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Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Dumaguing: Laugh your way to a healthy heart
By Dr. Vic Dumaguing
To your health
HEART patients could be prescribed an hour in front of the TV watching their favorite comedy show, in addition to their convention medicines, according to a research paper presented at the World Congress of Cardiology held from September 2-7 at the Gran Fira Barcelona Convention Center.
The paper showed that laughter is indeed good for the heart and for the elastic properties of the aorta.
Also called "central artery" because it is the biggest artery in the human body, the aorta is the artery that comes from the left ventricle, which strictly speaking, is the pump of the heart. The aorta can be divided into four parts; the first part or ascending aorta gives rise to the coronary arteries, which are the blood supplies of the heart.
Earlier studies have demonstrated links between the stiffness of the aorta to heart disease and cardiac deaths. Aortic stiffness results from the decrease in heart functions and blood flow to the heart. It has also been shown that stiffness of the aorta is an independent risk factor for isolated systolic hypertension (blood pressure in which the systolic pressure or the higher number is the only one that is raised, usually higher than 140mm Hg, with diastolic pressure or the lower BP reading normal at 70-80 mmHg).
There is also evidence that negative psychological states increase cardiovascular risks and that mental stress due to anxiety and constant worrying increase stiffness of the aorta. Factors that also contribute to aortic stiffness include smoking and hypertension. While many drugs to lower hypertension have the opposite effects; they make the aorta more flexible and complaint.
"Overall, aortic stiffness has emerged as an important determinant of cardiovascular performance that can predict risk," said the principal investigator of the study, Dr. Chamlambos Vlachopoulos. The eminent cardiologist of the University of Athens Hospital, Greece, investigated how the lifestyle and its modifications could be used to help heart patients lower their risk. "We hypothesized that if an increase in cardiovascular risk due to stress/pessimism is mediated by alternation in the function of the aorta, then laughter - as the direct opposite of stress and pessimism - might prove a beneficial intervention," Vlaschopoulos explained.
The Athens study recruited 13 healthy volunteers who did not have a family or personal history of cardiovascular of heart disease. On one occasion, the volunteers were exposed to 30 minutes of a comedy film, and on the other to a blank screen where nothing was projected (the sham arm of the trial). Both before and after the viewings, the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) - which indicates the speed at which the pulse travels trough the arterial tree - was measured as an index of arterial (aortic) stiffness by means of a non-invasive device using direct-contact pulse sensors (Compilor).
Results showed that for people viewing the comedy, the PWV was on average, decreased by 0.39 m/sec compared to those undergoing the sham procedure. Statistically significant changes were not found for blood pressure or heart rate. In simpler terms, the pulse wave traveled faster in those people with more compliant or elastic aorta, which in this study was probably due to their laughter elicited by the comedy they were watching. The carotid arteries supply the face and the brain while the femoral artery brings blood and oxygen to the lower extremities i.e. the legs.
Vlachopoulos said: "From this data, we anticipate that laughter and a positive mood could emerge as a novel treatment. Though it's unlikely to substitute for conventional treatments, it could have an adjunctive role in ameliorating or improving the state of the patient's arterial tree." Although the study was in a small group of healthy volunteers and that further research was needed in order to discover whether the findings could be extrapolated to patients, laughter or a positive disposition in life, could indeed spell a big difference between health and disease.
Or have we forgotten that laughter is the best medicine?
(September 12, 2006 issue)
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