{"id":109128,"date":"2019-09-18T12:30:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T16:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109128"},"modified":"2019-09-18T10:32:18","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:32:18","slug":"american-heart-association-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109128","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association news"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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AHA is disappointed\nthat the Public Health and Health Planning Council approved the governor\u2019s\nexecutive order without including menthol flavoring for all tobacco products<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approval of Gov. Cuomo\u2019s executive order by the Public\nHealth and Health Planning Council, which banned the sale of flavored\ne-cigarettes except for menthol, continues the policy of leaving some groups at\nrisk of the ravages of tobacco products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy leaving menthol out of Gov. Cuomo\u2019s executive order\nbanning some flavors in e-cigarettes and excluding flavored combustible tobacco\nproducts altogether, the state Department of Health\u2019s Public Health and Health\nPlanning continues to put youth and African Americans at risk of taking up\ne-cigarette use or smoking,\u201d said Caitlin O\u2019Brien, state Government Relations\nDirector for the American Heart Association. \u201cMenthol flavoring in all\ntobacco products makes it easier to start using and harder to quit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote means that flavored e-cigarettes \u2013 except for\nmenthol \u2013 will be banned from sales beginning in two weeks. The order\nlasts 90 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue the fight like we have for the past two\nyears, in order to get permanent legislation in the state that bans all flavors\nin e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cSmoking remains the\nleading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and we are learning more and\nmore about the dangers of e-cigarettes. The American Heart Association is\ncommitted to improving the health of all Americans, and we know that\nrestricting the sale of all flavored tobacco product will do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, flavored combustible cigarettes were banned from\nsale nationally, with the exception of menthol cigarettes. Since then, menthol\ncigarettes have grown in popularity, with more than half of all youth and young\nadult smokers using them, along with 85 percent of African American smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarming number of\nheart infections tied to opioid epidemic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alarming number of people nationwide are developing\ninfections of either the heart\u2019s inner lining or valves, known as infective\nendocarditis<\/a>, in large part due to the current opioid epidemic. This new\ntrend predominantly affects young, white, poor men who also have higher rates\nof HIV, hepatitis C and alcohol abuse, according to new research published in\nthe Journal of the American Heart\nAssociation<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>the open access journal of the American Heart\nAssociation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infective endocarditis occurs when bacteria or fungi in the\nblood stream enter the heart\u2019s inner lining or valves. Nearly 34,000 people\nreceive treatment for this condition each year, of which approximately 20\npercent die. One of the major risk factors for infective endocarditis is drug\nabuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInfective endocarditis related to drug abuse is a\nnationwide epidemic,\u201d said the study\u2019s senior author Serge C. Harb, M.D.,\nassistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine,\nCleveland, Ohio. \u201cThese patients are among the most vulnerable\u2014young and poor, who\nalso frequently have HIV, hepatitis C and alcohol abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers analyzed data in the National Inpatient Sample Registry\nfrom 2002\u201316 on nearly 1 million hospitalized patients diagnosed with infective\nendocarditis to compare patients with heart infections related to drug abuse to\nthose with heart infections from other causes. The registry is the largest\npublicly available database of U.S. hospitalizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 14 years studied, researchers found that the\nprevalence ratio for drug-abuse-related heart infections nearly doubled in the\nUnited States, from 8 to 16 percent. All geographic regions saw increases, and\nthe highest jump occurred in the Midwest at nearly 5 percent per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also found those with infective endocarditis related to\ndrug abuse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n