Thesis (MPH) -- University of Limpopo, 2007. / Aim of the study: To determine knowledge of CPR and heart attack or cardiac arrest signs and symptoms among university students. Study Design: A questionnaire based descriptive, cross – sectional study. Setting: University of Limpopo – Turfloop Campus in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Subjects: A total sample of 400 students participated in the study. The sample was selected randomly using simple random sampling techniques. Outcome measures: The faculty, age, gender and level of study were determined as well as the knowledge each student has on signs and symptoms of impending heart attack and CPR. Results: Of the 400 students only 26% (n=104) knew the signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack as well as out of hospital management of heart attack by performing CPR. There were differences between and within faculties, age groups, gender and level of study. Based on the Bonferroni test the student from faculty of Sciences, Health and Agriculture are more likely (p-value 0017) to know when to perform CPR compared to students from other faculties. Level of study is not associated (p-value 0128) with how much the students know about the timing and indications of CPR. Overall female students performed worse with 79% (n=123) responding incorrectly to the questions compared to 69% (n=169) males. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study it safely can be concluded that the students’ knowledge of signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack and CPR procedure is poor. It is therefore important for the university as a center of teaching and learning to consider including as part of university curriculum, basic life support v and first aid courses which include CPR. The inclusion of basic life support and first aid in university curriculum will prepare students to be able to effectively manage out of hospital heart attack and reduce mortality resulting from the latter. The findings of this study might to a certain extent be reflecting what the public’s knowledge on the subject is, hence the need for the policy makers to take serious note of the findings when public health promotion programmes are developed.

There currently exists a large body of research associating the Type A behavior pattern with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Further, studies in the area of social support and health suggest that an absence of supportive relationships may result in a decreased resistance to disease in general, both physical and psychological. The present study sought to integrate the Type A research and social support literature through a correlational investigation of the relationship between Type A behavior and perceived quality of social support in 46 male subjects undergoing out-patient treatment for symptomatic coronary disease. It was hypothesized that the Type A pattern would show a significant inverse relationship with perceived quality of social support.

Myocardial ischemia, infarction, heart failure and arrhythmias are the manifestations of coronary artery disease. Reduction of ischemic damage is a major concern of cardiovascular biology research. As per recent studies, the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel (mitoKATP) opening is believed to play key role in the physiology of cardioprotection, protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury or apoptosis. However, the structural information of mitoKATP is not precisely known. Elucidating the structural integrity and functioning of the mitoKATP is therefore a major goal of cardiovascular biology research. The known structure and function of the cell ATP-sensitive potassium channel (cellKATP) is functional in interpreting the structural and functional properties of mitoKATP. The primary goal of my research was to characterize the activity of mitoKATP in the isolated mitochondria from the control mouse heart. The mitoKATP activity, if preliminarily characterized in the control strains through the light scattering technique, then the structure of the channel could possibly be established and analyzed by means of the transgenic model and with the help of immunological techniques such as western blotting and immunoflorescence. With this experimental model it was possible to demonstrate that the mitoKATP activity in control mouse heart mitochondria is activated by potassium channel openers (KCOs) such as diazoxide and cromakalim and activators of mitoKATP such as PMA (phorbol12 myristate-13-acetate), and inhibited by KATP inhibitors such as glibenc1amide and 5-hydroxydecanoate (5 HD). It was evident that the KATP activity in mouse heart mitochondria was comparable to that exhibited by the rat heart mitochondria. The various selective and non-selective activators and inhibitors of the channel elicited their activity at a similar concentration used for the rat heart mitochondria. The results were reproducible in five independent experiments for each combination, further reinforcing the significance of existing channel activity in the mouse heart mitochondria.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Chemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) reports that about 17.3% of deaths in the country are associated with heart-related diseases and this rate is expected to increase to 41% by the year 2030. This severe increase in death cases is related to diseases caused by consumption of meat (i.e., pork, fish, red meat, and poultry) with high levels of hypoxanthine. Therefore, this raises the need to investigate and detect hypoxanthine levels in the meat. This study aimed at developing a highly stable and sensitive biosensor for the detection of hypoxanthine in fish meat using the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with carbon nanocomposites materials (consisting of metal oxides doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MO-MWCNTs) that are treated with amine groups) and an enzyme, xanthine oxidase (XOD) as a catalyst. The sol gel method was used to prepare the metal oxides including zinc oxide (ZnO), zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), manganese (MnO2), cobalt oxide (Co3O4), and titanium dioxide (TiO2). The in-situ method of functionalisation of MWCNTs was employed to increase their current outputs/sensitivity using selected amines, namely, methylenediamine, hydrazine, ethylenediamine (EDA), and triethylenetetramine (TETA). The electrochemical properties of the metal oxides and amine functionalised MWCNTs were studied using both cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of carboxyl (COOH), hydroxyl (OH), and amino (NH2) groups on the surface of the modified MWCNTs; as well as formation of stretching vibrations which appear at lower wavelengths due to the metallic species within the nanocomposite. Thermal gravimetric analyser (TGA) was employed to determine the thermal stability of the nanocomposite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to confirm the composite structure and correct deposition of the metal oxides on the walls of MWCNTs. XRD was used to confirm correct structure formation, the crystallinity, and the purity of the nanocomposite. Optimum conditions of the developed biosensor were determined, and the application of the developed biosensor was undertaken on fish meat bought at the local supermarket using the Cyclic and Differential pulse voltammetric techniques. Two highly electrochemical metal oxides among others were TiO2 and Co3O4. The modified MWCNTs containing TETA possess good electrochemical properties with improved sensitivity and selectivity towards hypoxanthine. The presence of metal oxides on MWCNTs and their treatments with amines as confirmed by techniques such as TGA, SEM, XRD, and FTIR have provided a suitable matrix for the immobilisation of the enzyme, namely, xanthine oxidase at 0.5 unit (U). TGA results showed that the unmodified MWCNTs decompose at around 600 0C, but when they are modified with acids and amine decomposition starts at 230 0C, proving that functionalisation of MWCNTs tempers with their thermal stability. Based on the SEM morphological results, attachment of the amines and metal oxides on MWCNTs was seen at x60 000 magnification. Morphology of acid treated MWCNTs appeared thinner, revealing that acids tends to deteriorate the MWCNTs, while the amino treated MWCNTs appeared well modified with less damage on the MWCNTs. XRD confirmed the successful purification of MWCNTs with the intense diffraction peak at 260 that can be assigned to the (002) reflection of graphite. The strong diffraction peak at 250o and a broad peak at 450 indicate that the titania nanoparticles are pure and in the anatase phase. They also show successful deposition of the titanium dioxide onto the surface of the MWCNTs. However, on the formation of cobalt oxide two phases were observed which were CoO, and Co3O4, and on bimetallic nanocomposite (cobalt titanium oxide) also two phases were observed which were CoTiO3, and Co2TiO4. It was found that the sensor performs better at 25 oC at a pH of 7.5 in a phosphate buffer at concentration of 5 mM. The limit of detection of the biosensor was found to be 0.16 nM. The highly electroconductive electrode was XOD/3%Co2TiO4-MWCNTs-TETA/GCE, which was selected for analysis of fish meat. The biosensor has shown low interfering values with high stability, good reusability retaining 73.4% of its initial performance after 50 days of continuous study. The excellent results were obtained on fish meat analysis using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry revealed that even meat which is deep frozen can also deteriorate as time passes by. Altogether, the findings from this study suggest that the developed biosensor is a reliable analytical tool for the determination of freshness of fish meat using hypoxanthine levels as a marker / National Research Foundation (NRF) and Sasol Inzalo Foundation

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that arbutamine, a specific B₁-adrenergic agonist, will not cause different circulatory and physiologic effects than the less specific endogenous catecholamines released in response to an exercise stress test in persons with known or suspected coronary artery disease. Nine male subjects, mean age 66 years, completed symptom-limited arbutamine (ESA) and exercise (ETT) stress tests in a randomized cross-over study. The ESA delivery device controlled infusion rate to induce a graded heart rate increase of 8 bt min⁻¹. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, rate pressure product, ST segment shift, and specimens for epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, cortisol, insulin, glucagon, glucose, free fatty acids, glycerol, and lactate were collected at baseline, immediate post-stress, and 10, 30, and 60 minutes post-stress. The research hypothesis was rejected. Repeated measures analysis of variance for each measure demonstrated a significant (p ≤ .05) time treatment interaction in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, rate pressure product, insulin, glucagon, glycerol, free fatty acid, and lactate responses and a significant time effect for cortisol response. Circulatory differences included higher systolic blood pressure and rate pressure product responses for ETT than ESA and a more rapid recovery of circulatory variables following ETT. Metabolic differences were due to higher free fatty acid and glycerol responses for ESA than ETT and a slower recovery of these metabolites and lactate following ESA. Hormonal differences included an earlier and greater magnitude rise in insulin response for ESA than ETT. There were no differences (p ≤ .05) by treatment, time, or time treatment interaction for diastolic blood pressure, ST segment shift, catecholamines, or glucose. In conclusion, arbutamine caused different circulatory and physiologic effects consistent with differences in adrenergic receptor activity. Arbutamine caused substantial B₁₊₂ agonist effects on hormonal and metabolic responses in cardiotonic doses employed clinically for diagnostic stress testing and may impact clinical interpretation of stress test results. / Ph. D.

[Truncated abstract] The main objective of this study was to develop and validate a demographic/epidemiologic Markov model for population modelling/forecasting of CARPs as well as CHD deaths and incidence in Western Australia using population, linked hospital morbidity and mortality data for WA over the period 1980 to 2000. A key feature of the model was the ability to count events as individuals moved from one state to another and an important aspect of model development and implementation was the method for estimation of model transition probabilities from available population data. The model was validated through comparison of model predictions with actual event numbers and through demonstration of its use in producing forecasts under standard extrapolation methods for transition probabilities as well as improving the forecasts by taking into account various possible changes to the management of CHD via surgical treatment changes. The final major objective was to demonstrate the use of model for performing sensitivity analysis of some scenarios. In particular, to explore the possible impact on future numbers of CARPs due to improvements in surgical procedures, particularly the introduction of drug eluting stents, and to explore the possible impact of change in trend of CHD incidence as might be caused by the obesity epidemic. ... When the effectiveness of PCI due to introduction of DES was increased by reducing Pr(CABG given PCI) and Pr(a repeat PCI), there was a small decline in the requirements for PCIs and the effect seemed to have a lag. Finally, in addition to these changes when other changes were incorporated which captured that a PCI was used more than a CABG due to a change in health policy after the introduction of DES, there was a small increase in the requirements for PCIs with a lag in the effect. Four incidence scenarios were developed for assessing the effect of change in secular trends of CHD incidence as might be caused by the obesity epidemic in such a way that they gradually represented an increasing effect of obesity epidemic (assuming that other risk factors changed favourably) on CHD incidence. The strategy adopted for developing the scenarios was that based on past trends the most dominant component of CHD incidence was first gradually altered and finally the remaining components were altered. iv The results showed that if the most dominant component of CHD incidence, eg, Pr(CHD - no history of CHD) levelled off and the trends in all other transition probabilities continued into future, then the projected numbers of CABGs and PCIs for 2001-2005 were insensitive to these changes. Even increasing this probability by as much as 20 percent did not alter the results much. These results implied that the short-term effect on projected numbers of CARPs caused by an increase in the most dominant component of CHD incidence, possibly due to an ?obesity epidemic, is small. In the final incidence scenario, two of the remaining CHD incidence components-Pr(CABG - no history of CHD) and Pr(CHD death - no CHD and no history of CHD) were projected to level off over 2001-2005 because these probabilities were declining over the baseline period of 1998-2000. The projected numbers of CABGs were more sensitive (compared to the previous scenarios) to these changes but PCIs were not.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 12, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-81).

Heart disease has been the primary cause of death among both men and women in the United States. More African American women are developing and dying from heart disease than any other ethnic group; yet, they are less likely than European American women to know that they have the major risk factors for heart disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall knowledge and health beliefs about heart disease among African American women. Five health belief model constructs of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action were applied as the theoretical framework for the study. Linear multiple regression was used to analyze the association between participants' (a) knowledge of heart disease risk factors, (b) knowledge of heart attack symptoms, (c) perceptions of personal risks for heart disease, and (d) demographic background and their awareness of heart disease. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. E-mail, LinkedIn, and Facebook invitations with the American Heart Association Women's Health Study Google doc was sent to all family, friends, and associates who met the criteria for participation (N = 389). Results showed that the variables of African American women's knowledge of heart disease risk factors, perceptions of personal risks for heart disease, age, and family history of heart disease were statistically associated with awareness of heart disease. The positive social change implications include bringing more awareness of heart disease to African American women and encouraging them to have heart health dialogue with their friends and family.

No description available.

The body composition of children and adolescents with congenital heart disease and residual pulmonary regurgitation (PR) was compared to that of healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Testing included height, weight, skinfolds, skeletal widths, circumferences, bio-electrical impedance (for estimation of total body water from resistance index), hydrostatic weighing, bone mineral content from single photon absorptiometry, and an assessment of maturational status. Activity levels were assessed by questionnaires and an accelerometer. The two groups were found to be different in height, skeletal widths, bone mineral content, bone mineral index and total body water determined by bio-electrical impedance. After adjusting the data for height differences, the groups were different for skeletal widths and bone mineral index. The PR and control subjects had similar skinfolds and circumferences, as well as percent fat determined by body density, body water and bone mineral content.