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Heart Disease

Related Topics:

• cholesterol / HDL cholesterol / homocysteine / inflammation / strokes / red yeast rice / policosanol / guggul / pantethine / artichoke / inositol hexanicotinate / triglycerides / statins / green tea / hesperidin / hypertension / angioplasty / peripheral arterial disease / deep vein thrombosis / hardening of the arteries

Popular Supplements:

• red yeast rice / policosanol / statins / niacin / inositol hexanicotinate / red clover / pantethine / magnesium / co-enzyme Q10 / HMB / hawthorn / garlic / guggulow / alfalfa extract / aspirin / curcumin (turmeric) / vitamin C / carotenoids / acetyl-l-cysteine

Alternative News:

• Congestive Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy - Life Extension Foundation
• Atherosclerosis - Life Extension Foundation
• Heart & Circulatory Health Center - Vitacost Health Library
• Cardiomyopathy - Vitacost Health Library
• Cardiovascular Disease Overview - Vitacost Health Library
• Heart Attack - Vitacost Health Library
• Congestive Heart Failure - Vitacost Health Library
• Mitral Valve Prolapse - Vitacost Health Library
• What vitamins are best for people with heart disease? - Drugstore.com
• Heart disease prevention - The Natural Pharmacist
• Heart Health - Fish Oil - natmedonline.com
• Heart Health - Garlic - natmedonline.com
• How to Heal A Failing Heart - thenutritionreporter.com
• B-Vitamins and Heart Disease - thenutritionreporter.com
• Reducing Salt Intake Can Lower the Long-Term Risk for Cardiovascular Events - Medscape, 4/24/08 - "Cutting back on salt intake, while known to lower blood pressure, also appears to significantly reduce the long-term risk of cardiovascular events. Observational follow-up from the Trials of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP) showed that a reduction in salt intake could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease outcomes by 25%"
• Dietary Fish Oil Has Antiarrhythmic Effects in Ischemic Heart Disease - Medscape, 4/22/08 - "This stabilizing effect may be one way in which fish oil reduces mortality in patients with coronary artery disease" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• DASH Diet Improves Women's Heart Health - WebMD, 4/14/08 - "The women who had the highest DASH scores had the lowest risk for heart disease and stroke. Closely following a DASH diet resulted in a 24% reduction in heart disease risk and 18% lower risk of stroke when compared to those with the lowest DASH scores"
• The glycemic index and cardiovascular disease risk - Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2007 Dec;9(6):479-85 - "dietary GI and/or glycemic load independently predict cardiovascular disease, with relative risk ratios of 1.2 to 1.7 comparing highest and lowest quintiles. In randomized controlled trials in overweight subjects, diets based on low-GI carbohydrates have produced better cardiovascular-related outcomes than conventional low-fat diets. Taken together, the findings suggest that health professionals may be able to improve cardiovascular outcomes by recommending the judicious use of low- GI/glycemic load foods"
• New evidence for the cardiovascular benefits of long chain omega-3 Fatty acids - Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2007 Dec;9(6):434-40 - "The role of long chain omega-3 fatty acids (LC n-3 FAs) as cardioprotective agents has become even clearer with the recent publication of the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study. This was the largest randomized controlled trial in the field, and it demonstrated that even in a population with one of the highest LC n-3 FA intakes in the world, the addition of eicosapentaenoic acid could reduce cardiac events" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Flavonoid intake and the risk of ischaemic stroke and CVD mortality in middle-aged Finnish men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study - Br J Nutr. 2008 Apr 1;:1-6 - "men in the highest quartile of flavonol and flavan-3-ol intakes had a relative risk of 0.55 (95 % CI 0.31, 0.99) and 0.59 (95 % CI 0.30, 1.14) for ischaemic stroke, respectively, as compared with the lowest quartile. After multivariate adjustment, the relative risk for CVD death in the highest quartile of flavanone and flavone intakes were 0.54 (95 % CI 0.32, 0.92) and 0.65 (95 % CI 0.40, 1.05), respectively"
• Brief, High Doses Of Folate -- B Vitamin -- Blunt Damage From Heart Attack - Science Daily, 3/27/08 - "Long known for its role in preventing anemia in expectant mothers and spinal birth defects in newborns, the B vitamin folate, found in leafy green vegetables, beans and nuts has now been shown to blunt the damaging effects of heart attack when given in short-term, high doses to test animals ... a high dose of folic acid for humans comparable to that given the rats would require an average-size adult to swallow more than 200 one-milligram pills per day, "an impractical and unrealistic regimen, even if the body excretes the excess."" - I debated whether to publish this.  It is a ridiculous amount.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Be Useful for Cardioprotection - Medscape, 3/18/08 - "To date, the strongest evidence showing a CV benefit from omega-3 fatty acid intake derives from 3 large controlled trials in which a total of 32,000 participants were randomized to a control group or to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing DHA and EPA. In these trials, the supplemented group had a 19% to 45% reduction in CV events vs the control group ... Patients with hypertriglyceridemia should consume 3 to 4 g/day of DHA and EPA, which can lower triglyceride levels by 20% to 50%" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Fish Diet May Cut Sudden Coronary Death - WebMD, 3/12/08 - "Men who reported eating an average of 6 grams of fatty fish daily -- that's two servings, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's serving-size guidelines -- were 55% less likely than men who ate no fatty fish to die of sudden coronary death ... The researchers chalk up the results to the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Resveratrol protects against arsenic trioxide-induced cardiotoxicity in vitro and in vivo - Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Mar 10 - "The clinical use of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)), a potent antineoplastic agent, is limited by its severe cardiotoxic effects ... resveratrol significantly attenuated As(2)O(3)-induced QT prolongation, structural abnormalities and oxidative damage in the heart. In H9c2 cardiomyocytes, resveratrol also decreased apoptosis, production of ROS and intracellular calcium mobilization induced by treatment with As(2)O(3). These observations suggested that resveratrol has the potential to protect against cardiotoxicity in As(2)O(3)-exposed patients" - See Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb.
• Cardiovascular Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reviewed - Science Daily, 3/12/08 - "The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefit provided by omega-3 fatty acids comes from three large controlled trials of 32,000 participants randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing DHA and EPA or to act as controls ... These trials showed reductions in cardiovascular events of 19 percent to 45 percent ... keeping fish oil capsules in the freezer ... may help reduce burping and upset stomach symptoms" - I've always done the freezer thing and haven't had any problem with the burp even on an empty stomach.  Also note that it's the DHA and EPA that count.  I have friends that buy cheap fish oil capsules that have very low DHA and EPA (omega-3) and they think they are getting a great deal.  I take Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.  They've got the highest percentage of omega-3 that I've found.
• Omega3 Fatty acids for cardioprotection - Mayo Clin Proc. 2008 Mar;83(3):324-32 - "The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefit provided by omega-3 fatty acids comes from 3 large controlled trials of 32,000 participants randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or to act as controls. These trials showed reductions in cardiovascular events of 19% to 45%. These findings suggest that intake of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from dietary sources or fish oil supplements, should be increased, especially in those with or at risk for coronary artery disease. Patients should consume both DHA and EPA. The target DHA and EPA consumption levels are about 1 g/d for those with known coronary artery disease and at least 500 mg/d for those without disease. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia benefit from treatment with 3 to 4 g/d of DHA and EPA, a dosage that lowers triglyceride levels by 20% to 50%. Although 2 meals of oily fish per week can provide 400 to 500 mg/d of DHA and EPA, secondary prevention patients and those with hypertriglyceridemia must use fish oil supplements if they are to reach 1 g/d and 3 to 4 g/d of DHA and EPA, respectively" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.  I take both because the percentage of omega-3 (EPA and DHA) is very low in other supplements.  I don't know what the rest of that oil is but your not saving anything by getting supplements with a low percentage.  Just do the math plus if the rest of the oil is an omega-6 you're not helping the omega-6/omega-3 ratio.
• Ingredient In Yellow Curry Can Reduce Heart Enlargement And May Prevent Heart Failure - Science Daily, 2/21/08 - "Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure" - See Curcumin/turmeric products at iHerb.
• Long Term N-Acetylcysteine and L-Arginine Administration Reduces Endothelial Activation and Systolic Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - Diabetes Care. 2008 Feb 11 - "The NAC+ARG administration seems to be a potential well-tolerated antiatherogenic therapy since it improves the endothelial function in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes by improving NO bioavailability via reduction of the oxidative stress and increase of NO production. Our study's results give prominence to its potential use in the primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention in these patients"
• Herbal Remedy, Hawthorn Extract, Can Help The Heart, Review Finds - Science Daily, 1/22/08 - "The trials involved a total of 855 patients and the data indicated that hawthorn extract: ... improved maximal workload ... increased exercise tolerance ... reduced oxygen consumption by the heart ... reduced shortness of breath and fatigue" - See hawthorn products at iHerb.
• Broccoli Good for the Heart - WebMD, 1/18/08 - "The rats that had eaten the broccoli extract had three heart advantages over the other rats: ... Better blood-pumping ability ... Less heart damage during oxygen deprivation ... Higher levels of heart-health chemicals during oxygen deprivation ... Broccoli's key nutrients include selenium and sulforaphane, which may also curb cancer" - See I3C products at iHerb.
• Calcium: Heart Risk for Older Women? - WebMD, 1/15/08 - "The women in the supplement group got 861 milligrams of calcium from diet per day, on average, boosting their total daily intake to 1,861. The placebo group averaged about 853 milligrams of calcium daily from their diet ... The risk of a heart attack was about 1.5 times greater for those in the supplement group, but the link did not reach statistical significance ... the calcium supplements may elevate blood calcium levels and possibly speed calcification in blood vessels"
• Lipoic Acid Could Reduce Atherosclerosis, Weight Gain - Science Daily, 1/14/08 - "lipoic acid supplements reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in two types of mice that are widely used to study cardiovascular disease, by 55 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The supplements were also associated with almost 40 percent less body weight gain, and lower levels of triglycerides in very low-density lipoproteins" - See Doctor's Best, Best Stabilized R-Lipoic Acid Na-RALA at iHerb.
• Staying Active And Drinking Moderately Is The Key To A Long Life, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 1/9/08 - "ischaemic heart disease ... People who drank at least one drink a week and were physically active had a 44-50 per cent lower risk of IHD compared to physically inactive non-drinkers"
• The effects of a whole grain enriched hypocaloric diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors in men and women with metabolic syndrome - J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jan;87(1):79-90 - "Both hypocaloric diets were effective means of improving CVD risk factors with moderate weight loss. There were significantly (P < 0.05) greater decreases in CRP and percentage body fat in the abdominal region in participants consuming whole grains than in those consuming refined grains"
• Lack Of Vitamin D May Increase Heart Disease Risk - Science Daily, 1/7/08 - "those with blood levels of vitamin D below15 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) had twice the risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, heart failure or stroke in the next five years compared to those with higher levels of vitamin D ... Overall, 28 percent of individuals had levels of vitamin D below15 ng/mL and 9 percent had levels below10 ng/mL. Although levels above 30 ng/mL are considered optimal for bone metabolism, only 10 percent of the study sample had levels in this range" - See Vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Jan;11(1):7-12 - "vitamin D deficiency may be a contributor to the development of cardiovascular disease potentially through associations with diabetes or hypertension"
• Dietary fiber intake and retinal vascular caliber in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1626-1632 - "Dietary fiber was related to wider retinal arteriolar caliber and narrower venular caliber, which are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. These data add to the growing evidence of the benefits of fiber intake on various aspects of cardiovascular pathogenesis"
• Prevention of hypertension, cardiovascular damage and endothelial dysfunction with green tea extracts - Am J Hypertens. 2007 Dec;20(12):1321-8 - "green tea extract (GTE) ... The GTE prevented hypertension and target organ damage induced by a high Ang II dose, likely by prevention or scavenging of superoxide anion generation" - See Green tea products at iHerb.
• Modest Gain In Visceral Fat Causes Dysfunction Of Blood Vessel Lining In Lean, Healthy Humans - Science Daily, 11/5/07 - "There are three parts to the take-home message here: One is that in healthy people, modest weight gain results in impaired endothelial function -- even in the absence of changes in blood pressure. The second is the encouraging news: endothelial function recovers after weight loss. The third point is that it is visceral fat -- the abdominal fat that surrounds internal organs -- rather than fat deposited as subcutaneous fat, just under the skin, that predicts endothelial dysfunction"
• Resveratrol inhibits TNF-alpha-induced changes of adipokines in 3T3-L1 adipocytes  - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Oct 26 - "resveratrol may improve obesity-induced cardiovascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis, by attenuating the TNF-alpha-induced changes of adipokines" - See my favorite Jarrow Resveratrol 100 at iHerb.
• Whole Grains Cut Heart Failure Risk - WebMD, 10/22/07 - "the risk of heart failure among those who ate breakfast cereal at least seven times a week was 29% lower than that the risk among those who never ate cereal, after adjusting for other heart disease risk factors ... When researchers further analyzed the results they found this healthy effect was associated with whole-grain cereals only, not with refined breakfast cereals"
• Why Garlic Is Good for You - WebMD, 10/15/07 - "red blood cells process compounds from digested garlic and turn them into the cell messenger hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow. Therefore, eating garlic may increase our natural supply of this vital chemical and play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease" - See Garlic products at iHerb.
• Beyond lipids: the role of omega-3 Fatty acids from fish oil in the prevention of coronary heart disease - Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2007 Aug;9(2):145-53 - "Results of the recent JELIS trial in a Japanese population already consuming a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids showed a 19% risk reduction in major coronary events" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Statins' Effect on Endothelial Function Enhanced by L-arginine in Some Patients - Doctor's Guide, 6/11/07 - "endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD) ... simvastatin had no appreciable effect on EDD (6.2±1.2% vs. 6.1±0.9%) in subjects with elevated ADMA. However, the addition of L-arginine to simvastatin significantly improved EDD (9.8±1.5% vs. 5.3±0.8%; P <.01). There were also significant improvements in EDD in response to L-arginine alone" - See L-arginine products at iHerb.
• Pine extract prevents heart failure damage in mice - Reuters, 5/22/07 - "The effectiveness of Pycnogenol supplementation is a great option for many people who want an alternative to prescription medications such as beta-blockers or ACE inhibitors" - See Pine Bark/Pycnogenol products at iHerb.
• Health Benefits Of Whole Grains Confirmed - Science Daily, 5/9/07 - "Consuming an average of 2.5 servings of whole grains each day is associated with a 21 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to consuming only 0.2 servings"
• Cut Heart Risk by Eating Less Salt - WebMD, 4/19/07 - "people who reduced their dietary sodium while participating in the studies saw 25% reductions in heart disease and stroke risk 10 to 15 years later, compared with people who ate their usual diets"
• Fish Oil: Getting to the Heart of It - Medscape, 4/12/07 - "A food-based approach to increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids is preferable. However, for those with known CHD, the increased dose required to lower triglycerides could be as much as 4 g/day. Consuming fish 2.5 to 3 times a week would provide a combined intake of about 500 mg EPA and DHA/day.[21] It is unrealistic to think that these high daily doses could be achieved through diet alone, resulting in a requirement for supplementation" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• The impact of olive oil consumption pattern on the risk of acute coronary syndromes: the cardio2000 case-control study - Clin Cardiol. 2007 Mar;30(3):125-9 - "Exclusive use of olive oil during food preparation seems to offer significant protection against CHD, irrespective of various clinical, lifestyle and other characteristics of the participants"
• Omega-3 Fatty Acid May Protect Heart - WebMD, 3/29/07 - "2.8% of those taking EPA along with statins experienced a major coronary event, compared with 3.5% of those only taking statins ... That's a 19% difference" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Use Folic Acid To Cut Heart Disease, Say Experts - Science Daily, 11/28/06 - "The scientific evidence is strong enough to justify using folic acid as a cheap and simple way of reducing heart disease and strokes"
• Folic Acid Modestly Protects Against Cardiovascular Events - Medscape, 11/27/06 - "the combined evidence from cohort, genetic, and randomized controlled studies is indeed strong enough to support a modest protective effect of this nutrient"
• Flavonoid-Rich Grapeseed Extracts: for Cardiovascular Patients - Medscape, 11/9/06 - "The antioxidant and vascular protective aspects of flavonoid-rich products such as GSE, when combined with the potential hypolipidaemic and anti-platelet effects make a strong case for its potential in preventing and treating diseases associated with endothelial injury, oxidative damage and inflammation; chief among which are type 2 DM and atherosclerotic vascular disease ... the use of GSE in such patients may demonstrate concomitant improvements in insulin resistance, endothelial function, inflammation in high-risk patient groups and ultimately cardiovascular outcome" - See iHerb or Vitacost grape seed extracts.
• Moderate Drinking May Help Male Heart - WebMD, 10/23/06 - "men who reported drinking half a drink to two drinks daily were least likely to have had heart attacks"
• Fish Oils Produce Anti-inflammatory Effects and Improve Body Weight in Severe Heart Failure - J Heart Lung Transplant. 2006 Jul;25(7):834-8. Epub 2006 May 24 - "Fish oils decrease TNF-alpha production in heart failure and improve body weight. Fish oil therapy may represent a novel therapeutic approach in late-stage heart failure characterized by cardiac cachexia"
• 5 Superfoods for Your Heart - WebMD, 5/31/06 - "Blueberries ... Salmon ... Soy Protein ... Oatmeal ... Spinach"
• Coffee May Help Postmenopausal Heart - WebMD, 5/30/06 - "Women who reported drinking one to three daily cups of coffee at the study's start were 24% less likely to die of heart disease during the study"
• Hearty Drinkers Have Healthy Hearts - WebMD, 5/25/06 - "Over nearly six years, men who drank every day cut their risk of heart disease by 41%. Women who drank at least once a week cut their risk of heart disease by 36% or more ... Women who drank the most -- 14 or more drinks per week -- generally had the lowest risk of heart disease: as much as a 73% decrease in risk"
• Intake of Fish and n3 Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Japanese. The Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC) Study Cohort I - Circulation. 2006 Jan 9 - "Compared with a modest fish intake of once a week or approximately 20 g/d, a higher intake was associated with substantially reduced risk of coronary heart disease, primarily nonfatal cardiac events, among middle-aged persons" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.
• Thiamin Deficiency Common in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 1/13/06 - "Among patients hospitalized with heart failure, about one in three has deficient levels of thiamin ... a relatively small dose of thiamin from a multi-vitamin was protective against developing thiamin deficiency"
• Usefulness of omega-3 Fatty acids and the prevention of coronary heart disease - Am J Cardiol. 2005 Dec 1;96(11):1521-9 - "the evidence suggests a role for fish oil (eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid) or fish in secondary prevention because recent clinical trial data have demonstrated a significant reduction in total mortality, coronary heart disease death, and sudden death. The data on ALA have been limited by studies of smaller sample size and limited quality"
• Green tea 'may protect the heart' - BBC News, 2/28/05 - "a major chemical component of green tea known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) can reduce cell death after a heart attack or stroke ... EGCG also appears to speed up the recovery of heart cells" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea products.
• Columbia Study Suggests Brushing Your Teeth May Reduce Risk Of Stroke And Heart Attack - Science Daily, 2/17/05 - "people with gum disease are more likely to suffer from atherosclerosis – a narrowing of blood vessels that can lead to stroke or heart attack ... one possible explanation for the link is that the bacteria that cause the gum disease may migrate throughout the body via the bloodstream and stimulate the immune system, causing inflammation that results in the clogging of arteries"
• Whole Grains Help Your Heart - WebMD, 12/29/04 - "Eating just 25 grams of whole grains a day reduces the risk of heart disease by about 15%"
• Scientists Discover Recipe For Life: Eating The 'Polymeal' Cuts Heart Disease By 76% - Science Daily, 12/17/04 [Abstract] - "Results of dining on the Polymeal were most dramatic for men, who were projected to live on average 6.6 years longer in total than those not eating the meal ... The Polymeal includes wine, fish, dark chocolate, fruits and vegetables, almonds and garlic, eaten on a daily basis (but four times a week for fish). Scientists reviewed the medical literature on how much each ingredient cuts heart disease, blood pressure or cholesterol levels by varying amounts, (150ml wine daily for instance reduces heart disease by 32%) and worked out the combined effect of the ingredients"
• Nutrition Advice You Can Take to Heart - WebMD, 9/22/04 - "we could cut our rate of heart disease by one-half if we took more magnesium ... the way to combat high homocysteine is to take folic acid ... Niacin (also known as vitamin B-3) helps increase HDL ... Potassium helps regulate blood pressure levels ... A lot of people think of calcium as for the bones, but it's also good for the heart"
• Exercise Stalls Effects of Aging on the Heart - WebMD, 9/16/04
• Prolonged, Sustained Exercise Prevents Precursor To Heart Failure - Science Daily, 9/14/04 - "We found that the older, sedentary individuals' hearts were 50 percent stiffer than the Masters athletes, which we expected ... what we didn't expect was that the hearts of these senior athletes were indistinguishable from those of the healthy younger participants"
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Get New Health Claim - WebMD, 9/8/04 - "The FDA now says it will allow foods and supplements containing eiscosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids to carry a qualified health claim that says eating the product may reduce the risk of heart disease"
• Low Chromium Linked to Heart Disease Risk in Patients With Diabetes - Medscape, 9/3/04 - "Our results suggest that diabetic men with CVD have lower toenail chromium than healthy control subjects"
• Fish intake is associated with a reduced progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Sep;80(3):626-32 - "Consumption of fish is associated with a significantly reduced progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis in women with coronary artery disease" - See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.
• Tomato Juice for Cardiovascular Health? - WebMD, 8/17/04 - "Half the group drank 1 cup of clarified tomato juice daily for three weeks; the rest took a tomato-flavored placebo ... the juice drinkers had a reduction in platelet clumping or aggregation, one of several steps thought to be important in the formation of blood clots that may lead to heart attacks and strokes"
• Aspirin Lowers Risk of a First Heart Attack by One-Third - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/03 - "Aspirin reduces the risk of a first heart attack by 32 percent, according to a report published in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine" - See Drugstore.com aspirin products.
• DHEA May Fight Heart Disease, But How? - WebMD, 7/23/03 - "taking small doses of DHEA improved insulin sensitivity and endothelial function -- two factors that contribute to the development of heart disease -- in 24 middle-aged men with high cholesterol" - See iHerb or Vitacost DHEA products.
• Researchers Devise a Single-Pill Drug Strategy for Targeting Cardiovascular Risk Factors - Doctor's Guide, 7/10/03 - "the Polypill would reduce IHD events by 88%"
• Manage Heart Failure With Lifestyle - WebMD, 5/6/03
• Improve Your Sex Life And Protect Against Heart Attack - Life Extension Magazine, 5/03 - "low testosterone levels were associated with several risk factors for heart attack such as high insulin levels, abnormal glucose metabolism, low levels of HDL cholesterol and high blood pressure. Moreover, he further proposed that the converse was also true: testosterone protects against heart disease in men"
• Walking Won't Prevent Heart Disease - WebMD, 4/15/03 - "only more strenuous exercise and physical activity, such as jogging, swimming, and climbing stairs, on a regular basis can significantly reduce the risk of early death due to heart disease"
• Whole-Grain Cereal Lengthens Lives - thesandiegochannel.com, 3/28/03 - "men who ate one serving of whole-grain, high-fiber cereal every day were nearly 30 percent less likely to die from heart disease or other diet-related diseases ... the more whole-grain cereal the men ate, the lower their risk of death from heart disease ... Whole-grain cereals contain the kind of fiber that helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and improves how the body processes insulin and glucose. Whole grains also have more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than refined cereal ... To make sure a cereal contains whole grains, check the ingredient list. Whole grain or bran should be listed as the first ingredient ... To be a whole-grain cereal, it must contain at least 2 grams of fiber per serving, preferably more"
• Sleep, Less and More, Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 1/24/03
• More Booze, Fewer Heart Attacks? - WebMD, 1/8/02 - "men who drank alcohol three to four times or more per week were about 30-40% less likely to have a heart attack during the 12-year period, compared with men who drank less than once a week ... the type of alcohol beverage didn't matter -- beer, wine, or liquor -- they all provided some protection against heart disease, although the strongest association for the reduced risk was with beer and liquor"
• Three Diet Strategies Help Prevent Coronary Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/27/02 - "Evidence is now clear that diets including non-hydrogenated unsaturated fats as the predominant form of dietary fat, whole grains as the main form of carbohydrate, an abundance of fruit and vegetables and adequate omega-3 fatty acids can offer significant protection against CHD"
• Folic Acid for Your Heart - WebMD, 11/22/02 - "By increasing folic acid intake and thus decreasing homocysteine, the researchers say the risk of heart disease would drop by 16%, blood clots in the legs by 25%, and stroke by 24%" - See iHerb or Vitacost folic acid products.
• Argument Strengthens For Folic Acid To Reduce Homocysteine Level - Doctor's Guide, 11/26/02 - "A decrease in serum homocysteine of 3 micromol/l, which can be achieved by a daily intake of about 0.8 mg folic acid, should reduce the risk of ischaemic heart disease by 16 percent, deep vein thrombosis by 25 percent, and stroke by 24 percent" - See iHerb or Vitacost folic acid products.
• Fatty acids from fish can ward off heart attacks - Intelihealth, 11/19/02 - "Studies now suggest that components of fish oil, called omega-3 fatty acids, can save the lives of people with heart disease ... The heart association also cited recent research indicating that even people with healthy hearts can benefit from a diet rich in such fish as salmon, bluefish, Arctic char, mackerel and swordfish ... fish can reduce a man's risk of dying from a heart attack by 80% ... omega-3 fatty acids can cut a woman's risk of death by heart attack by 33% ... Fatty fish can contain significant levels of mercury" - Omega-3 is the sum of the EPA and DHA not the total oil.  See Mega Twin EPA at Vitacost or iHerb.
• Daily Exercise Training As Effective As Stent Angioplasty In Stable Coronary Artery Disease - Doctor's Guide, 11/19/02
• Coronary Artery Disease Risk Among Asians Cut By Adopting Indo-Mediterranean Diet - Doctor's Guide, 11/7/02
• Dose-Response Relationship Between Exercise, Heart Disease In Men - Doctor's Guide, 10/23/02 - "There is a significant inverse, dose-response relationship between total physical activity and risk of myocardial infarction (MI), and coronary heart disease (CHD) in men"
• Weight Training May Help Heart - Intelihealth, 10/23/02
• Acetylcysteine Can Reduce Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Endstage Renal Disease - Doctor's Guide, 10/1/02 - "therapy with acetylcysteine appears to significantly reduce cardiovascular events among haemodialysis patients" - See iHerb and Vitacost acetyl-l-cysteine products.
• More Good News on Tea - WebMD, 9/27/02 - "The latest studies suggest tea might lower cholesterol, improve heart health, prevent rectal cancer in women, and reduce cell damage in smokers" - See iHerb or Vitacost green tea products.
• Alcohol Can Help Women's Hearts Too - WebMD, 9/16/02 - "10 men aged 45-64 and nine women aged 49-62 drank either regular beer or non-alcoholic beer for three weeks ... After 10 days of drinking alcohol, HDL cholesterol levels rose by an average of nearly 7% for both men and women ... Previous research suggests that a 1% increase in HDL cholesterol is linked to a 2% reduction in the risk of heart disease"
• Vitamins C, E May Prevent Artery Damage - Vitacost, 9/11/02
• Eat Nuts For A Healthy Heart - New Hope Natural Media, 8/1/02
• Novel Method of Enhancing Anti-Fat Effects of CLA - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "CLA is not just for fat-loss. Studies show it may help protect against many diseases including atherosclerosis and cancer" - See iHerb and Vitacost CLA products.
• Negative Results in Antioxidant-Heart Study Challenged: A Healthnotes Newswire Opinion - New Hope Natural Media, 7/11/02 - "Nutrients work in the body as a team, and all of them must be present in adequate amounts in order to promote good health. If magnesium, for example, were the weakest link in the nutritional chain, one would not expect antioxidants to do much good until the magnesium deficiency was corrected ... Rather than testing only one or a few nutrients at a time, researchers should use a supplement that contains all of the nutrients known to promote heart health" - Some of my concerns:  All the vitamin E studies I've read have only used the alpha tocopherol and taking only the alpha has been shown to significantly lower the gamma tocopherol.  I also feel that the studies using only beta carotene are pointless.  Beta carotene is just one of over 600 carotenoids and many researchers believe that taking mega doses of just one carotenoid can cause of deficiency of the others.
• Vitamin C May Prevent Platelet Aggregation - Doctor's Guide, 5/28/02 - "Vitamin C may inhibit collagen-induced platelet aggregation. This may add to the protection that vitamin C is already known to give against coronary heart disease ... In smokers who received vitamin C, there were significant decreases in platelet aggregation after six hours with both collagen concentrations compared to placebo. In non-smokers, there were significant decreases of platelet aggregation after three and six hours for both collagen concentrations"
• Vitamin C Beneficial In Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/27/02 - "These two groups were split into subgroups: those who received 2 g of vitamin C and those who did not after eating high-fat meal ... Although the postprandial flow-mediated dilatation was significantly aggravated in people not taking vitamin C (both with and without heart disease), this parameter in patients and subjects taking vitamin C showed no significant change"
• Physical Training Benefits Heart-failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/15/02
• Take Aspirin at Night for Heart Benefits - WebMD, 5/15/02 - "Aspirin didn't affect blood pressure if given in the morning. But when given at night, it had a significant effect: a 7.0 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood-pressure reading) and a 4.8 mmHg decrease in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number)."
• Tea Prolongs Survival After Heart Attack - WebMD, 5/6/02 - "Researchers say the findings add to a growing notion that the antioxidant-rich flavonoids found in black and green teas prevent heart disease. But this is the first study to suggest that drinking tea can actually protect the heart after damage has already occurred"
• Folate Fights Stroke and Heart Disease - WebMD, 5/2/02 - "people who consumed at least 300 mcg of folate every day had a 20% lower risk of stroke and a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those consuming less than 136 mcg of folate per day ... Folate is also thought to offset risk of cardiovascular disease, by reducing levels of homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine is linked with higher risk of atherosclerosis because it damages arteries, but vitamins B-6 and B-12, as well as folic acid, have been found to prevent that damage from occurring"
• What's Wrong With Vitamin E? - Life Extension Magazine, 5/02 - "Tocotrienols and cardiovascular disease ..."
• Tea Drinking Good for the Heart - WebMD, 4/25/02
• Four New Studies Strongly Suggest That Components From Three Types [elderberry, chokeberry and bilberry]  Of Red Berry Fruits Help Arteries - Intelihealth, 4/22/02
• A Popular Japanese Plum [umeboshi], Now Available In The US, May Help Prevent The Onset Of Cardiac Disease - Intelihealth, 4/22/02
• Regular Walking Aids Older Arteries - WebMD, 4/22/02 - "The 12-week study involved a group of 14 women, all about age 60, who didn't exercise but were otherwise healthy ... At the end of the study, they all had nearly 50% improvement in elasticity of arteries ... The exercise schedule: the women walked just five days a week for 40 to 45 minutes"
• Fish Oil Supplements Protect Heart - WebMD, 4/8/02 - "A daily fish oil supplement may help heart attack survivors reduce their risk of sudden death by as much as 42% ... taking one gram daily of omega-3 fatty acids significantly reduced the risk of death in people who had heart attacks ... the researchers found these benefits were not related to common explanations such as lowering cholesterol levels or reducing blood clots ... fatty acids may play a part in regulating the electrical activity of heart muscle cells -- a process responsible for the heart rhythm"
• Saunas Improve Heart Failure - WebMD, 3/15/02
• Researchers Find Wine-Heart Link - Intelihealth, 12/20/01
• Legumes Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 11/29/01 - "participants who consumed legumes at least four times per week had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease and an 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed legumes less than once a week"
• Folate Cost-Effective For Prevention Of Coronary Artery Reblockage - Intelihealth, 11/29/01 - "The vitamin therapy included a combination of folic acid (also known as folate or vitamin B9), vitamin B12, and vitamin B6. Patients who received the vitamins had significantly lower levels of homocysteine, and lower rates of restenosis and cardiac complications"
• Vitamin C Inhibits Cell Death In Congestive Heart Failure Patients - Intelihealth, 10/30/01
• Dry Sauna Heat Helps the Heart - WebMD, 10/1/01 - "Two weeks of daily sauna treatment didn't change the blood vessel function of the normal men -- but it helped most of the at-risk men ... only two weeks of repeated once-a-day sauna treatment significantly improved [the blood vessel] function -- about 40% -- of patients with coronary risk factors"
• After Heart Attack, Lifting Weights Lifts Mood - WebMD, 9/19/01 - "lifting a few light weights on a regular basis actually can lift a guy's spirits, plus it can reduce the risk of another bad heart episode"
• Folic Acid/Vitamin B12 Show Potential as Heart Disease Treatments - Doctor's Guide, 8/22/01
• High Fatty Acid Levels May Mean Sudden Death For Middle-Aged Men - Intelihealth, 8/14/01 - "The editorial suggests that increasing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, which come from fatty fish or canola oil, and decreasing the intake of omega-6 fatty acids, found in plant seed oils (corn, safflower, sunflower), is a way to reduce the risk of sudden death"
• Free Fatty Acids May Be Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death in Healthy Men - WebMD, 8/14/01 - "Very high levels of free fatty acids were associated with "2.5 to three times the risk for sudden cardiac death" ... Several factors, including cigarette smoking, fasting, hyperthyroidism, or heart attack, can trigger the release of free fatty acids ... The real risk, says Leaf, who is professor of clinical medicine at Harvard Medical School, comes from omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in foods fried in corn, safflower, or sunflower oils ... By contrast omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fatty fish and canola oil are actually heart healthy"
• Newly Hip Nutrient May Stave Off Heart Disease - WebMD, 6/21/01 - "the team gave lutein supplements to two types of heart-disease prone mice. These treated mice had significantly less atherosclerosis than did similar mice that hadn't received the supplemental lutein"
• Arterial Disease Depletes Body of Vitamin C - WebMD, 4/9/01 - "In atherosclerosis, arteries and other blood vessels are lined with fat deposits and buildup of cellular materials, including inflammatory cells, which release unstable molecules called free radicals. The free radicals do additional damage to the delicate vessels, says Langlois. Antioxidants such as vitamin C seek out and destroy free radicals, but in the process the antioxidants are themselves destroyed ... PAD appears to kick the body's inflammatory process into high gear, which then releases a free radical bombardment, that can "deplete the supply of vitamin C""
• Fatty Fish -- Not Fried -- Reduces Heart Attack Deaths in Older Adults - WebMD, 2/28/01 - "Those who ate at least one serving of fatty fish every week were 35% less likely to die of a heart attack."
• Folic Acid and Vitamin B-12 May Help Prevent Heart Disease - WebMD, 12/11/00
• Tea May Be Heart-Healthy - Intelihealth, 11/14/00
• Got Magnesium? Those With Heart Disease Should - WebMD, 11/9/00 - "Similar magnesium supplements are available over-the-counter in the U.S., but they might not provide similar benefits. "The product we used is from Germany, where supplements of this kind are regulated and quality is monitored," Merz says. "Because that is not the case in the U.S., it is impossible to know what you are getting in a supplement, or even whether it contains any magnesium at all.""
• Orange Juice Improves Hypercholesterolemic Blood Lipids - Doctor's Guide, 11/9/00
• Study Says Vitamin C Helps Prevent Strokes - Intelihealth, 10/27/00
• Vitamin E Reduces Levels Of Protein That Predicts Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 10/24/00
• Folic Acid and the Heart Turning Into Fast Friends - WebMD, 8/31/00
• Hawthorn: Old Reliable for the Heart - Nutrition Science News, 8/00
• For Reducing Heart Disease Risk, Fish Oil Isn't Snake Oil - WebMD, 8/8/00
• 3 B's Block Cardiovascular Disease - Nutrition Science News, 7/00
• How CoQ10 Protects Your Cardiovascular System - Life Extension Magazine, 4/00
• Hearts & Bones: Calcium's Many Applications - Nutrition Science News, 2/00
• Chocolate: A heart-healthy confection? - CNN, 2/2/00
• Ginkgo biloba, a potential to treat heart disease - CNN, 8/6/99
• Fiber may reduce women's risk of heart disease - CNN, 6/1/99
• Low-fat diet, not wine, fights heart disease in France - CNN, 5/28/99
• Sidestep Heart Disease - Nutrition Science News, 3/99
• Prolonged treatment with slow release nicotinic acid in patients with type II hyperlipidemia - Pol Arch Med Wewn. 1997 Nov;98(11):391-9
• The effect of long-term Enduracin monotherapy on the clinical and biochemical status of patients with ischemic heart disease - Ter Arkh. 1997;69(9):41-5
• A comparison of the efficacy and toxic effects of sustained- vs immediate-release niacin in hypercholesterolemic patients - JAMA. 1994 Mar 2;271(9):672-7

CME/CEM:

• Medscape cardiology CME courses
• Doctor's Guide cardiology other CME courses
• Doctor's Guide Congestive Heart Failure CME courses

Videos:

• Wine for your heart's health? - CNN

General Information:

• Coronary Heart Disease - American Academy of Family Physicians
• Coronary Heart Disease - emedicine.com
• Coronary Heart Disease - familydoctor.org
• High Cholesterol - John Hopkins Health
• Congestive Heart Failure - Veritas Medicine
• Coronary Heart Disease - Veritas Medicine
• Heart Basics - Intelihealth
• Books on heart disease - Amazon.com
• Treatments for heart disease - Medifocus.com

Other News:

• Cardiovascular Risk: Low Sodium Diets Might Be Worse Than High Salt Diets - Science Daily, 5/15/08 - "Contrary to long-held assumptions, high-salt diets may not increase the risk of death ... The Einstein researchers actually observed a significantly increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated with lower sodium diets" - This has been going back and forth for years.  I try to cut down and use Morton Lite salt, etc.
• Inflammatory Markers and Albuminuria Independently Predict Heart Failure - Medscape, 5/2/08 - "Interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein, and macroalbuminuria are significant predictors of congestive heart failure, independent of obesity and other established risk factors" - Also see my inflammation page for ways to reduce it.
• Statin Drug Crestor Slows Artery Plaque - WebMD, 4/1/08 - "A trial of the statin drug Crestor [rosuvastatin] has been halted early due to "unequivocal evidence" that it reduces heart attacks, strokes, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease in people with no signs of heart disease" - See rosuvastatin at OffshoreRX.com.
• Cholesterol Testing Not Enough for Some - WebMD, 3/27/08 - "once LDL cholesterol is lowered to recommended levels in high-risk patients, testing for the protein ApoB may more accurately identify those still at risk for cardiovascular events" - See my ApoB page fro ways to reduce it.
• Half Of Heart Patients Significantly Underuse Effective Heart Medications, Many Because Of Cost - Science Daily, 2/18/08 - "American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend heart attack patients receive treatment with a beta-blocker, a statin cholesterol-lowering drug, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), and aspirin. A combination of the drugs has reduced coronary heart disease death by 80 percent compared to placebo"
• Dangerous Duo: Hostility Plus Depression Elevates Risk For Heart Disease - Science Daily, 2/11/08
• Stress At Work Is Linked To Heart Disease - Science Daily, 1/22/08 - "chronic work stress was associated with CHD and this association was stronger among both men and women aged under 50 -- their risk of CHD was an average of 68% more than for people who reported no stress at work"
• Egg Consumption and Risk of Heart Failure in the Physicians' Health Study - Circulation. 2008 Jan 14 - "Although egg consumption up to 6 times per week was not associated with incident HF, egg consumption of >/=7 per week was associated with an increased risk of HF. Compared with subjects who reported egg consumption of <1 per week, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for HF were 1.28 (1.02 to 1.61) and 1.64 (1.08 to 2.49) for egg consumption of 1 per day and >/=2 per day, respectively, after adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, and history of atrial fibrillation, hypertension, valvular heart disease, and hypercholesterolemia"
• Insulin-Resistant Cardiomyopathy - Medscape, 1/15/08 - "Increasing evidence points to insulin resistance as a primary etiologic factor in the development of nonischemic heart failure (HF) ... Epidemiological evidence suggests more than simply a correlation between insulin resistance and HF, demonstrating that insulin resistance precedes HF rather than occurring as a consequence of it ... Medications that work primarily by improving insulin sensitivity (metformin, thiazolidinediones [TZDs]) might theoretically be the most attractive therapies" - See my web page on Insulin and Aging.
• Blood Pressure and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Chinese Men and Women - Am J Hypertens. 2008 Jan 10 - "Our results indicate that there is a strong, linear, and independent relationship between BP levels and the risk of CVD in Chinese adults. Systolic BP is a stronger predictor of CVD risk compared to diastolic BP"
• Statins for All Adults with Diabetes? - WebMD, 1/10/08 - "One-third fewer people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes would suffer heart attacks or strokes if they took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs"
• CRP Levels Predict Death in Patients With Chronic Heart Disease - Medscape, 1/8/08 - "Elevated baseline CRP levels raised the risk (per unit of log-transformed CRP level change) of the primary endpoint by 19%, MI by 17%, total death by 19%, and cardiac death by 28%"
• Healthy Smile May Promote A Healthy Heart - Science Daily, 1/8/08 - "individuals with periodontal disease whose biomarkers showed increased bacterial exposure were more likely to develop coronary heart disease or atherogenesis (plaque formation in the arteries)"
• Sept. 11 Stress Increases Risk Of Heart Problems, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 1/7/08 - "Our study is the first to show that even among people who had no personal connection to the victims, those who reported high levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms in the days following the 9/11 attacks were more than twice as likely to report being diagnosed by their doctors with cardiovascular ailments like high blood pressure, heart problems and stroke up to three years later"
• ACUTE EFFECTS OF TRIIODOTHYRONINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE AND LOW-T3 SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan 2 - "Low-triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome is a predictor of poor outcome in patients with cardiac dysfunction ... dilated cardiomyopathy (DC) ... In DC patients, short-term synthetic L-T3 replacement therapy significantly improved neuroendocrine profile and ventricular performance" - See T3 at International Anti-aging Systems.
• Most Adults With Conditions That Increase Cardiovascular Disease Risk Have High Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 12/17/07 - "High blood pressure was found in most persons with cardiovascular diseases and related problems ... 75 percent or more were being treated for hypertension, but only one-third to one-half of those in treatment reached goal levels for blood pressure (140/90 milligrams of mercury for most patients, or 130/80 milligrams of mercury for patients with diabetes or chronic kidney disease)"
• Calcium In Coronary Arteries May Be Linked To Increased Risk For Heart Disease In Low-risk Women - Science Daily, 12/12/07
• Waist, Hips May Predict Heart Disease - WebMD, 12/10/07 - "a big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to be as worrisome as a big waist with small hips"
• Low Testosterone, Early Death? - WebMD, 11/27/07 - "The lower a man's testosterone level, the higher his risk of death -- especially death from heart disease ... Men in the highest quartile were 41% less likely to die"
• Chronic Arguing With Your Spouse May Raise Your Heart Disease Risk - Science Daily, 10/8/07
• Low HDL Cholesterol, Even When LDL Levels Are Low, Is Cardiovascular Dynamite, New TNT Analysis Shows - Medscape, 10/3/07 - "Among patients treated with statins, including those who achieved very low levels of cholesterol with high-dose statin therapy, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels are still predictive of major cardiovascular (CV) events ... In the determination of the five-year risk of major CV events across the different quintiles, univariate analysis showed the event rate to be reduced by 40% in the highest quintile when compared with subjects with the lowest HDL-cholesterol levels" - See niacin products at iHerb.
• Anger and Stress Contribute To Coronary Heart Disease - Science Daily, 9/26/07
• Heart Damage Can Be Reversed with Early Treatment - Science Daily, 8/27/07 - "During the first six months of the study, 38 subjects received a placebo, and the other 38 subjects took 160mg of Valsartan, a drug that blocks a hormone that is detrimental to the blood vessels and the heart. During the next six months, both groups took Valsartan ... Those who took the drug for the first six months significantly reduced their Rasmussen Disease Score compared with those who took the placebo. At the 12-month mark -- after both groups were taking the drug -- every patient showed better Rasmussen Disease Scores, effectively demonstrating that Valsartan can slow progression and even reverse early cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic high-risk patients" - Note:  Diovan® (valsartan) is an ARB.
• Framingham Study: The apoB/apoA-1 ratio does not provide clinical utility over total/HDL cholesterol - theHeart.org, 8/14/07 - "In men, non-HDL cholesterol, apoB, the total/HDL-cholesterol ratio, the LDL/HDL-cholesterol ratio, and the apoB/apoA-1 ratio were all positively associated with CHD risk of approximately the same magnitude and statistical significance. ApoA-1 and HDL cholesterol were associated with reduced CHD risk. Similar results were observed for women, but apoA-1 was not significantly associated with incident CHD. In men and women, LDL and total cholesterol were not significantly associated with CHD risk"
• 20-year Study Finds No Association Between Low-carb Diets And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease - Science Daily, 11/9/06 - "In the first study to look at the long-term effects of low-carbohydrate diets, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found no evidence of an association between low-carb diets and an increased risk of CHD in women. Their findings did suggest, however, an association between low-carb diets high in vegetable sources of fat and protein and a low risk of CHD"
• Study Supports Findings That Periodontal Bacteria May Be Linked to Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 7/21/06 - "acute coronary syndrome (ACS) ... Seventy-seven percent of the participants in the ACS group and 42 percent in the control group demonstrated evidence of periodontitis"
• A New Goal for Aging - WashingtonPost.com, 2/21/06 - "prevention of heart disease needs to begin very early in life because by middle age, most of the risk factors are already established ... We need to focus on young adults, even teens"
• Erectile Dysfunction Common, Linked with Severity of Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 1/24/06 - "Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects approximately one in five American men, appears to be associated with cardiovascular and other chronic diseases and may predict severity and a poor prognosis among those with heart disease"
• Testosterone May Actually Help Men's Hearts - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "The thickness of the wall of this artery is a predictor of a higher risk of heart disease. The study showed that the wall thickness increased as testosterone levels dropped"
• Blood Test May Show Heart Attack Risk - WebMD, 5/16/05 - "White blood cells are infection-fighting cells that may increase in response to infection or inflammation. Studies suggest that hardening of the arteries caused by cholesterol plaque -- atherosclerosis -- is linked to inflammation. Therefore, researchers suggest that measuring white blood cells may help reveal heart disease risk"
• WBC Counts Predict Future CVD Events - Physician's Weekly, 4/25/05 - "Patients with WBC counts greater than 6.7 x 109 cells/L were found to be at high risk, even when clinicians had not identified traditional CVD risk factors"
• Periodontitis and CVD: What Is the Link? - Medscape, 3/18/05 - "An association between periodontal health and systemic disease is not farfetched in light of research confirming that Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori (among other organisms) have also been linked to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events.[5] In perhaps the same manner, periodontitis disturbs systemic homeostasis. It is possible that chronic damage of epithelial tissues due to periodontitis may induce the periodontal pocket to ulcerate, allowing access to the bloodstream.[4] Bacteria and their toxins, localized tissue response to cytokines (proteins that regulate other cells in the blood), and additional mediators of inflammation can all disrupt homeostasis when toxins gain entry to the systemic circulation"
• Easy Blood Test May Reveal Women's Heart Risk - WebMD, 3/14/05 - "women with the highest white blood cell counts had twice the risk of dying of heart disease than those with the lowest levels ... women in the top fourth also had a 40% higher risk of nonfatal heart attack, 46% higher risk of stroke, and 50% higher risk of death due to any cause"
• Noise Exposure Linked to Heart Attacks - WebMD, 9/3/04
• Cause of Most Heart Attacks Found - WebMD, 8/30/04 - "the cause of almost all heart attacks can be pinpointed to one or more of the following: ... Smoking ... Abnormal cholesterol ... Diabetes ... High blood pressure ... Stress ... Abdominal obesity ... Sedentary lifestyle ... Eating too few fruits and vegetables ... Abstaining from alcohol"
• Signs of Depression Put Heart at Risk - WebMD, 2/9/04
• Nitroglycerin Use Linked to Production of Free Radicals - WebMD, 2/6/04
• How to Age Well - WebMD, 10/27/03 - "What made them different than the other half? One thing stands out. Those who stayed healthy had perfectly healthy hearts. They didn't even have "subclinical" heart problems, the ones so minor they can only be detected by testing ... For men, having subclinical heart disease was like being 6.5 years older. For women, it was like being 5.5 years older ... refrain from smoking, lower their blood lipids, watch blood pressure, and avoid obesity through diet and exercise"
• Nesiritide Outpatient Treatment Dramatically Decreases Hospitalisation - Doctor's Guide, 10/7/03
• Death Risk Higher if Anaemia Accompanies Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 9/29/03
• Nesiritide Evaluation Demonstrates Quality of Life Improvement - Doctor's Guide, 9/29/03
• Nesiritide Edges Nitroglycerin for Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/03
• Calcium in Arteries Signals Heart Death - WebMD, 8/27/03
• Type A Triggers Heart Disease - WebMD, 7/22/03
• Efforts to Prevent Heart Disease Should Begin Earlier - Doctor's Guide, 7/10/03 - "While there has never been a controlled trial examining the long-term effects of risk reduction in children, the AHA notes that, "existing evidence indicates that primary prevention of atherosclerotic disease should begin in childhood.""
• Estrogens as Antioxidants – Reducing Heart Disease in Younger Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 7/4/03 - "If LDL becomes oxidised its ability to cause heart disease increases. If HDL becomes oxidised its ability to protect against heart disease is lessened ... estrogens can act as antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals, and hence protect HDL from oxidation. In addition, high levels of HDL are able to protect LDL from oxidation, and this ability is strongly enhanced when estrogens are present ... Although recent randomised control trials have shown that HRT in older women may not reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, Dr. Bhavnani believes that this is not the whole story"
• Steroid-Treated Patients Have High Risk of Cardiovascular Event - Doctor's Guide, 6/23/03
• FDA Approves Lescol (Fluvastatin) And Lescol XL For Secondary Prevention Of Coronary Events In Patients With Coronary Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/28/03
• FDA Approves Lescol (Fluvastatin) And Lescol XL For Secondary Prevention Of Coronary Events In Patients With Coronary Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/28/03
• Low Testosterone Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 5/27/03 - "men with diabetes and very low testosterone levels were more likely to develop plaque in their arteries, which can lead to heart disease and stroke"
• Surgery Better Than Drugs For Serious Lack Of Blood Flow To The Heart - Doctor's Guide, 5/27/03
• Surgery vs. Medication for Heart Disease in the Elderly - Physician's Weekly, 5/26/03
• Free Testosterone Inversely Related to Carotid Atherosclerosis - Medscape, 5/23/03 - "Serum free testosterone is inversely related to carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque score (PS) ... There is evidence to suggest that low concentrations of testosterone are associated with an increased risk of CVD in men"
• Calcium in Heart Scan Predicts Disease - WebMD, 5/12/03
• Infection, Autoimmune Reaction, Inflammation Trigger Heart Attack - WebMD, 5/12/03
• Cognitive Decline After Bypass Surgery Mostly Temporary And Reversible - Doctor's Guide, 5/6/03
• Nitroprusside Can Help Critically Ill Heart Patients - Doctor's Guide, 5/1/03
• Fluid Retention Reversible In Diabetics With Chronic Systolic Heart Failure Treated With Thiazolidinedione - Doctor's Guide, 4/30/03
• Some Cardiac Arrest Victims May Benefit From CPR First, Then Defibrillation - WebMD, 3/18/03
• Heart Disease Most Costly Condition - WebMD, 3/14/03
• FDA Approves Heart Attack Test - CBS News, 2/14/03
• Caregiving Wives Have More Heart Disease - WebMD, 2/13/03
• Greater Reduction Of Cardiac Events With Intense Cholesterol-Lowering Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 2/10/03 - "The "poor" treatment group included patients who were neither dieting nor taking lipid-lowering drugs and patients who were smoking. "Moderate" treatment consisted of the American Heart Association diet with lipid lowering drugs or a strict diet with less than 10% of calories from fat. "Maximal" treating consisted of the strict low-fat diet, regular exercise and lipid active drugs ... During the five-year follow-up period, cardiac events occurred in 20.3% of the patients in the moderate treatment group and 30.6% of patients in the poor treatment group. In contrast, cardiac events occurred in only 6.6% of the patients in the maximal treatment group"
• Low Estrogen Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 2/4/03 - "The[y] found that 69% of the premenopausal women who actually had coronary artery disease (CAD) had low estrogen levels due to abnormal functioning of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls hormone production. These women also had low levels of the hormone estradiol and of follicle-stimulating hormone, which stimulates the ovary to produce estrogen. Less than a third of the women without CAD (29%) had low estrogen levels ... stress can lead to significant reductions in estrogen levels. She adds that the women with low estrogen levels in this study tended to be more anxious and reported higher levels of stress ... it is now believed that older women do not benefit because they have lost the estrogen receptors that allow them to respond to estrogen"
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging Provides Faster, More Accurate Way Of Diagnosing Heart Attacks - Doctor's Guide, 1/30/03
• Bypass Surgery Just Got Easier - WebMD, 1/29/03
• At-Risk Women Not Getting Heart Drugs - WebMD, 1/21/03 - "Established drugs for prevention -- including aspirin, beta-blockers, and cholesterol-lowering drugs are "underused in these women,""
• Carbon Monoxide May Aid Arteries - Intelihealth, 1/20/03
• Should Men Get HRT for Heart Health? - WebMD, 1/15/03 - "twice as many men with heart disease have low testosterone levels compared with men without heart disease. In fact, low testosterone is linked to a number of risk factors for heart disease ... if male rabbits have too little testosterone, they develop more atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] than animals with normal testosterone"
• Finger Arthritis Predicts Heart Disease - WebMD, 1/15/03 - "Men with osteoarthritis (OA) in any finger joint were 40% more likely to die of heart disease than their counterparts without finger OA. ... While "hardening of the arteries" was once thought to result from a buildup of cholesterol, increasing evidence indicates that it's the result of some type of inflammation of blood vessels"
• Intense Heart-Smart Program Pays Off - WebMD, 1/14/03 - "The healthy benefits of a low-fat diet, regular exercise, and cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be much greater in combination than alone in helping people with heart disease prevent future heart attack, stroke, and even death. New research shows following a strict program that combines all three approaches can lower a person's chances of suffering a major heart-related problem from one in three to one in 15"
• New Arthritis Drugs May Help Heart - WebMD, 1/13/03
• Too Few Heart Drugs Prescribed - WebMD, 1/3/03 - "Too few patients get the drugs they need to prevent serious heart diseases. The problem isn't cost -- it's doctors ... patients may need to be their own advocates ... They should make sure that these medications are a topic of conversation with their doctors"
• Atherosclerosis Affects Age-Related Renal Changes - Doctor's Guide, 1/2/03 - "Atherosclerosis speeds up kidney shrinkage and increases in serum creatinine levels on top of the known effects of aging ... the investigators conclude that atherosclerosis accelerates the decrease of renal size and the increase in serum creatinine with age"
• Nesiritide Reduces Length of Hospital Stay, Drug Requirements for Inpatients with Acute Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 12/19/02
• Natrecor (Nesiritide) Safe, Effective Treatment For Acute Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 12/19/02
• Immune Modulation Therapy Reduces Morbidity, Mortality In Severe Chronic Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/19/02
• Hostility Predicts Heart Disease - WebMD, 11/18/02
• High-Tech Treatments for the Heart - WebMD, 11/18/02
• Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories Decrease Risk Of Recurrent Myocardial Infarction In Patients Taking Aspirin - Doctor's Guide, 10/30/02 - "Patients taking aspirin who were also taking NSAIDs were significantly less likely to experience recurrent AMI than those who took only aspirin" - I've got that.  See $8.99 for 500 of 200 mg of ibuprofen. and $2.50 for 120 of the 81 mg aspirin.
• Atorvastatin Shown to Decrease Heart Disease and Stroke in Patients with Hypertension And Low Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 10/11/02
• Researchers Halt Successful Study On Cholesterol, Blood Pressure - Intelihealth, 10/11/02 - "Researchers in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes trial were giving the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin to patients who have normal or low levels of cholesterol but are at a risk of a heart attack or stroke because they have high blood pressure or other risk factors ... patients taking the prescription drug had significantly fewer strokes and heart attac