• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Health

Heart disease risk ‘begins in the womb’

A study in sheep, by Cambridge University researchers, found that babies whose mothers had a complicated pregnancy may be at greater risk of heart disease in later life

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2019-01-22 19:05
in Health, Lifestyle
Pregnant

Pregnant Woman

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

The risk of heart disease begins before we’re even born, according to a new study.

Heart disease is the greatest killer in the world today, and it is widely accepted that our genes interact with traditional lifestyle risk factors – such as smoking, obesity and a “couch potato” lifestyle – to create an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.

But a new study in sheep, by Cambridge University researchers, found that babies whose mothers had a complicated pregnancy may be at greater risk of heart disease in later life, suggesting that our cards may be marked even before we are born.

As well as the effects of adult lifestyle, scientists say there is already evidence that the gene-environment interaction before birth may be just as, if not more, important in “programming” future heart health and heart disease.

For instance, human studies in siblings show that children born to a mother who was obese during pregnancy are at greater risk of heart disease than siblings born to the same mother after surgery to reduce maternal obesity.

Researchers say that such studies have provided “strong evidence” in people that the environment experienced during critical periods of development can directly influence long-term cardiovascular health and heart disease risk.

The new research, funded by The British Heart Foundation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council UK, shows that adult offspring from pregnancies complicated by chronic hypoxia have increased indicators of cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure and stiffer blood vessels.

RelatedPosts

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today 13 August 2022

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today 12 August 2022

Hallelujah! UK set for ‘substantial’ rain – but can it prevent hosepipe bans?

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today 11 August 2022

Chronic hypoxia or lower-than-normal oxygen levels in the developing baby within the womb is one of the most common outcomes of complicated pregnancy in humans.

It occurs as a result of problems within the placenta, as can occur in pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or maternal smoking.

The Cambridge study used pregnant sheep to show that maternal treatment with the antioxidant vitamin C during a complicated pregnancy could protect the adult offspring from developing high blood pressure and heart disease.

Study first author Dr Kirsty Brain said the work not only provides evidence that a prenatal influence on later heart disease in the offspring is indeed possible, but also shows the potential to protect against it by “bringing preventative medicine back into the womb,”

It turns out that vitamin C is a comparatively weak antioxidant, and while the study provides a proof-of-principle, future work will focus on identifying alternative antioxidant therapies that could prove more effective in human clinical practice.

Study leader Professor Dino Giussani said: “Our discoveries emphasise that when considering strategies to reduce the overall burden of heart disease, much greater attention to prevention rather than treatment is required.”

He added: “Treatment should start as early as possible during the developmental trajectory, rather than waiting until adulthood when the disease process has become irreversible.”

The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Big Issue warns of ‘mass homelessness’ amid rising bills and rent arrears

Bristol private school drops slaver Edward Colston from its name

Watch: Edwina Currie ridiculed for naming one ‘benefit’ of Brexit

Royals were ‘quietly pleased’ Meghan missed Philip’s funeral

Here’s what the UK ambassador said about Trump in his secret cables

Can you pass a British Citizenship test?

13 Automotive Brexit myths explain why No-deal is disaster for car industry

Photo of girl giving big brother thank you kiss after he saved life with bone marrow transplant

Brazen driver dumps an entire SKIP on busy motorway

Grillstock, Bristol – Review

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.