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10/26/2009
Preventing the spread of the H1N1 flu virus is top of mind with Canada's largest health and science conference underway in downtown Edmonton.
Over 3,500 delegates from around the world are attending the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress being held at the Shaw Conference Centre.
Doctor Chi-Ming Chow with the Heart and Stroke Foundation says they don't have a lot of information about the cardiovascular effects of the H1N1 virus.
"But we do know that patients with chronic heart diseases, as well as diabetes, are at risk of having worse outcomes if they have the flu," says Chow. "So we do recommend our patients who are older then 65, or have chronic heart disease, make sure that they receive vaccination for both for the regular seasonal flu as well as H1N1."
Doctor Chow also advises against hand shakes, but admits it's a long standing tradition that's proving hard to break at the medical conference.
In the meantime Chow says one of the over 700 studies being presented at the 'meeting of minds' looked at people between the ages of 65 and 78 who were put through vigorous exercise for three months to see how much their heart health improved by looking at their arterial stiffness.
"And what they find is that even though at an older age, the people when they exercised regularly versus people who don't...their artery stiffness actually improved significantly, even in a very short period of time," says Chow. "So that really underpins the importance of maintaining physical activity no matter what age you are."
Doctor Chow says the delegates will be actively carrying their red bags to the Shaw Conference Centre until Wednesday and he invites you to say hello to a person whose research may save your life one day. (td)
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