ill after suffering cardiac arrest during a game on Monday, he is making a “fairly remarkable recovery,” his doctors said during a news conference on Thursday. “There has been substantial improvement in his condition over the past 24 hours,” Dr. Timothy Pritts, a professor in the department of surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, told reporters. “We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event that happened on the field. But he is making substantial progress. As of this morning, he is beginning to awaken, and it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact.” Hamlin is “awake and breathing,” though still on a ventilator, Pritts added. He can communicate by writing with a pen and paper. “When he asked did we win, the answer is, ‘Yes, you know, Damar, you won, you’ve won the game of life,” said Pritts, referring to Hamlin’s question about who won the game after his collapse. His medical team could not say what caused the cardiac arrest in the 24-year-old, but Dr. William Knight IV said, “tests will continue to be ongoing as he continues to progress.” “It’s been a long and difficult road for the last three days,” said Knight, a professor in the university’s… read on > read on >

Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player who collapsed Monday after suffering cardiac arrest during a game, is showing “signs of improvement,” his team said Wednesday. Still, the 24-year-old “is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him,” the Buffalo Bills tweeted. Meanwhile, Hamlin’s uncle, Dorian Glenn, said Tuesday night that his nephew’s heart stopped both on the field and again at the hospital, where “they had to hit him with the defibrillator.” The player has lung damage and can’t breathe on his own, Glenn said. He is receiving 50% oxygen, down from 100%, CBS News reported. CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus suggested that Hamlin may have experienced “commotio cordis,” a heart arrhythmia that happens with a direct blow to the chest, though that has not been confirmed. It’s the type of injury that causes a “confusion of the heart,” and is experienced by about 30 people in the United States each year, including Little League players who get hit in the chest with a ball, CBS News reported. Getting hit can interfere with the heart’s electrical signals, causing an erratic heartbeat that doesn’t send blood to the brain. “That’s why there are defibrillators on the sidelines of games, is to be able to use them to shock the best heart back into a regular… read on > read on >

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin threw himself into the path of a Cincinnati Bengals ball carrier, taking a hard hit to the chest that sent both NFL players to the ground. Hamlin, 24, stood to dust himself off, took two steps — and then fell flat on his back, limp and unresponsive. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following the tough tackle in Monday night’s game, officials now say. He received CPR on the field, and was in critical condition this morning at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside a hospital in the United States every year, the AHA said in a news release. About 9 of 10 people who suffer a cardiac arrest die, the AHA says. Survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from a bystander. Cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack, which occurs when a blocked artery prevents blood flow to the heart muscle. Instead, a cardiac arrest is caused by a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system. The heart starts to beat irregularly at first, and then just stops. First aid involves CPR to keep the person alive until a defibrillator shocks the heart into restoring a normal heart rhythm, usually within a… read on > read on >

New Year’s resolutions can be a fickle thing. They are a time-honored way to promise improvements to yourself and your behavior, a “fresh start” to the new year. But if chosen poorly, a resolution also can be a source of anxiety, disappointment and hopelessness. “They tap into the abiding American spirit of relentless self-improvement, and that can be so relentless that it translates into additional stress,” said John Norcross, chair of psychology with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and author of “Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions.” About one in four Americans cite their resolutions as a source of anxiety heading into the new year, according to a new poll by the American Psychiatric Association. Choosing an appropriate resolution — and realistic ways to follow through on it — can help relieve some of that stress, experts say. Resolutions tend to focus on a few specific areas — health, money and relationships, Norcross said. “The number one difficulty we encounter is that people make truly unrealistic, grandiose expectations,” Norcross said. Still, it makes sense that people would set lofty goals for themselves as the year turns, said Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the American Psychiatric Association. “There’s this temptation when the year switches from 2022 to 2023, then it’s a fresh start and everything in the past is all history,” Brendel… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Dec. 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Move your body every day to guard against type 2 diabetes. That’s the upshot of a new study that analyzed Fitbit data and type 2 diabetes rates from participants in a nationwide research program, reporting that women who logged more steps each day had a lower risk of diabetes. “We investigated the relationship between physical activity and type 2 diabetes with an innovative approach using data from wearable devices linked to electronic health records in a real-world population,” said lead author Dr. Andrew Perry, of the Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center in Nashville, Tenn. “We found that people who spent more time in any type of physical activity had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Our data shows the importance of moving your body every day to lower your risk of diabetes.” The data came from more than 5,600 people, 75% of them women, who were part of the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us research program between 2010 and 2021. All of Us aims to advance individualized health care by enrolling and collecting data on more than 1 million people over many years. Over four years, researchers found 97 new cases of diabetes among the 5,600 people in this new study. People with an average daily step count of 10,700 — a… read on > read on >

Black children and teens drown in swimming pools at rates seven times higher than white children, but a new survey suggests that special swimming programs could make a difference and help save lives. The survey, from the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, found that only 25% of Hispanic parents and 28% of Black parents were comfortable with their own swimming skills. That’s compared to 56% of white parents. About 33% of Black parents and fewer than 40% of Hispanic parents felt their children were competent swimmers, compared to nearly 60% of white parents. The problem may span generations: More than 26% of Black parents said they had never learned to swim and the same was true for more than 32% of Hispanic parents. On the other hand, fewer than 4% of white parents said they’d never learned to swim. Meanwhile, about 46% of Black children and 47% of Latino children had swimming lessons, compared to 72% of white children. “Our results underscore that racial and ethnic gaps in swimming competence run in families, and that children are less likely to swim when their parents can’t swim,” said senior study author Dr. Michelle Macy, an emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s. “To improve swimming abilities in Black and [Hispanic] communities, we need to address swim comfort and skills for both parents and… read on > read on >

Exercise and mindfulness are known for their health benefits, but a new study found that didn’t extend to boosting memory or thinking skills in healthy seniors. That doesn’t mean these activities wouldn’t be beneficial for memory if practiced for a longer period of time or in adults with impairments, the researchers noted, just that there were not apparent benefits during the study. “We know beyond any doubt that exercise is good for older adults, that it can lower risk for cardiac [heart] problems, strengthen bones, improve mood and have other beneficial effects — and there has been some thought that it also might improve cognitive [thinking] function,” said study first author Dr. Eric Lenze. He is head of the department of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Likewise, mindfulness training is beneficial because it reduces stress, and stress can be bad for your brain. Therefore, we hypothesized that if older adults exercised regularly, practiced mindfulness or did both, there might be cognitive benefits — but that’s not what we found,” Lenze said in a university news release. The researchers studied this in 585 adults aged 65 to 84 for up to 18 months. None had been diagnosed with dementia, though all worried about minor memory issues. “Minor memory problems often are considered a normal part of aging, but it’s also normal… read on > read on >

It’s tempting to follow the latest trend when it comes to health care, but for patients who live with heart failure, some alternative treatments could have serious consequences. To address the issue, the American Heart Association (AHA) has published a new scientific statement covering a wide range of alternative therapies and their impact on heart failure. It also offers guidance for health care professionals and recommendations for patients. “Patients should talk to their health care team first,” said Dr. Sheryl Chow, who was part of the AHA’s writing group for the statement. The AHA paper offers guidance on supplements such as CoQ10, vitamin D, ginkgo, devil’s claw, fish oil, thiamine, hawthorn, vitamin E, blue cohosh, lily of the valley and aloe vera, while offering additional advice on alcohol, caffeine and grapefruit juice. “Because these agents are largely unregulated by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], manufacturers do not need to demonstrate efficacy or safety,” explained Chow, an associate professor of pharmacy practice and administration at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif. “It is important that both health care professionals and consumers are educated about potential efficacy and risk of harm, so that shared and informed decision-making can occur.” The committee also reviewed yoga and tai chi, commonly suggested for relaxation. About 6 million Americans aged 20 and up have heart failure, where their… read on > read on >