• Surgical removal of the tonsils and appendix associated with risk of early heart attack
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[release] [h2]Surgical removal of the tonsils and appendix associated with risk of early heart attack[/h2] [b]The surgical removal of the appendix and tonsils before the age of 20 was associated with an increased risk of premature heart attack in a large population study performed in Sweden. [highlight]Tonsillectomy increased the risk by 44% (hazard ratio 1.44) and appendectomy by 33% (HR 1.33)[/highlight]. The risk increases were just statistically significant, and were even higher when the tonsils and appendix were both removed. However, there was no risk association evident when the operations were performed in people over the age of 20. [/b] Both the appendix and tonsils are lymphoid organs and thus components of the body's immune system, albeit of modest importance. The recurrence of tonsillitis and appendicitis - caused by infection - are the usual reasons for removal. Behind the study lay evidence that removal was associated with moderate long-term effects on the immune system and alterations in risk for some autoimmune disorders. Studies suggest that between 10 and 20% of all young people have tonsils or appendix removed. "Given the strong biological and epidemiological evidence linking inflammation with coronary heart disease," said investigator Dr Imre Janszky from the Department of Public Health Science of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, "one might anticipate that surgical removal of the tonsils and appendix, with their consequent effects on immunity, might also have a long-term effect on CHD. However, we were aware of no studies evaluating the potential effects of appendectomy or tonsillectomy on atherosclerosis or CHD risk." The study, published online today in the European Heart Journal, examined the national health records of every Swedish resident born between 1955 and 1970 and identified each one who had had tonsils and/or appendix removed. Each of these "cases" was then matched with five randomly chosen "controls" who had not had the operations. These subjects were then followed up through the health records for an average of 23.5 years to cross-check for the occurrence of fatal or non-fatal heart attack (acute myocardial infarction, AMI). Because the appendix and tonsils appear to have reduced function after adolescence, the primary analyses were restricted to individuals below the age of 20 at the time of surgery, which amounted to 54,449 appendectomies and 27,284 tonsillectomies. Results showed that these cases had a higher prevalence of AMI than the controls, with 89 of the appendectomies and 47 of the tonsillectomies experiencing an AMI within the follow-up period. When compared with controls, the added risk was calculated as a hazard ratio of 1.33 (95% confidence interval 1.05 – 1.70) for appendectomy and 1.44 (95% CI 1.04 – 2.01) for tonsillectomy. Dr Janszky, the study's first author, emphasises that the absolute numbers of AMI cases in the study are small, with only slightly more than 400 and 200 total cases of AMI in more than 7.5 million and nearly 4 million person-years of follow-up. "As expected from the young age of the population," he says, "the observed moderate increases in relative risk actually corresponded to very small risk increases in absolute terms." The investigators also note that the study population, despite its size, was restricted to childhood exposure, with participants still relatively young at the end of follow-up. "Consequently," they write, "we cannot directly extrapolate our findings to cases of AMI that occur among older men or women, in whom risk is highest." In explaining the results the authors also implicate some "complex" long-term effect of the immune system, noting that the appendix and tonsils are secondary lymphoid organs whose removal can affect several aspects of immune activity, including decreased production of immunoglobulins. They also note that atherosclerosis, the underlying pathophysiology of AMI, is widely considered to be an inflammatory process. "In the light of our current knowledge on the complex relationship between atherosclerosis and the immune system, the findings are biologically plausible," said Dr Janszky. "There is already some evidence that removal of the spleen, another secondary lymphoid organ, is also associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular risk."[/release] [url=http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-surgical-tonsils-appendix-early-heart.html]Source 1[/url] [url=http://www.escardio.org/about/press/press-releases/pr-11/Pages/removal-tonsils-appendix-young-increased-risk-early-heart-attack.aspx]Source 2[/url]
I got my appendix taken out when I was 9, I hope I don't get a heart attack.
I got my appendix out when I was 16. Worth the increased 33% chance of heart attack. It's either this or I'd be dead, so fair trade.
my appendix is still in and fine, but I'm not convinced it make me 44% less prone to heart attack
Still got both of them, but my tonsils get really big and swollen when I have a cold.
Are they sure it's the surgery that increases the risk and not the condition that leads to the surgery in the first place?
I was one tonsillitis from removing them when i was a kid, but that never happened, after that i have only had it like 1 time in 10 years.
[QUOTE=Jo The Shmo;30246947]Are they sure it's the surgery that increases the risk and not the condition that leads to the surgery in the first place?[/QUOTE] [quote]the appendix and tonsils are secondary lymphoid organs whose removal can affect several aspects of immune activity[/quote]
I knew the appendix was still useful.
[QUOTE=Swilly;30248347]I knew the appendix was still useful.[/QUOTE] I thought that was common knowledge, that the appendix did its job, but it could be a little more relaxed in how it did its job.
well, the only reason to get your appendix removed as far as I know is because you're going to die of appendicitis so it seems entirely worth the risk.
I got a tonsillectomy when I was in 3rd grade.
Fuck tonsilitis.
Considering the state I was in before I got my appendix removed, fuck that.
I have my tonsils removed because they would swell up with my common ear infections, and the swelling was so bad that it could sometimes block my breathing. So I guess that means I have a 44% chance of an early heart attack? Unless I am missing something.. Is it a 44% chance DURING the actual surgery, before having it, or after it?
God damn it I wanted to get my appendix taken out before it has a chance to go into meltdown on me.
[QUOTE=TBleader;30249605]I have my tonsils removed because they would swell up with my common ear infections, and the swelling was so bad that it could sometimes block my breathing. So I guess that means I have a 44% chance of an early heart attack? Unless I am missing something.. Is it a 44% chance DURING the actual surgery, before having it, or after it?[/QUOTE] After the surgery, but the numbers are somewhat alarmist. Knowing how many more people are liable to get heart attacks from these surgeries per 1,000 people than those who don't would somewhat more balanced.
Holy fuck I think an appendicitis is one of the worst pains ever, I've broke my collar bone, both my arms and an ankle before - but nothing compares to a fucking appendicitis. Imagine a stomach ache, now imagine a giant hitting you with a fucking sledgehammer.
[QUOTE=RagamuffinIIII;30249981]Holy fuck I think an appendicitis is one of the worst pains ever, I've broke my collar bone, both my arms and an ankle before - but nothing compares to a fucking appendicitis. Imagine a stomach ache, now imagine a giant hitting you with a fucking sledgehammer.[/QUOTE] It's not so much the pain that's bad but it's more the fact that you feel like several piles of shit and just can't be fucked to do ANYTHING.
Both my parents have genetic heart diseases. I got my tonsils removed as a kid. I am so dead.
I got my appendix removed last June or so, I'd rather have an increased likelyhood of heart attack than be dead.
[QUOTE=TBleader;30249605]I have my tonsils removed because they would swell up with my common ear infections, and the swelling was so bad that it could sometimes block my breathing. So I guess that means I have a 44% chance of an early heart attack? Unless I am missing something.. Is it a 44% chance DURING the actual surgery, before having it, or after it?[/QUOTE] 44% increased risk, not a 44% chance
33% is a huge number, this is bad news for alot of people.
What this is impossible I got my tonsils out and I'm fi
Get both out you have increased your chance by 77%. Nasty.
[QUOTE=RELAXiN;30251426]Get both out you have increased your chance by 77%. Nasty.[/QUOTE] Well FUCK I have both out
[QUOTE=TBleader;30249605]I have my tonsils removed because they would swell up with my common ear infections, and the swelling was so bad that it could sometimes block my breathing. So I guess that means I have a 44% chance of an early heart attack? Unless I am missing something.. Is it a 44% chance DURING the actual surgery, before having it, or after it?[/QUOTE] It's a 44% increase in the risk of having a heart attack after the removal.
[QUOTE=jaredop;30254834]Well FUCK I have both out[/QUOTE] Wow, you have like a 1 in 4 chance of not having a heart attack, and that's not even taking into account diet, exercise and lifestyle. Man you're fucked so hard.
welp I got my tonsils out bye guys
Almost everyone I know had their tonsils out, oh jeez.
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