Dentists can identify patients at risk of fatal heart attacks
6 Nov 2009, 1131 Hrs

Add comment          Mail          Print          Write to Editor

* Education Directory * Exam Results * Who is Who * Information *Tutorials * Articles * Quote * Classified

Washington, Nov 6 Dentists can do more than just taking care of your oral health - they can help determine your risk for fatal heart attack, says a new study.

The study followed 200 patients (101 women and 99 men) in private dental practices in Sweden whose dentists used a computerized system, "HeartScore," to calculate the risk of a patient dying from a cardiovascular event within a 10-year period.

The system, designed by the European Society of Cardiology, measures cardiovascular disease risk in persons aged 40-65 by factoring the person's age, sex, total cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure and smoking status.

Patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, meaning they had a 10 percent or higher risk of having a fatal heart attack or stroke within a 10-year period, were told by dentists to seek medical advice regarding their condition.

12 patients in the study, all of them men, had HeartScores of 10 percent or higher. All women participating in the study had HeartScores of 5 percent or less.

Of the 12 male patients with HeartScores of 10 percent or higher, nine sought further evaluation by a medical care provider who decided that intervention was indicated for six of the patients.

Two patients did not follow the dentist's recommendation to seek further medical evaluation and one patient was only encouraged by his dentist to discontinue smoking. Physicians for three patients were not able to confirm their risk for cardiovascular disease.

All 200 patients enrolled in the study were 45 years of age or older with no history of cardiovascular disease, medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes and had not visited a physician during the previous year to assess their glucose, cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

The researchers conclude that oral health care professionals can identify patients who are unaware of their risk of developing serious complications as a result of cardiovascular disease and who are in need of medical interventions.

The study has been published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.(ANI)

Related Latest

25 hurt as Shiv Sena attacks IBN Mumbai office Laser therapy can worsen skin cancer Smokers face heightened risk of seizures Asian rights body demands CBI probe into Brus attacks in Mizoram Bottling up negativity can lead to ill health Maternal depression can worsen asthma in kids Sleep apnea ups heart disease risk in kidney transplant patients Rajya Sabha adjourned twice over sugarcane prices Human skin grown from stem cells can help burns victims Balanced diet and sunscreen, not water, can give beautiful skin

Related Latest

RSS not interfering in choosing new president, says BJP Coimbatore farmer gets high yield of tomatoes, using green house technology Naxalism foremost challenge before Jharkhand: Sonia Lawyers demanding separate High Court Bench protest in Delhi No 'big ticket' agreements on table during PM's state visit to US Shiv Sainiks attack TV channel offices in Mumbai, Pune; 4 staffers injured Tell Pakistan not to use terror as state policy: Manmohan Singh to US Meenal Thakur in quarterfinals of World Snooker Oprah Winfrey brings curtain down on her talk show Manmohan to seek Obama pressure over Pakistan

• Naxalism foremost challenge before Jharkhand: Sonia
• Coimbatore farmer gets high yield of tomatoes, using green house technology
• Lawyers demanding separate High Court Bench protest in Delhi
• No 'big ticket' agreements on table during PM's state visit to US
• RSS not interfering in choosing new president, says BJP

• भारतीय क्रिकेट की मजबूत दीवार
• कंगारूओं के आगे ढेर, चीतों से कैसे मुकाबला करेंगें शेर
• Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow global warming
• बीकानेर महापौर चुनावः एक विश्लेषण
• Deepawali: The Festival Of Lights