Cardiovascular Health News

Birth Control for Brain Injuries?Reported May 02, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A common ingredient in birth control pills may do more than prevent pregnancy … it could also help prevent brain damage after a head injury. Traumatic brain injuries are a major cause of death and disability. Preventing brain cell death after an injury is crucial to survival and recovery. Several … [Read more...]

BP Test: Home vs. Doc’s Office Reported December 04, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A high blood pressure reading at the doctor’s office may not be as predictive of heart risks as a high blood pressure reading at home. About 10 to 30 percent of people with high blood pressure have a condition known as resistant hypertension. For these patients blood pressure remains high … [Read more...]

Estrogen can benefit heart health for some menopausal women: studyJune 20, 2007 TORONTO (CP) - Researchers have added a new wrinkle to the debate over the safety of hormone replacement therapy with a finding that taking estrogen alone may benefit heart health for a certain group of menopausal women. In a new study, a followup to the massive … [Read more...]

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Harm Muscles? Reported September 30, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Taking higher doses of the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may cause dangerous side effects. New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham finds high doses of statins may hinder how the skeletal muscles repair and regenerate themselves. Statins have been known to … [Read more...]

Combined Testing Better at Detecting Heart Risks Reported November 06, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Doctors may be dismissing chest-pain patients prematurely. Experts say physicians relying on simply one test to assess heart health may be missing vital diagnostic information. Experts suggest adding coronary artery calcium score (CACS) testing to … [Read more...]

Cyclists' hearts can be 40% bigger than normalReported September 03, 2007 VIENNA, Austria — Riding the grueling Tour de France bike race takes strength, stamina — and perhaps a heart nearly 40 percent bigger than normal. Researchers who examined the hearts of former Tour bikers found that the athletes' hearts were from 20 to 40 percent larger than average, said Dr. Francois … [Read more...]

Diabetics, Older Patients Benefit From Heart BypassReported March 24, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It may be a more invasive surgery, but new research shows heart bypass surgery leads to longer lives than angioplasty for specific groups of patients. A new study involving nearly 8,000 patients from 10 clinical trials around the world shows heart patients who … [Read more...]

Does Weight Loss Drug Slow Heart Disease?Reported April 08, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A fatty mid-section can be a red flag for metabolic syndrome -- a group of metabolic risk factors that puts a person at increased risk for coronary heart disease and plaque build-up in artery walls. Abdominal obesity amplifies the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease -- the … [Read more...]

Effects of Glucose Control Last Years Reported October 13, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Diabetes patients treated with drugs may be less at risk for some major complications of their disease even after therapy is discontinued, new research shows. Researchers followed up on the large-scale United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) by selecting patients and following … [Read more...]

Faulty Batteries in Defibrillators Reported January 21, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) --The medical device maker Medtronic, Inc., has begun warning physicians about faulty batteries in a line of its implantable defibrillators.Batteries in the Marquis line of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) made before … [Read more...]

Fruit Juices Hamper Drugs’ Benefits Reported August 20, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Washing down your medicine with fruit juice may be a bad idea. You may have heard that grapefruit juice can increase the absorption of certain drugs and potentially turn normal doses into toxic ones. Now, the scientist who first identified this problem finds grapefruit and other common fruit … [Read more...]

Get Moving to Kick the HabitReported April 08, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you’re trying to quit smoking, you might want to get moving. A new study finds physically active smokers are more likely to succeed at kicking the habit. The study included 23,000 Canadian smokers. Researchers say physically active men were 36 percent more likely to have tried to quit smoking in … [Read more...]

Heart Attack Warning for Pregnant Women Reported July 11, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) Young pregnant women having heart attacks may be rare but it’s not impossible, especially for those already in high-risk categories. Just being pregnant can triple or quadruple the risk. “It’s extremely important that physicians who take care of women during pregnancy and after delivery be … [Read more...]

Age is a Risk in Heart Surgery Reported November 24, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- As the number of people older than 80 increases, a new study shows the importance of considering age before undergoing heart surgery. The study reported in this month's Archives of Surgery indicates age alone is a risk factor for increased mortality and morbidity when taking into … [Read more...]

Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure is a High-Risk Condition Reported December 5, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Uncontrolled hypertension, or blood pressure, puts people at higher risk for sharper drops in short-term memory loss and verbal ability, according to a recent study. Researchers at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School and the … [Read more...]

My Heart's in Bogalusa Reported October 24, 2005 NEW ORLEANS (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Heart disease is a leading killer of Americans, but it isn't something just adults need to worry about. Extensive research shows just how damaging our overeating and sedentary lifestyles are to kids. The paper mill town of Bogalusa is the home and heart of 13,000 Louisianans. It's … [Read more...]

Irregular Heart Beat: Support for Controversial Theory Reported June 19, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Atrial fibrillation, the most common form of human heart beat irregularity, can be fatal if left untreated. Some clinicians believe it is caused, in part, by calcium leaking from a cellular store in heart cells, potentially through the RyR2 channel, … [Read more...]

Green tea cuts heart disease risk Reported September 09, 2009 To reach the conclusion, researchers from Okayama University tracked the health of more than 12,000 elderly people living in Japan. The men and women were aged between 65 and 84. In the study, the volunteers were asked to fill out questionnaires on lifestyle … [Read more...]

Statins cut risk of stroke, heart attack in study Reported November 10, 2008 Boston researchers reported yesterday they have developed a strategy that dramatically reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and even death among older adults who don't have the traditional warning signs of perilously clogged arteries. Using a test they pioneered, scientists from Brigham and … [Read more...]

Heart disease risk begin at early age Reported November 06, 2007 WASHINGTON: The problems of overweight and heart disease risk factors begin at an early age, and may become evident by the time a child reaches age seven, according to a study. While making a presentation at the American heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007, the researchers revealed that their … [Read more...]

Medicine's Next Big Thing: Growing HeartsReported September 19, 2007 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Imagine surviving a heart attack and having laboratory-grown muscle implanted in your heart. Or try to envision being born with a defective heart valve and being able to get a new heart to grow in its place. These are possibilities that could soon become … [Read more...]

New Test Measures Death Risk in COPD Patients Reported March 21, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new, non-invasive test measuring lung hyperinflation can be used to predict the risk of death in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study. COPD is a lung disease that often … [Read more...]

Optimistic Healing Reported June 16, 2009 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Studies show having a positive attitude could make you less likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes and pain from conditions like arthritis. But what if you've already gotten the devastating diagnosis? Can an upbeat outlook make a difference? Two women are incorporating a … [Read more...]

Psoriasis Associated With High Blood Pressure, Diabetes in WomenReported April 23, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women with psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, appear to have an increased risk for developing diabetes and high blood pressure, Harvard researchers said. In a study involving more than 78,000 women who were followed for 14 years, those … [Read more...]

Widening the Scope of Heart ScreeningReported December 23, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The Joint British Societies announced their new guidelines on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice. For the first time, they have physicians looking at cardiovascular disease as a whole, not just coronary heart disease. The … [Read more...]

Statins Cut Blood Clot Risk Reported November 09, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Statins may help reduce the risk of blood clots in patients with heart disease, new research shows. More than 2 million Americans develop venous thromboembolism (VTE) every year, which includes blood clots (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PE). Cancer patients, people who have … [Read more...]

Study: Save Limbs With Stents Reported March 16, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Interventional radiologists are revealing new information about the use of drug-eluting stents used to treat critical limb ischemia in peripheral arterial disease or PAD patients. In a new study, researchers concluded the stents can lessen the rate of repeat procedures. Critical limb ischemia … [Read more...]

Too Much Sodium!Reported December 26, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study reveals Americans consume far too much sodium, even if they already have high blood pressure and despite getting advice from a physician. Researchers analyzed data collected from a random sample of more than 4,000 Americans who were part of a regular … [Read more...]