Background: In Europe, cardiovascular disease is one of the predominant causes of mortality and morbidity among older people over 65 years. The occurrence of cardiovascular disease can have a negative impact on the quality of life of older patients and their families and family health overall. Assuming that illness is a family affair shaped by culture and health care systems, we explored European health care practices and interventions toward families of older patients with cardiovascular disease and heart failure.Aims: This paper aimed to determine the extent, range, and variety of practices and interventions in Europe directed to families of older patients and to identify knowledge gaps.Materials & Methods: A scoping review was conducted including studies published in Medline, CINHAL, or Cochrane library between 2009 and mid-2020.Results: A total of 22 articles from 17 studies were included, showing diverse practices and interventions. The interventions targeted the family as a unit (six studies), dyads (five studies), patients alone, but assessed family members’ reactions (five studies) or the family member primarily, but assessed the reaction of the patient (one study). Target outcomes were family caregiver burden; health-related QoL; and perceived control in patients; and family functioning and changes in health behavior or knowledge in both, family members and patients. Most studies did not include an integral view of the family as the unit of care but rather had a disease-centered approach.Discussion: This scoping review provides insight into a variety of healthcarepractices towards families of older patients with cardiovascular disease in Europe. Clarifying underlying assumptions to involve families is needed. More studies with family-focused approaches as integral models could lead to practices that improve families’ well-being. Exploring integral models for their acceptance in health care and family systems appears pertinent to develop European policy to support and add to family health.
Lifestyle management is the cornerstone of both primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and the importance of lifestyle management is emphasised by all major guidelines. Despite this, actual implementation of lifestyle management is poor. Lifestyle modification includes smoking cessation, weight loss, dietary change, increasing physical inactivity, and stress management. This review summarises evidence-based opportunities and challenges for healthcare professionals to promote healthy lifestyles at an individual level for the prevention of ASCVD.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality is highly prevalent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with debilitating effects for the individual as well as significant healthcare impact. Current evidence demonstrates that engaging in aerobic and resistance exercise (i.e. structured physical activity) can significantly improve patient-reported and clinical index-assessed outcomes in RA. In addition to this, engagement in exercise programmes improves, in a dose-dependent manner, the risk of developing CVD as well as CVD symptoms and outcomes. The present narrative review uses evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses as well as controlled trials, to synthesize the current state-of-the-art on the potential effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on CVD risk factors as well as on cardiac and vascular function and structure in people with RA. Where there is a lack of evidence in RA to explain potential mechanisms, relevant studies from the general population are also discussed and linked to RA.
Our unilateral diet has resulted in a deficiency of specific elements/components needed for well-functioning of the human body. Especially the element magnesium is low in our processed food and results in neuronal and muscular malfunctioning, problems in bone heath/strength, and increased chances of diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, it has also been recognized that magnesium plays an important role in cognitive functioning (impairment and enhancement), especially for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson disease, Alzheimer, etc). Recently, it has been reported that magnesium addition positively effects sleep and calmness (anti-stress). In order to increase the bioavailability of magnesium cations, organic acids such as citrate, glycerophosphate and glycinate are often used as counterions. However, the magnesium supplements that are currently on the market still suffer from low bio-availability and often do not enter the brain significantly.The preparation of dual/multiple ligands of magnesium in which the organic acid not only functions as a carrier but also has synergistically/complementary biological effects is widely unexplored and needs further development. As a result, there is a strong need for dual/multiple magnesium supplements that are non-toxic, stable, prepared via an economically and ecologically attractive route, resulting in high bioavailability of magnesium in vivo, preferably positively influencing cognition/concentration
Micro and macro algae are a rich source of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, but also of secondary metabolites like phytosterols. Phytosterols have important health effects such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Global phytosterol market size was estimated at USD 709.7 million in 2019 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.7% until 2027. Growing adoption of healthy lifestyle has bolstered demand for nutraceutical products. This is expected to be a major factor driving demand for phytosterols.Residues from algae are found in algae farming and processing, are found as beachings and are pruning residues from underwater Giant Kelp forests. Large amounts of brown seaweed beaches in the province of Zeeland and are discarded as waste. Pruning residues from Giant Kelp Forests harvests for the Namibian coast provide large amounts of biomass. ALGOL project considers all these biomass residues as raw material for added value creation.The ALGOL feasibility project will develop and evaluate green technologies for phytosterol extraction from algae biomass in a biocascading approach. Fucosterol is chosen because of its high added value, whereas lipids, protein and carbohydrates are lower in value and will hence be evaluated in follow-up projects. ALGOL will develop subcritical water, supercritical CO2 with modifiers and ethanol extraction technologies and compare these with conventional petroleum-based extractions and asses its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. Prototype nutraceutical/cosmeceutical products will be developed to demonstrate possible applications with fucosterol.A network of Dutch and African partners will supply micro and macro algae biomass, evaluate developed technologies and will prototype products with it, which are relevant to their own business interests. ALGOL project will create added value by taking a biocascading approach where first high-interest components are processed into high added value products as nutraceutical or cosmeceutical.
Micro and macro algae are a rich source of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, but also of secondary metabolites like phytosterols. Phytosterols have important health effects such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Global phytosterol market size was estimated at USD 709.7 million in 2019 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.7% until 2027. Growing adoption of healthy lifestyle has bolstered demand for nutraceutical products. This is expected to be a major factor driving demand for phytosterols. Residues from algae are found in algae farming and processing, are found as beachings and are pruning residues from underwater Giant Kelp forests. Large amounts of brown seaweed beaches in the province of Zeeland and are discarded as waste. Pruning residues from Giant Kelp Forests harvests for the Namibian coast provide large amounts of biomass. ALGOL project considers all these biomass residues as raw material for added value creation. The ALGOL feasibility project will develop and evaluate green technologies for phytosterol extraction from algae biomass in a biocascading approach. Fucosterol is chosen because of its high added value, whereas lipids, protein and carbohydrates are lower in value and will hence be evaluated in follow-up projects. ALGOL will develop subcritical water, supercritical CO2 with modifiers and ethanol extraction technologies and compare these with conventional petroleum-based extractions and asses its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. Prototype nutraceutical/cosmeceutical products will be developed to demonstrate possible applications with fucosterol. A network of Dutch and African partners will supply micro and macro algae biomass, evaluate developed technologies and will prototype products with it, which are relevant to their own business interests. ALGOL project will create added value by taking a biocascading approach where first high-interest components are processed into high added value products as nutraceutical or cosmeceutical.
