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WOW! This is interesting . . .

Ecksunbeam
0 Recommendations

I wonder if this also works on chest pain. Might be worth the experiment--

Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Trouble During Heart Attack? Common Pain Relieving Cream May Help Heart Attack Victims
Many of us have used an over the counter topical pain reliever to help relieve the occasional ache or pain but researchers at the University of Cincinnati have now found that they can be useful for another, perhaps more important purpose.

Researchers Keith Jones PhD, a cell biophysics and pharmaceutical fellow and Dr Neal Weintraub, a cardiologist who runs the university’s cardiovascular diseases division discovered that if the salve is applied topically during the treatment of a patient suffering a heart attack the incidence of permanent cardiac cell death was reduced by up to 85%.

It is the active ingredient found in these simple remedies, Capsaicin, that seems to do the trick. Capsaicin is found in chili peppers and produces a warming sensation when applied to the skin. In his initial experiments Jones used lab mice and found that with the application of a salve containing Capsaicin to specific areas of the skin sensory nerves in the skin seemed to trigger the nervous system to activate what he calls “pro survival” pathways to protect the heart.

Together with Dr Weintraub, Jones is now turning his attention to potential for Capsaicin use for human patients. “If proven effective in humans, this therapy has the potential to reduce injury and/or death in the event of a coronary blockage, thereby reducing the extent and consequences of heart attack.” He said when asked about the potential impact of his research. He also noted that topical Capsaicin use produces no known side effects and it could be easily applied by emergency room or even ambulance staff in advance of treatment beginning.

Both Jones and Weintraub think that skin, whether it be animal or human has evolved over time to protect the body in a number of different ways. According to Weintraub “By activating these sensors in the nervous system, via skin, we think that a response to preserve and protect the heart is triggered,”

He believes that the application of the Capsaicin fools the body into activating protective nervous system reactions, in much the same way as many believe that acupuncture does.

The researchers work will now focus on discovering exactly which nerves are triggered and how these protective pathways are put into place by the body, as well as extending human trials of the effectiveness of Capsaicin application.

The research was published in its entirety in the September 14th edition of the medical journal Circulation.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 3:41 am and is filed under heart attack. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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12 replies

gracie62

This is very interesting, but I recommend extreme caution. After my open heart surgery, I had continued sternum and incisional discomfort. I was going mad with itching and pain and called the pharmacist for recommendations. He told me in no uncertain terms I was not to use any topical creams or sprays directly over my heart without my cardiologist's approval. He told me that medications applied over the heart absorb into arteries and veins close to the heart and even into the heart itself. I called my surgeon and was told "No - never, ever apply any medicated creams or sprays over the heart". Cardiologists response was the same, as was family doctor's.

It was explained to me that since there are so many topical products on the market, you can't be certain of how all the varied ingredients will interact with the variety of meds heart patients are on. Having something being absorbed into the blood stream directly over the heart is risky, at best, for heart patients. None of these products should EVER be used without consulting with your doctor first.

It is an interesting study, but I had to share a word of 2 of caution. I was told Vitamin E and body lotion for sensitive skin are the only things I am allowed to apply to skin over my heart without doctor's approval.

Dianna

nanamo

i'm sorry but i know when i had my heart attack all i could do was pray to stay alive it was so bad with pain and nause and dirahee when they say take an asprin while having a heart attack i have a hard time with i couldnt keep anything down now this i dont know.............
wonder if these people that do this research have ever suffered an heart attack




god bless
surviving heart disease one day at a time
with trigger 04/08
for 10 years
nanamo

Ecksunbeam

This study is supposed to be published in Circulation Magazine. I will look it up.

Sherrie

grace5

Cheers Sherrie! I shall be purchasing this cream forthwith, it'll be good to add another natural remedy to my medicine cupboard. It helps with itching and psoriasis too.
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/completeazindex/a/capsaicin_cream.htm
Drug Interactions.
There have been no reported drug interactions with topical capsaicin cream.

Lidia xx

Ecksunbeam

Here is the original abstract from Circulation Magazine:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/120/11_suppl_1/S1

And another article:

http://www.rdmag.com/News/Feeds/2009/09/life-sciences-study-shows-common-pa in-cream-could-protect-heart-/

All I can say is I find this incredibly exciting and I want to know MORE.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Deliliah

Kennarina

Delilah/Sherrie - this IS exciting! At least, for the mice.

I'd be interested down the road in following this further when they know better what the effect on us big humans might be.

I've been reading how incredibly quickly our skin can absorb and transmit chemicals throughout our whole system - including a bizarre murder conviction (can't recall where) in which the murderer put a poisoned salve on the victim's steering wheel each day, eventually causing her death.

The moral: walk, don't drive....

XOXOXOXO


http://www.myheartsisters.org

Ecksunbeam

Hey Kennie--

Good to hear from you!

Yeah--I'm not real eager to have a heart attack in order to experiment but I'd still like to learn more. This news flash was just released September 18th, so I am sure there will be more about it in the future. (And I just might keep a tube handy right along with the aspirin and Nitro--just in case!) I had one of those heart attacks where I was down and out in 5 minutes flat so I'll have work fast! I'll leave a note for the paramedics to contact this site with the results.

Yes, the skin is a living, breathing organ and it absorbs.You may want to investigate the healing properties of essential oils (tea tree oil, hint-hint). How are your elbows?

Have a good day and--oh yeah--advise Wanda if I decide to go wrist she might need to find another place to live.

You're in D*** S*** now--

See ya' around--

Minnie Mouse

Asurvivor

I don't know about Capsaicin, but if you take steroids by mouth, you should never use a cortisone cream on your skin, lest you overdose.

My scar is healed up fine, I can still feel the wires though and that's eerie.

The heart is a muscle and when you apply capsaicin to a muscle ache, it takes the pain away, so this may be a good thing.

goingstrong

Since the capsaicin is to be applied anywhere, I can forsee that just applying to the hand or anywhere would cause the 'systemic' reaction described in the article. Site of application is less important than getting the cell survival result by the simple act of applying.

Since the above caution was expressed so unanimously by the team caring for Dianna (above) it seems prudent to avoid the chest area. It's absorbed systemically anyway so it should not matter.

What a possible wonderfully simple thing to add to our 'arsenal for survival!'

Lynn

Trissie

During a diabetic ed class we were told that Capsacin works well for diabetic neuropathy on the feet. Somehow it helps restore feeling to the numb feet.
Trissie

Ecksunbeam

Dear Trissie,

Well--where have you been all my life with this information? There is another woman on this site who, just today, is complaining about her tingling toes. I hope she reads this.

It also takes the pain out of cold sores/herpes/shingles.

Occasionally, in the winter months, I take a cayenne supplement (or add it to foods while cooking, like chili) for circulation and it helps to keep me warm--especially if I'm going to do a long walk/race. It's hard on the stomach [Burp!]--much worse than the dreaded niacin flush. But does the trick. Keeps the fingers and toes warm. It also kills viruses.

As a consequence of my own experience, I have a tendency to believe there just might be an element of truth to this heart attack theory.

It will be interesting to one day find out--

May the Blessings Be!

Sherrie

hipmama42

read about this - interesting! Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it is a quantum leap to project that what works for rats and mice will work as well in humans, but I hope that this one pans out....

I had just bought some capsaicin cream for my aching back and arthritic knees now that the cardiologist has told me "no more NSAIDs...." it works! but you have to be careful with it, because it burns like heck if you put too much on, or get it on more delicate tissues....yeouch!

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