Papers
- Alcohol Is Good For Heart (applesforhealth)
One to three drinks of alcoholic beverages a day is good for your heart. Light to moderate drinking - be it beer, wine or distilled spirits - is associated with a 50 percent reduction in heart disease and stroke, said Dr. Bengt Fagrell, professor of internal medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm. 9-17-99.
- Angina treatment Guidelines Issued (applesforhealth)
Three medical groups have issued guidelines for physicians on the treatment of patients with stable angina, a precursor to more serious heart disease and heart attacks. 06-18-99.
- Atherosclerosis - Glass Of Grape Juice Keeps Artery Doctor Away (applesforhealth)
Researchers say drinking purple grape juice may fight atherosclerosis. The study, published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, indicates that the effect of the juice may thwart the actions of agents that lead to the development of coronary artery disease. 09-24-99.
- Diet Plan - Top Health Groups Endorse Diet Plan (applesforhealth)
Four major US health organizations have endorsed an eating plan designed to help protect against killer diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. 06-25-99.
- Exercise Benefits Health (applesforhealth)
Scientists say a regular dose of "lifestyle physical activity," like brisk walking or raking leaves, can improve health as much as agonizing gut-busting gym workouts and may be enough to reduce heart disease risk, improve blood pressure and control weight and moods. 06-04-99.
- Food Supplements - Vitamin E May Help Smokers (applesforhealth)
Heavy smokers can slow the progression of blood vessel thickening - a marker for heart disease and stroke - by taking moderate supplements of Vitamin E and Vitamin C daily. 09-03-99.
- Heart - Angina (National Library of Medicine - Medline Plus)
Provides information on diagnosis and treatment. 11-99
- Heart - Brisk Walking Helps Heart (applesforhealth)
New research in The New England Journal of Medicine finds brisk, low-sweat walking can help the heart just as well as more vigorous exercise. Heart specialists say this news may finally convince some couch potatoes to stride into good health. 09-03-99.
- Heart - Device Prevents Sudden Cardiac Death (applesforhealth)
Sudden cardiac death from a heart rhythm disorder can be staved off by the use of a surgically implanted device known as a cardiac defibrillator, which prevents the heart from beating irregularly, a study shows. 07-02-99.
- Heart - Drug Reduces Heart Complications (applesforhealth)
A biotechnology-engineered drug, eptifibatide (Integrilin), significantly reduces risk of complications created during those angioplasty procedures in which tiny coils are placed in blood vessels -- a procedure performed 500,000 times a year in the United States. 03-24-00.
- Heart - Exercise Keeps Patients Off Operating Table (applesforhealth)
Twenty minutes of moderate exercise a day relieved angina symptoms as much as an invasive heart operation. 03-24-00.
- Heart - Get Happy (applesforhealth)
It’s become common knowledge that in the battle against heart disease, your emotional well-being is important. Here are some suggestions for preventing depression, anger, and other bad-for-the-heart emotions. 03-03-00.
- Heart - Give Blood (applesforhealth)
Recent studies have shown that giving blood can cut your risk of heart attack and certain cancers. In the U.S., it’s more common for people to have too much iron, especially among men and post menopausal women. 03-10-00.
- Heart - Hospitals Slow In Heart Emergencies (applesforhealth)
Researchers say you have a better chance of surviving cardiac arrest caused by an abnormal heart rhythm on an airplane or in a casino than in a hospital. 12-03-99.
- Heart - Interpreting Systolic and Dystolic Numbers (New-Fitness.com)
Provides a simple and clear interpretation of information on blood pressure. 12-01
- Heart - Lifestyle Change Could Slash Heart Disease (applesforhealth)
If you eat right, exercise and don't smoke - the lifestyle changes major health organizations advocate - you can reduce the risk of dying from premature heart disease by 80 percent. 11-19-99.
- Heart - Men And The Fiber Connection (applesforhealth)
Not only will an increase of fiber help to prevent hernias, but it will also lead to a lower risk of heart attacks. 03-17-00.
- Heart - Non-Invasive Treatment Can Help Angina (applesforhealth)
A new study finds a little-used non-invasive treatment can help millions of Americans who suffer from angina, the often severe chest pain that can lead to more serious heart disease. 06-25-99.
- Heart - Old Drug Aids People With Heart Failure (applesforhealth)
An international study has shown that an inexpensive steroid pill, spironolactone, can save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with heart failure, a disease that contributes to a quarter of a million deaths each year and is on the rise in the United States. 08-20-99.
- Heart - Orange Juice Increases Good Cholesterol (applesforhealth)
Drinking three glasses of orange juice a day increases the amount of so-called "good cholesterol" in the body - reducing the risk of heart disease. 11-19-99.
- Heart - Smoking Pot Boosts Heart Attack Risk (applesforhealth)
New research from Harvard shows that the risk of having a heart attack is five times higher an hour after smoking marijuana. 03-10-00.
- Heart - Treadmill Test Predicts Heart Attacks (applesforhealth)
A standard treadmill test may accurately predict the risk for a fatal heart attack. 09-17-99.
- Heart - Vascular Problems May Be Linked to Virus (applesforhealth)
Oregon researchers say they've discovered why a common kind of herpes virus seems to exacerbate blood-vessel problems in patients who have undergone organ transplant or balloon angioplasty. 01-07-00.
- Heart - Walking Cuts Women's Heart Disease Risk (applesforhealth)
Women don't have to run to escape heart disease, they can just walk away from it, says the strongest evidence so far that exercise does not have to be strenuous to improve health. 09-03-99.
- Heart - Young Women At Risk Of Heart Attack (applesforhealth)
Heart attacks are twice as deadly for women under 50 as they are for men of the same age, says a new study. 07-23-99.
- Heart Attack Deaths Declining (applesforhealth)
An international study of 170,000 episodes indicates death rates from heart attack are declining. 06-11-99.
- Heart Attack Prevention - Controlling Cholesterol (Walker)
Provides an explanation about accumulation of cholesterol and makes recommendations. Explains how lipoproteins, HDL, LDL, and LP, regulate cholesterol in the body. (Also explains that HDL and LDL are not forms of cholesterol, but are regulators of cholesterol.)
- Heart Attacks - Angioplasty Tops Drugs (applesforhealth)
When a clogged heart vessel causes a heart attack, doctors either use clot-busting drugs to dissolve the blockage or employ catheters to mechanically open the blood vessel. Using catheters, angioplasty, worked better in the study. 11-05-99.
- Heart Conditions - Prevention and Treatment Through Herbs (Hoffman)
- Heart Conditions - Tachycardia or Arrythmia Treatment (Life Plus)
Recommends nutrients to prevent or reduce arrythmia. Note - recommendations are made by a health store selling products rather than nutritionists or physicians.
- Heart Conditions - Ventricular Fibrillations (Medtronic)
Provides an explanation and an animation to describe this serious condition of arrythmia.
- Heart Disease (WebMD)
Provides articles for the consumer, including types of heart disease, diagnosis, prevention, treatments, and more.
- Heart Disease (applesforhealth)
The American Heart Association is disputing a recent report that death rates from heart disease have declined. 10-29-99.
- Heart Disease - Chinese Diet Can Keep Heart Healthy (applesforhealth)
Researchers say westernized Chinese are moving away from the traditional diet rich in vegetables and green tea and instead adopting the typical American diet that contains larger amounts of animal fats - a dietary shift that may be increasing their risk of heart disease and stroke. 12-10-99.
- Heart Disease - Link Between Blood-Clotting Factors, Estrogen Levels (applesforhealth)
The levels of two blood-clotting factors linked to heart disease risk vary over the menstrual cycle, doctors report. 03-31-00.
- Heart Disease - Reducing Susceptibility to Heart Disease With Diet (Fisher)
Provides recommendations to reduce susceptibility to heart disease with diet.
- Heart Disease And Hot Reactors (applesforhealth)
According to cardiologists, one in every five people is a 'hot reactor' a person whose blood pressure shoots up under pressure. 04-21-00.
- Heart Disease Less Deadly (applesforhealth)
The warnings about the hazards of smoking and high cholesterol and other heart hazards have apparently paid off. 08-13-99.
- Heart Disease Patients - Less Hostile Is Better (applesforhealth)
Men with coronary heart disease reduced their blood pressure by taking a course in anger and hostility management. 07-30-99.
- Heart Disease and Strokes (American Medical Association)
Provides articles on the prevention and treatment of heart disease and strokes. 1-04
- Heart Muscle Regenerates (USA Today)
Provides a summary of a major medical finding, that a heart can repair itself after a heart attack. Before this, scientists and doctors believed that heart muscles could not be restored after they were damaged in a heart attack. 6-01
- Heart Pacemaker and Exercise (applesforhealth)
Not everyone who has a pacemaker implant wants to take it easy -- or needs to -- but cardiologists say those who want to start an exercise program probably need to get the heartbeat regulator adjusted first. 02-11-00.
- Heart Rips Fixed Without Surgery (applesforhealth)
In work hailed as a medical milestone, international researchers say patients with life-threatening rips in the arteries of the heart have the best chance of recovery if their doctors forego surgery and use a non-surgical procedure to patch up the damaged area with a small tube. 06-18-99.
- Heartbeat Treatment Succeeds In Wisconsin (applesforhealth)
Doctors at a Milwaukee hospital say they've successfully treated an elderly woman's erratic heartbeat with radiofrequency-generated heat. 06-11-99.
- Longevity - Gene Therapy May Be Key To Staying Young (applesforhealth)
Harvard researchers have used gene therapy to turn back the clock for old lab rats, giving them hearts like youngsters one-third their age. 03-17-00.
- Magnesium and Heart Disease (Mason)
Suggests that water high in magnesium can help protect against heart disease. 6-02
- Safety Tips For Shoveling Snow (applesforhealth)
Shoveling snow can help burn the calories, but it can also put people at risk for a heart attack or back injury. 01-28-00.
- Stroke Rates Soar After Heart Attack (applesforhealth)
Stroke among the elderly occurs five times more frequently than previously thought in people who have had a heart attack. 11-12-99.
- Target Heart Rate During Exercise (WebMD)
Provides instructions and an online assessment of your target heart rate, the heart rate you should try to achieve and maintain during exercise.
- Tips To Avoid A Sedentary Lifestyle (applesforhealth)
Making the most of your downtime can mean the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy heart. The American Heart Association offers a list of exercise tips to perform at home. 03-17-00.
Research
- Best Disease Prevention Found (Independent)
A new polypill has been invented that is expected to be on the market within two years. "The polypill would contain aspirin to prevent blood clots, a statin to lower cholesterol, three blood-pressure lowering agents at half the standard dose and folic acid to lower homocysteine, which causes furring of the arteries. If given to everyone aged over 55, one in three people would gain from the treatment, surviving for an extra 12 years on average without a heart attack or stroke."
" 'It would be acceptably safe and with widespread use would have a greater impact on the prevention of disease in the Western world than any other single intervention,' the authors say in the BMJ." 6-03
- Blood Test Predicts New Vessel Growth (applesforhealth)
A simple blood test can help predict whether heart-disease patients are likely to recover from blocked arteries, cancer patients to have aggressive tumors, and diabetics to lose their eyesight. 08-06-99.
- C-Reactive Protein to Diagnose Heart Attack Risk (P-S-L Consulting Group)
Provides information on a new method of assessing risk for heart attacks. 10-00
- Cholesterol - Benecol Cuts Cholesterol In Children (applesforhealth)
A study published in the February issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, Journal of the American Heart Association, shows that Benecol margarine with plant stanol ester is effective in lowering LDL or “bad” cholesterol up to 18 percent in children with genetically high cholesterol. 02-18-00.
- Heart - Advances In Engineering Heart Tissue (applesforhealth)
Five years ago, scientists achieved the first success in engineering heart tissue. They seeded cells on a three-dimensional scaffold outside a living body - which then began beating as one. 10-15-99.
- Heart - Drug Gives Blanket Coverage For Hearts (applesforhealth)
A large study shows an anti-high blood pressure drug, ramipril, can reduce the risk of serious events - death, stroke or heart attacks - for virtually any patient with heart disease, diabetes and related conditions. 09-10-99.
- Heart - Drug Shows Promise Against Angina (applesforhealth)
The initial results of a clinical trial indicate Ranolazine could become the first in a new class of drugs to potentially treat angina, a serious heart disease affecting 7.2 million Americans. 10-22-99.
- Heart - Drug Treatment Before Bypass Surgery (applesforhealth)
Research indicates there are benefits to giving patients the drug sotalol before they undergo coronary artery bypass surgery. 10-22-99.
- Heart - Easy Steps To Walking For Health (applesforhealth)
New research demonstrating that brisk, low-sweat walking can help the heart just as well as more vigorous exercise may finally convince some couch potatoes to stride into good health, some heart specialists say. 09-03-99.
- Heart - Exercise Benefits Transplanted Hearts (applesforhealth)
California researchers have shown for the first time that vigorous exercise is safe for heart transplant patients, and it can significantly improve their hopes of living normal lives. 06-04-99.
- Heart - Folic Acid Policy May Help Hearts (applesforhealth)
The government-mandated use of folic acid in bread and grains to prevent birth defects may also protect against heart disease. 06-11-99.
- Heart - Growth Factor Builds New Blood Vessels (applesforhealth)
Researchers say an experimental time-release capsule, fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), implanted during open heart bypass surgery infused a natural protein that helped grow new blood vessels and relieved lingering chest pain. 12-17-99.
- Heart - Missing Genes Lead to Heart Trouble (applesforhealth)
Researchers have found a deleted section of genetic matter can lead to deadly heart problems in mice and that supplying the missing genes can restore health, a finding with implications for humans. 09-24-99.
- Heart - Scientists Create Heart Valve In Lab (applesforhealth)
For the first time, researchers have grown working heart valves from lamb cells in research that suggests it may be possible to grow human valves to replace defective parts in people. 11-12-99.
- Heart - Two More Tools To Fight Heart Failure (applesforhealth)
Two drugs already in use for high blood pressure and angina can cut death and hospitalization from heart failure in half when added to traditional treatments, according to a new report. 06-09-99.
- Heart Attacks - Coil Devices Keep Heart Arteries Open (applesforhealth)
Tiny coils implanted in critical arteries help prop open blood vessels better than procedures that use only the balloon pressure of Angioplasty to eliminate life-threatening blockages during heart attacks. 12-31-99.
- Heart Attacks - Superaspirin Aids Patients With Leg Pain (applesforhealth)
Doctors are reporting the new "superaspirins" are superior to standard aspirin in preventing stroke and heart attack in patients with clogged blood vessels in their legs. 08-20-99.
- Heart Disease - Cholesterol Lowering Reduces Heart Disease (applesforhealth)
Older Americans have the Nation's highest rate of coronary heart disease (CHD) and can benefit greatly from lowering elevated cholesterol, according to a report from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). The report notes that cholesterol lowering also has been shown to reduce the risk of strokes. 08-27-99.
- Heart Disease - Clue To Protection Against Heart Disease (applesforhealth)
Doctors say the ability of some people to develop new coronary arteries that help reroute blood flow around blockages might be the result of their ability to produce a growth factor that protects against heart attacks. The growth factor is a protein that helps generate new blood vessels. 09-17-99.
- Heart Disease - Complex Patterns Of Heart Disease (applesforhealth)
Researchers have come up with a technique that can help doctors identify a seemingly healthy heart heading for trouble. 07-02-99.
- Heart Disease - Gene Therapy (applesforhealth)
Preliminary human testing of a gene therapy injected directly into the oxygen-starved heart muscle indicates the technique is safe. The findings open the door to possible new treatments for heart disease, say the authors of a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. 10-22-99.
- Heart Patients Take Those Meds (applesforhealth)
Canadian scientists have found that people who diligently take their medication after a heart attack are significantly less likely than those who are more lax - even when the drugs are actually placebos, or sugar pills. 08-06-99.
- Heart Shock Defibrillator Saves Lives (applesforhealth)
An implanted device that shocks the heart into a normal rhythm reduces the risk of sudden death due to abnormal heartbeat by 74 percent compared to drug treatment, or no treatment. 12-24-99.
- Higher Doses of Statin Drugs Yield Excellent Results (iVillage.com)
"The 'miracle' cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have just become more miraculous."
"New research shows high levels of the drugs given to people who have just been hospitalized with heart attacks or high-risk unstable angina not only prevented future "events" but also saved lives."
"These findings call into question current guidelines on how low low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or the "bad" cholesterol) levels should be."
"But even today, as the editorial points out, only about 11 million people are getting statins when an estimated 36 million should be on them. Worldwide, more than 200 million people meet the criteria for treatment with statins while only 25 million are actually taking the drugs. This is largely a cost issue, Topol states. His editorial points out that in Cleveland, the cost of 10 mg of atorvastatin per day (the recommended starting dose) is $900 per year, while the 80-mg dose costs $1,400 per year. At a collective $12.5 billion, statins are the largest prescription drug expenditure in the United States, he writes." 3-04
- Laser Holes In Heart Help Patients (applesforhealth)
Drilling a series of holes through the heart with a laser to improve blood flow to nutrient-starved heart muscle relieves chest pain and improves quality of life for patients who have run out of other options for treatment of heart disease. 11-12-99.
- Stroke - Doctors Leg Pain Could Be Deadly (applesforhealth)
Narrowing of blood vessels in the legs - often causing pain in the calves while walking - increases a person's risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack by as much as 50 percent. 09-17-99.
- Women - Estrogen Hormone Shields Women's Hearts (applesforhealth)
Spanish scientists have discovered how the most common estrogen hormone in women attaches to blood vessel cells to help protect against high blood pressure and heart disease. 09-24-99.
- Women - Estrogen Therapy Studies Differ (applesforhealth)
Controversial estrogen replacement therapy appears to improve some aspects of heart health, but researchers said Monday there was no benefit to the hormone for women who already have heart disease. 03-17-00.
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