HealthyCanada Podcast February 2009

HealthyCanada Podcast February 2009: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the risks of breast cancer and other conditions; a 60-year-old woman from Alberta gives birth to twins; vitamins and children; the link between heart disease and women with a high resting heart rate; the link (or absence of a link) between mental health and violent behavior.

This month on the HealthyCanada.com podcast: Toby Ward and Dr. Art Hister discuss:

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the risks of breast cancer and other conditions

"A lot of people have been advising that women should still be considering hormone replacement therapy," says Dr. Art, who issues an abundance of caution to those considering HRT. "In fact, one of the studies argues that the risk of breast cancer starts going up, perhaps, after as little of two years use of the hormones (estrogen and progestin) - and stays up and goes up for as long as a woman goes on it. For me the bottom line is simple: for long as the clouds continue to hang over the use of hormone replacement therapy for menopause the only women who should consider usinng this are women who's lives are so troubled, and are so intolerable because of their symptoms, that they don't really have an option. But you want to use the weakest forumla for the shortest amount of time possible. "

60-year-old woman gives birth to twins

"I think what we've lost track of in our technological abilities, we've lost track of our responsibilities to the children who are conceived by these methods (e.g. in-vitro fertilization, specificially the California woman who gave birth to 8 children)," says Dr. Hister. "We have minimized our concern, in some situations, for the consequences of our actions for the offspring. Giving 8 children into the world where a parent already has 6 children of her own, under the age of 7, who is a single parent with no visible means of support, besides selling her story, I think is criminal."

Children and vitamins

A U.S. Study of 10,000 children ages 2-17 found that those most needing vitamin supplements are not using them. The study by UC Davis researchers (published in Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, Feb. 2009) found that most of the healthy children & teenagers in the U.S. who are taking daily vitamin and mineral supplements probably don't need them.

"There are special exceptions... but with kids, if they're jumping and playing outside, with a balanced diet, and parents that are giving them healthy food... there really are no good reasons to take these vitamins," says Dr. Art Hister.

Higher resting heart-rate in women over 50 increases risk of heart attack

The Women's Health Initiative trial study of 129,000 women found that a higher resting heart rate - 76 or more heart beats per minute while resting - had a 26 % risk of heart attack and coronary death.

"It indicates to me that people with higher resting heart rates are probably out of shape," says Dr. Hister. "I''m living proof... I've always had a high resting heart rate but once I started 10 or 12 years ago working out really vigorously I dropped my resting heart rate by about 20 beats per minute. And that's from working out... most of us, if we worked out, could get it under 60."

Mental illness in itself does not lead to violent behavior

People with serious mental illness, without other big risk factors, are no more violent than most people, according to a study released in Archives of General Psychiatry (study of 34,000 people).

Listen to this month's Podcast about: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the risks of breast cancer and other conditions; a 60-year-old woman from Alberta gives birth to twins; vitamins and children; and the link between heart disease and women with a high resting heart rate.