A review of the literature on the health benefits of Salat (Islamic prayer)

@#Introduction: Recent studies explored the association between health and religious practice/spirituality. Several studies revealed that religious commitment and spirituality are generally associated with better health outcomes. Throughout the world, millions of Muslims perform salat (prayer) regularly five times a day. Salat is not only a physical activity but involves recitations of various Quranic verses and performance of certain postural positions. Several studies showed that salat does have positive effects on health status. This review aims to investigate the effects of Islamic salat on general health. Methods: A series of searches were conducted of Medline databases published in English between 1966 and October 2020 with the following keywords: Prayer, salat, health, and Islam. Results: Several positive effects of salat on health were identified. These include: psychological, neurological, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal effects. Conclusion: Salat is a non-pharmacological intervention and resource, and may be included in the holistic care and rehabilitation program aimed at the well-being of patients.

Islamic medical jurisprudence syllabus: A Review in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: The ever-increasing technological advances of Western medicine have created new ethical issues awaiting answers and response. The use of genetic therapy, organ transplant, milk-banking, end-of-life care and euthanasia are of paramount importance to the medical students and need to be addressed. Methods: A series of searches were conducted of Medline databases published in English between January 2000 and January 2017 with the following keywords: medical ethics, syllabus, Islam, jurisprudence. Results: Islamic medical jurisprudence is gaining more attention in some medical schools. However, there is still lack of an organised syllabus in many medical colleges. Conclusion: The outlines of a syllabus in Islamic medical jurisprudence including Islamic values and moral principles related to both the practice and research of medicine are explored.

cardiac patient during ramadan and hajj

The holy month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. During this month, fasting Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex from dawn until sunset. Although the Quran exempts sick people from the duty of fasting, it is not uncommon for many heart disease patients to fast during Ramadan. Despite the fact that more than a billion Muslims worldwide fast during Ramadan, there is no clear consensus on its effects on cardiac disease. Some studies have shown that the effects of fasting on stable patients with cardiac disease are minimal and the majority of patients with stable cardiac illness can endure Ramadan fasting with no clinical deterioration. Fasting during Ramadan does not seem to increase hospitalizations for congestive heart failure. However, patients with decompensated heart failure or those requiring large doses of diuretics are strongly advised not to fast, particularly when Ramadan falls in summer. Patients with controlled hypertension can safely fast. However, patients with resistant hypertension should be advised not to fast until their blood pressure is reasonably controlled. Patients with recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina, recent cardiac intervention or cardiac surgery should avoid fasting. Physician advice should be individualized and patients are encouraged to seek medical advice before fasting in order to adjust their medications, if required. The performance of the Hajj pilgrimage is another pillar of Islam and is obligatory once in the lifetime for all adult Muslims who are in good health and can afford to undertake the journey. Hajj is a physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually demanding experience. Medical checkups one or two months before leaving for Hajj is warranted, especially for those with chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. Patients with heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, serious arrhythmias, unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction, or cardiac surgery should be considered unfit for undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage

[Hanging by a thread] left ventricular thrombus in an asymptomatic soldier

A mobile and pedunculated left ventricular mass was incidentally detected on transthoracic echocardiography in a 32-year old asymptomatic soldier. Because of the mobility of the mass and the uncertainty of its nature, the risk of embolization was considered to be high, and hence surgical removal was recommended but the patient opted for anticoagulation therapy. The mass resolved within 6 weeks without any embolic or bleeding complications. No recurrence of the thrombus was observed during a 12-month follow up period

Cholestrol. How low should we go?

The National Cholesterol Education Program NCEP has recently updated their Adult Treatment Panel [ATP] III guidelines and called for more intensive cholesterol treatment, especially in patients at high risk for coronary heart disease CHD. The message from the updated report is that lower is better for high risk patients, with the NCEP expert panel calling for low-density lipoprotein LDL- cholesterol treatment targets of <100 mg/dL in patients at high risk for CHD. In very high risk patients, however, aggressively lowering LDL-cholesterol to <70 mg/dL is now a therapeutic option for clinicians. Very high risk individuals are those with cardiovascular disease plus diabetes, persistent cigarette smoking, poorly controlled hypertension, or multiple risk factors of the metabolic syndrome, and those who recently had a myocardial infarction MI. Despite the strong clinical evidence and widely publicized treatment guidelines, many hyperlipidemic patients receive inadequate lipid-lowering treatment or leave the hospital after having a MI without a statin. Intensive therapy should be considered for all patients admitted to the hospital for acute coronary syndrome. Achieving very low levels of LDL-cholesterol often requires high doses of a statin or a combination therapy. The coadministration of ezetimibe, a new cholesterol-absorption inhibitor, further reduced LDL-cholesterol by 23% compared with those patients who remained on statin therapy alone. Recent trials with statin therapy are discussed in this review

effect of fasting in Ramadan on patients with heart disease.

To determine the clinical and biochemical effects of fasting during Ramadan on patients with cardiac disease. Eighty-six outpatients with heart disease with intention to fast were studied in the month of Ramadan 1996 [1416 H] at the King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Detailed clinical and biochemical assessments were performed within 3 days before the start of Ramadan and then on the last day of Ramadan. There were 54 [62.8%] males and 32 [37.2%] females with a mean age of 56.3 years [range, 17-84]. Forty-six patients [53%] had coronary artery disease, 23 patients [27%] had valvular heart disease, 13 patients [15%] had congestive heart failure and 4 patients [5%] were treated for arrhythmia. Sixty-two patients [72%] were in New York Heart Association [NYHA] Class I, 18 patients [21%] in Class II, and 6 patients [7%] were in Class III. Seventy-four patients [86%] managed to fast during the entire Ramadan, 9 patients [10.4%] missed the fasting for up to 7 days, and 3 patients [3.5%] could not fast. There were no significant changes in the NYHA Class [p=0.12]. No significant changes occurred in any of the hematological or biochemical parameters during the fasting of Ramadan. The effects of fasting during Ramadan on stable patients with cardiac disease are minimal. The majority of patients with stable cardiac disease can fast during Ramadan without significant detrimental effects

Levodopa in severe congestive heart failure

The administration of dopamine results in substantial improvement in the performance of the failing heart, and oral formulation of this drug would, therefore, be desirable [1]. Levodopa is converted to dopamine after oral ingestion by the action of aromatic amino acid, decarboxylase in the liver and other tissues [2]. Rajfer [4] recently demonstrated that long-term failure is associated with sustained hemodynamic improvement. We report a case of the use of Levodopa in a patient with severe heart failure and cardiogenic shock who become dependent on intravenous positive inotropic agents