According to a new study out of the United Kingdom, a “foot recognition” scanning tool could serve to prevent hospitalizations and deaths from heart failure. Best of all, this tool could be used by patients at home, meaning a simple scan of their feet in the morning or at night could catch signs of a potentially catastrophic health issue before it occurs.

Researchers say that the tool is used to detect fluid buildup in the feet and ankles, which is one of the “big three” signs of heart failure (the other two being shortness of breath and fatigue).

“This device detects one of the big three warning signs for people with heart failure before they end up in hospital,” said Dr. Phillip Keeling, senior study author and consultant cardiologist at Torbay an South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. “Only about half of people admitted to hospital with heart failure currently get assigned an early review by a heart failure nurse who can check to see if they are suffering a harmful build-up of fluid because their heart is not working properly. Amid a shortage of heart failure nurses, a device like this can be like a virtual nurse, tracking people’s health.”

AI Scanning Tool

The scanning device can capture 360-degree images and take as many as 1,800 pictures per minute to create a 3D model of of the foot. These images also allow it to assess expected fluid volume within the foot, and if this volume exceeds a certain threshold, an alert is triggered to let the patient know they should seek out medical intervention.

To determine if their AI-powered tool could detect the early warning signs of heart failure, they put it to the test in a study involving 26 patients. Among those who had the scanner in their home for at least two weeks before it triggered an alert, three people were hospitalized with heart failure. The alerts came between eight and 19 days before their hospitalization, with an average prediction time of 13 days before hospitalization. Researchers say 13 days is adequate time to take action to keep someone out of the hospital.

At the end of the study, the foot scanning tool accurately predicted five out of the six hospitalizations. At the conclusion of the six-month study, 82 percent of participants chose to keep the device.

Fluid buildup is certainly something that doctors look for in patients with different stages of heart failure, but it sounds like this simple AI-powered foot scanning tool could help save lives in the near future. Keep an eye on your feet, and if you notice that they are becoming swollen or retaining fluid, it would be wise to seek out medical assistance. Even if it’s not a heart issue, you’ll want to tackle whatever is causing problems in your feet.

For more information, reach out to Dr. Silverman by filling out this contact form.

The post Foot Scanner Tool May Help Reduce Heart Attack Deaths appeared first on Lance Silverman, MD - Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon.

Researchers presented their findings at the International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition.  They found that a Mediterranean diet featuring extra virgin olive oil and mixed nuts significantly lowered a person’s risk of a cardiovascular event.

“These results support the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular risk reduction [and] are particularly relevant given the challenges of achieving and maintaining weight loss,” researchers said.

Dr. Marc Gillinov, who wrote about the study in Heartwire, said the results of the study should not be ignored.

“This randomized controlled trial is by far the best in class when it comes to dietary studies,” said Gillinov.  “We should take its results seriously: if you have risk factors for cardiovascular disease–and the majority of adult Americans do–your best bet is to follow a Mediterranean diet.”

Diet Study

For their study, researchers gathered 7,447 men and women between the ages of 55 and 80 years old.  None of the subjects had experienced a previous cardiovascular event, but they were considered at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

The participants were separated into three groups.  The first group was asked to eat a diet supplemented with olive oil, the second group had a diet rich in mixed nuts, and the third group was asked to eat a reduced fat diet.

Participants in the Mediterranean-diet groups were invited to attend regular dietary training sessions, while the control group was sent informational leaflets explaining the benefits and composition of a low-fat diet.  After three years, subjects in the control group were invited to the regular group sessions and received the same level of advice as the Mediterranean groups.  The study lasted 4.8 years.

The study was called off after it was revealed that participants in the Mediterranean-diet groups showed significant reduction in their risk of heart disease compared to the control group.  Researchers saw that the olive-oil based diet reduced the likelihood of stroke or cardiovascular death by 30%, while the mixed nut group saw a 28% decrease compared to the control group.  Some other findings included:

• Study dropouts were twice as likely in the low-fat group as the Mediterranean groups (11.3% vs. 4.9%)
• “Favorable trends” were seen for stroke rates among both Mediterranean diet groups
• 288 participants experienced a cardiovascular event during the study.  96 in the olive oil diet, 83 in the nut diet, and 109 in the control group

Good Fat vs. Bad Fat

Dr. Ramon Estruch, who co-authored the study, said one of the biggest reasons why the Mediterranean diet was successful was because it focused on good fat over bad fat.

“Animal fat should be avoided,” Estruch said.  “Vegetal fats–extra virgin olive oil and nuts–should be recommended [within] a healthy food pattern such as the Mediterranean diet.”

He also stressed the importance of educating people to the importance of healthy fats in a diet.

“People should know that the Mediterranean diet is a diet healthier than others and should know the key components of this food pattern,” he said.  “The plan should be to increase the intake of the key foods (vegetables, fruit, nuts, fish, legumes, extra virgin olive oil, and red wine in moderation), also increase the intake of white meat, and decrease the intake of red and processed meat, soda drinks, whole dairy products, commercial bakery goods, and sweets and pastries.”

Dr. Steven Nissen, who works at Cleveland Clinic, said the findings could change the recommendations doctors provide to patients.

“The findings are compelling and should alter the dietary advice we give patients. The currently popular ultralow-fat diets . . . are clearly not best for patients,” he said. “The standard American Health Association recommended diet should be modified to reflect these findings: fat is not the problem with the American diet, we just eat the wrong types of fats.”

Dr. Silverman comments

Finally, evidence beyond refute.  Fat is healthy and low fat is not.  Not only was this shown in the results, but researchers decided to call off the study before it was complete because continuing would have posed an elevated risk of heart attack, stroke and death to the control group.

What is the major take away point from this study that is applicable to everything in medicine?  Don’t treat symptoms, treat the cause.

Doctors originally prescribed low-fat diets and then added lipid lowering drugs as they saw fit, but now we see that treating a disease in this way is nonsensical.

Instead, treating the disease cause (aka “the diet”), is a much better approach.

In my office I treat ankle and foot troubles.  Many times I see patients who have undergone symptom modification, which only partly addresses the problem.  They suffer recurring injuries, and the wonder why the symptom modification was unsuccessful. Unless the cause of the problem is addressed, whether through surgical or non-surgical treatment, the problem will recur and worsen.

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