Cardiovascular Health News

High blood pressure -- also known as hypertension -- is widespread, but treatment often fails. One in five people with hypertension does not respond to therapy. This is frequently due to inadequate diagnosis, as Franz Weber and Manfred Anlauf point out in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. If a patient's blood pressure is not controlled by treatment, … [Read more...]

Loneliness and social isolation are linked to around a 30 per cent increased risk of having a stroke or developing coronary artery disease--the two leading causes of illness and death in high income countries--finds an analysis of the available evidence, published online in the journal Heart. The size of the effect is comparable to that of other recognised risk factors, such … [Read more...]

While controlling blood pressure, blood sugar and LDL-cholesterol levels reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes, only 7 percent of diabetic participants in three major heart studies had recommended levels of these three factors, according to research from the Heart Disease Prevention Program at the University of California, Irvine School of … [Read more...]

A nationwide study of 2.3 million Israeli adolescents, examined from 1967 through 2010, finds an association between elevated body-mass index in late adolescence, and subsequent cardiovascular mortality in midlife. Overweight and obesity in adolescents have increased substantially in recent decades, and currently affect a third of the adolescent population in some developed … [Read more...]

A research team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health has unearthed more evidence that casts doubt on the traditional "heart healthy" practice of replacing butter and other saturated fats with corn oil and other vegetable oils high in linoleic acid. The findings, reported today in the British Medical Journal, suggest that using … [Read more...]

The human heart is a remarkable muscle, beating more than 2 billion times over the average life span. But the heart's efficiency can decrease over time. One major contributor to this decreased function is cardiac hypertrophy -- a thickening of the heart muscle, resulting in a decrease in the size of the left and right ventricles. This makes the heart work harder and pump … [Read more...]

Administering heart resuscitation drugs to patients whose cardiac arrest is witnessed at the time of the attack can improve survival, but needs to be done through an IV line rather than directly into bone marrow as is more commonly done by paramedics, a new study involving UT Southwestern Medical Center emergency physicians and Dallas-Fort Worth Emergency Medical Services (EMS) … [Read more...]

A new study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings determined that adults 50 and older are at a 50% increased risk for stroke for 90 days following a shingles episode More than 95% of the world's adult population is infected with the virus that causes chickenpox. Up to one third of these individuals will develop shingles (herpes zoster) in their lifetime. A new U.S. study has found that … [Read more...]

While more women die from heart disease each year than all forms of cancer combined, many are more fearful of other diseases, particularly breast cancer. This phenomenon, referred to as "misfearing," describes the human tendency to fear instinctively and according to societal influences rather than based on facts. This trend may be a contributor to the reasons why many women … [Read more...]

A team of researchers at the University of Florence in Italy and the University of Connecticut Health Center have used a multidisciplinary approach to provide an unprecedented glimpse of what happens to the heart during an "infarction" -- a heart attack -- by looking at how the attack affects electrical activity and calcium release in heart cells. "Thanks to this method, we … [Read more...]

As hormone levels change during the transition to menopause, the quality of a woman's cholesterol carriers degrades, leaving her at greater risk for heart disease, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health discovered. The first-of-its-kind evaluation, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was done using an advanced method to … [Read more...]

Scientists have found that eating almonds in your diet can reduce the risk of heart disease by keeping blood vessels healthy. Research found that they significantly increase the amount of antioxidants in the blood stream, reduce blood pressure and improve blood flow. These findings add weight to the theory that Mediterranean diets with lots of nuts have big health … [Read more...]

The heart is more forgiving than you may think -- especially to adults who try to take charge of their health, a new Northwestern Medicine® study has found. When adults in their 30s and 40s decide to drop unhealthy habits that are harmful to their heart and embrace healthy lifestyle changes, they can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary … [Read more...]

Long-term use of commonly prescribed heartburn and ulcer medications is linked to a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can increase the risk of dementia, nerve damage, anemia, and other medical complications, some of which may be irreversible. … [Read more...]

Treatment with the diabetes drug liraglutide, in combination with diet and exercise, led to a significant reduction in weight and improved a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to a multicenter study. The results are based from more than 3,700 overweight and obese nondiabetic adults. "If these improvements … [Read more...]

Doctors have long characterized epilepsy as a brain disorder, but researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found that part of the autonomic nervous system functions differently in epilepsy during the absence of seizures. This connection to the involuntary division of the nervous system may have implications for diagnosing and treating the disease and understanding … [Read more...]

More than 25% of the people on the national US waiting list for a heart will die before receiving one. Despite this discouraging figure, heart transplants are still on the rise. There just hasn't been an alternative. Until now. The "cyborg heart patch," a new engineering innovation from Tel Aviv University, may single-handedly change the field of cardiac research. The … [Read more...]

A study published in The American Journal of Medicine reveals that a whole diet approach, which focuses on increased intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish, has more evidence for reducing cardiovascular risk than strategies that focus exclusively on reduced dietary fat. This new study explains that while strictly low-fat diets have the ability to lower cholesterol, … [Read more...]

Among a large group of Midwestern firefighters, greater adherence to Mediterranean-style diet was associated with lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). The study is the first to assess the effects of Mediterranean-style diet among a group … [Read more...]

The generally accepted medical maxim that elevated HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) is "good" has been overturned by a multi-center, international study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They show that a certain genetic cause of increased HDL-C may actually be "bad," noting that a specific mutation in a gene which encodes a cell … [Read more...]

Many U.S. adults consume more added sugar (added in processing or preparing of foods, not naturally occurring as in fruits and fruit juices) than expert panels recommend for a healthy diet, and consumption of added sugar was associated with increased risk for death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network … [Read more...]

While the number of men dying from a heart attack has been constantly decreasing during the past twenty years, the fatal risk particularly in young women has increased significantly. Gender medicine has already demonstrated that women exhibit different symptoms. A new insight shows that stress in the daily routine has particularly adverse effects on the hearts of women. This … [Read more...]

Cholesterol levels -- the most common risk factor for heart attacks -- have decreased in northern Sweden over the last 20 years. Since medical drugs only account for a third of the decrease, the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease is greatly thanks to a change in lifestyle. This according to a study published in the European Heart Journal. Researchers at Umeå University … [Read more...]

Happy events can trigger a heart condition known as takotsubo syndrome, according to research published today (Thursday) in the European Heart Journal. Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is known as "broken heart syndrome" and is characterised by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles that causes the left ventricle of the heart to balloon out at the bottom while the neck … [Read more...]

Eating foods that contain vitamin C may reduce your risk of the most common type of hemorrhagic stroke, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3, 2014. Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, papaya, peppers, broccoli and strawberries. … [Read more...]

Forget the oysters and the champagne you had this Valentine's Day. If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, the real foods of love are dark chocolate and red wine, said Loyola University Health System preventive heart specialist Sara Sirna, MD. "Red wine and dark chocolate taste great and have heart-healthy components," said Dr. Sirna, who also is a … [Read more...]

Researchers have discovered the fundamental biology of calcium waves in relation to heart arrhythmias. The findings published this month in the January 19 edition of Nature Medicine outlines the discovery of this fundamental physiological process that researchers hope will one day help design molecularly tailored medications that correct the pathophysiology. Heart … [Read more...]

Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tend to co-exist and are associated with a variety of cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammation, insulin resistance, abnormal cholesterol, and high blood pressure. While effective therapies are available for OSA, researchers are still unclear about what interventions are most effective in reducing the burden of risk factors … [Read more...]

Men who eat moderate amounts of processed red meat may have an increased risk of incidence and death from heart failure, according to a study in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Processed meats are preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. Examples include cold cuts (ham, salami), sausage, bacon and hot … [Read more...]

An international team of researchers, led by Emory University clinician scientists, has found evidence that people suffering from moderate to severe cases of restless legs syndrome (RLS) are at significantly increased risk for developing hypertension. RLS, a common and debilitating sleep disorder, adversely affects the lives of tens of millions of people worldwide. The study … [Read more...]