Napping twice a week good for the heart

People who napped once or twice a week were 48 percent less likely than non-nappers to face serious cardiovascular problems — heart attack, stroke, heart failure. The findings, published in the journal Heart, were based on nearly 3,500 adults, ages 35 to 75, who were tracked for about five years.

How long people napped each time made no difference, and napping more frequently than a couple times a week did not improve the results.

Sleep experts generally agree that a ­20-minute nap is all that most people need to feel refreshed and less stressed.

Napping longer means waking from a deeper sleep and that can leave someone feeling groggy or fuzzy-headed.

Napping late in the day also is not recommended because it can mar nighttime sleeping.

The recommended amount of sleep for most adults is at least seven hours a night, with an hour or two more for people 61 and older.

Health alert on ranitidine

(ET Healthworld-IANS): The Drugs Controller of India on Tuesday sounded a public health alert on ranitidine, a old, cheaply-priced medicine used commonly to counter stomach acidity, as some drug regulators in other countries have found it to contain a chemical compound which can cause cancer.

Drugs Controller, V.G. Somani, who is under the Directorate General of Health Services, has issued a directive to all states alerting them on ranitidine and asking them to ask all drug manufacturers to take measures to ensure patient safety. According to the directive, ranitidine medicines contain a nitrosamine impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at low levels. NDMA has been classified by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as probably carcinogenic to humans.

Ranitidine is a prescription drug under Schedule H. The state drug controllers have been asked to communicate the manufacturers of ranitidine to verify their products and take appropriate action for public safety.

The cancerous effect was noticed by the US FDA which has issued an alert. Companies manufacturing the formulation in India are expected to immediately stop production of ranitidine. Following the Drugs Controllers directive, doctors would be advised by their medical associations to stop prescribing the medicine

Healthcare News Monitor

IIT grads develop Rs 7000 AI-device that can detect heart health, stress as you sleep

India Today - PTI

A team of IIT graduates has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered sensor sheet that can be put under the mattress to detect indicators such as heart health, respiration, sleep, and stress with medical-grade accuracy. The device works on a technology known as Ballistocardiography (BCG), which involves measurement of the movement of the heart. BCG can be extended to find movement, breathing and snoring. The sensor sheet - "Our advanced algorithms have been trained over billions of data points to achieve 98.4 per cent accuracy in measuring heartbeat and respiration. The device is a contact-free health monitor and personal health companion," Mudit Dandwate, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, told PTI. "It is a thin sensor sheet that goes below the mattress and tracks heart health, respiration, sleep, stress with medical-grade accuracy. Basis tracking their health data, there are experts that provide personalised health improvement plan," said Mudit, co-founder of Dozee. Sheet consists of MEMS vibroacoustic sensors. The device is powered by AI engine that conducts risk analysis on an individuals health data to note the slightest of deviations from their healthy baselines and detect any early signs of health deterioration. The device has successfully predicted early health deterioration in conditions ranging from fever to heart failure, even before the symptoms appear, co-founder Gaurav Parchani, an alumnus of IIT Indore, told PTI.

Rajasthan: Free medicines for indoor patients on bed in all government hospitals

ET Healthworld

JAIPUR: The health department will replicate the initiative of Sawai Man Singh Hospital to provide medicines to patients at their beds. The department on Monday directed all government hospitals to make it easy for indoor patients to get medicines under new bed-to-bed medicine distribution scheme. If implemented properly, the move will transform healthcare facilities for indoor patients as their attendants will not have to rush to get drugs from outside. The move is also aimed to save them from the ‘medicine mafia’. Under the scheme, patients will get free medicines which are listed and nominal charges will be imposed on those drugs which are not part of the list. Additional chief secretary (health) Rohit Kumar Singh issued the direction to all principals and controllers of medical colleges, all medical superintendent of hospitals attached to medical colleges and principal medical officers of district hospitals informing about the new scheme. In the order, he mentioned that a separate facility for drug distribution for indoor patients in government hospitals should be introduced in which they get medicines provided by healthcare staff at their beds.

Faulty hip implants: Over 10 years on, Rs 25 lakh relief remains elusive for many

ET Healthworld- Sunitha Rao R

BENGALURU: Many Indian patients fitted with faulty hip implants manufactured by controversial US pharma major Johnson & Johnson (J&J) are yet to get the promised interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh. At least three such patients from Karnataka have been running from pillar to post seeking relief, after having undergone corrective surgeries. Strangely, it’s the state government’s insistence that patients seeking compensation get a new Unique Disability ID (UDID) which has halted the entire process, say those awaiting relief. Applying for UDID involves elaborate tests. Incidentally, J&J’s only condition to release the interim relief was that patients had to produce medical documents to establish they had undergone hip replacement surgery using Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implants of DePuy International Limited (now J&J) between 2004 and 2010 and it had failed. S Venugopal from Tumakuru was 20 years old in 2007 when he suffered from Ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine and other joints. Experiencing acute pain and rendered immobile, he discontinued studies. On his doctors’ suggestion, he underwent a right hip transplant at a private hospital in Bengaluru in 2007 and the left one in 2008. Within two years, he began suffering from acute pain, a condition called metallosis, where metal debris deposits on soft tissues due to heightened cobalt and chromium levels. The complication was attributed to metal ions in the implant interacting with the body. He underwent two revision surgeries between 2010 and 12.

How AI-Powered High-Tech Tools Are Transforming Indian Healthcare Industry?

Analytics Insight - Smriti Srivastava

Whenever a person is detected with some medical condition in India, most of them tend to dodge the treatment process either due to lack of time to go through such lengthy procedures or inability to fulfill the demanded expenses. This, in turn, leads to a greater spread of diseases. However, with the advent of artificial intelligence, the scenario is about to change. The technology is becoming an integral part of the healthcare industry globally. In India, it is dramatically transforming the space of diagnostics. Multiple healthcare startups have been established in the past few years and some have already come out with AI tools to screen the disease through non-invasive methods with great accuracy in a few minutes. These startups are attracting great funding intending to thrust speed and accuracy. Through the combination of computer engineering and medical sciences, these tools can perform without human support and are able to catch the anomalies that even a human-eye can miss. The use of data, algorithms, patterns, deep learning and cognitive computing can save a lot of time from visiting doctors and healthcare center repeatedly. In a country with 1.3 billion population and acute shortage of doctors, AI is no more a luxury rather it has become essential for daily life. In fact, Niti Aayog has placed healthcare as one of the prioritized focus areas for AI intervention. As of present, India only produces 50,000 doctors a year and WHO recommends that the country will need around 2.3 million doctors by 2030. As aforementioned, start-ups are the ones who are pushing healthcare in India into the future lessening the burden of the country’s healthcare system.

Ayurvedic medicine to treat dengue to be launched within next 2 yrs: Ayush Ministry

ET Healthworld – PTI

An ayurvedic medicine to treat dengue is undergoing the third and final phase of clinical trials and will be launched within the next two years, a senior official of the Ayush Ministry said on Tuesday. Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said the research on this was being carried out by Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy) Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It is made of a variety of ayurvedic herbs grown in India and is likely to hit the market within the next two years in the form of a pill. "The research is in the third phase (final phase) of clinical trial. It will be done in the next two years. Once finished, this will be the worlds first medicine against dengue," he said on the sidelines of a press conference on the achievements of the ministry in the last 100 days. Details, such as the name of the medicine, how it will be sold - over the counter or through prescription - are yet to be decided. The ICMR and the ministry team will also have to work to standardise the dosage and fix the proportion of each herb used.