Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 10/20/10.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Skin Cancer Patients More Likely to Be Deficient in Vitamin D - Time Magazine, 10/19/10 - "The results point out that while dermatologists are understandably focused on their patients' skin cancer risk, they should also be checking their vitamin D levels and advising those who are low to supplement their levels with a pill ... We should be more proactive at checking these levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Adiponectin shows potential in blocking obesity-related carcinogenesis - Science Daily, 10/19/10 - "our results suggest an attractive molecular strategy employing adiponectin analogues for potential therapy of metastatic HCC ... With the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., our study could significantly improve overall survival for a vast number of obese liver cancer patients by using adiponectin to inhibit growth, invasion, and migration of HCC cells"

Coffee Drinking Associated With Reduced Oral Cancer Risk - Medscape, 10/19/10 - "Drinking coffee is associated with a 36% reduction in the risk for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx"

Serum Magnesium and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study - Medscape, 10/19/10 - "sudden cardiac death (SCD) ... SCD was inversely associated with serum Mg (P for linear trend < .0001). Compared with the lowest quartile of Mg, the risk of SCD was 55% lower (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.31–0.67) in the highest Mg quartile and 47% lower in the second highest quartile (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.38–0.74)" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Vitamin B12 May Curb Risk for Alzheimer's Disease - Medscape, 10/18/10 - "holotranscobalamin (holoTC), the biologically active fraction of vitamin B12 ... for each 1-µmol/L increase in the baseline concentration of tHcy, the risk for AD increased by 16% (odds ratio [OR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 – 1.31). On the other hand, for each 1-pmol/L increase in baseline holoTC, the risk for AD was reduced by 2% (OR, 0.980; 95% CI, 0.965 – 0.995)" - [Science Daily] - See vitamin B12 at Amazon.com.

Statin use associated with statistically significant reduction in colorectal cancer - Science Daily, 10/18/10 - "The relative risk was 0.88 (95% CI 0.84-0.93; n=22) and represents a 12% reduction in the odds of colorectal cancer among statin users ... the most common category of statins, lipophilic (which includes atorvastatin or Lipitor®), showed the greatest effect ... long-term use of statins is associated with reduced risk of several cancers, including breast, prostate, lung, pancreas and liver"

Vitamin d deficiency puts inflammatory bowel disease patients at greater risk of osteoporosis, study finds - Science Daily, 10/18/10 - "IBD patients with an abnormal bone density exam had a significantly higher rate of Vitamin D deficiency than those who had normal DEXA scans .... This finding is not surprising since Crohn's disease usually affects the small intestine, which is the part of the gut that absorbs the most nutrients" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Soy intake associated with lower recurrence of breast cancer in hormone-sensitive cancers - Science Daily, 10/18/10 - "The recurrence rate of estrogen- and progesterone- positive breast cancer was 12.9% lower among patients in the highest quartile of soy isoflavone intake than among those in the lowest quartile and was 18.7% lower for patients receiving anastrozole therapy in the highest quartile" - See soy isoflavones at Amazon.com.

iPhone images: Good enough for medical use? - Science Daily, 10/17/10 - "We found high consistency-more than 85 percent agreement-between evaluations based on the standard computer monitor and on the iPhone for all image sections tested ... There were no significant differences between evaluations and recommendations using the two systems, and the doctors rated the iPhone images as excellent" - Yeah, it's not about longevity but it's interesting.  I don't know if they are talking about the new iPhone 4 which has a higher resolution then the previous models.  I just upgraded from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4 because the button that turns the ringer on and off broke.  Maybe that's from keeping it in the pocket of my jeans without a case for nearly three years.

Right food effectively protects against risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline, study finds - Science Daily, 10/15/10 - "The results of a diet study show that bad cholesterol was reduced by 33 per cent, blood lipids by 14 per cent, blood pressure by 8 per cent and a risk marker for blood clots by 26 per cent. A marker of inflammation in the body was also greatly reduced, while memory and cognitive function were improved ... The test diet was high in antioxidants, low-GI foods (i.e. slow release carbohydrates), omega fatty acids, wholegrain products, probiotics and viscous dietary fibre. Examples of foods eaten were oily fish, barley, soy protein, blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar and a certain type of wholegrain bread"

US Hispanics Have Longer Life Expectancy Than White and Black Americans - ABC News, 10/14/10 - "long-term health has a lot to do with diet, and immigrants are far less likely to indulge in the types of fattening foods that have expanded the American waistline. Instead of fast food and processed products, immigrants tend to favor fruit, vegetables, rice and beans ... Experts add that Hispanic immigrants eat far less red meat, instead consuming less-expensive chicken ... Besides a healthy diet, Hispanic immigrants also have the strong social bonds with family and friends that longevity experts say promote a long and happy life -- including drinking and smoking less ... If you lose that family connectedness, then you tend to have more health problems ... The people across the board who live oldest and healthiest are people who are part of social networks" - Should they have added exercise to that? I’ve never seen any statistics but I think Hispanics might have on average more physically demanding jobs. I saw a study several years ago where postal workers that delivered mail door to door lived longer than postal workers in an office. I run or swim and hour and a half a day but when I take on a large project on my house I’m a lot sorer and start losing a pants size per week.

Pine bark extract may relieve tinnitus symptoms: Study - Nutra USA, 10/14/10 - "Impaired blood flow to the ear is a common cause for tinnitus, a disturbing and very debilitating condition that can considerably impact overall health and quality of life ... both doses of Pycnogenol improved blood systolic and diastolic blood flow velocities from 14.3 and 4.22 cm/sec in the 100 mg per day group to 21.2 and 8.23 cm/sec, and from 13.2 and 3.2 cm/sec in the 150 mg per day group to 24.3 and 12.5 cm/sec, respectively ... In addition, the researchers used a Subjective Tinnitus Scale (STS) to evaluate the symptoms of tinnitus. Results showed a decrease from an average of 8.8 in the pine bark groups to 5.2 and 3.3 in the low and high dose groups, respectively" - See Pycnogenol at Amazon.com.

Virus Behind Oral Cancer Epidemic - WebMD, 10/13/10 - "Researchers warn of an ongoing epidemic of oral cancer caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) ... cases of oral cancer -- primarily cancer of the tonsils -- increased sevenfold from 1970 to 2007 ... As a virologist, I am not aware of a vaccine that works in one part of the body and not in another, so I think this vaccine would prevent oral cancer in boys as well as in girls" - Note:  I can't remember reading of any other disease that has increased by a factor of seven.

Walk much? It may protect your memory down the road - Science Daily, 10/13/10 - "walking at least six miles per week may protect brain size and in turn, preserve memory in old age ... people who walked at least 72 blocks per week, or roughly six to nine miles, had greater gray matter volume than people who didn't walk as much, when measured at the nine-year time point after their recorded activity. Walking more than 72 blocks did not appear to increase gray matter volume any further ... those who walked the most cut their risk of developing memory problems in half"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

The colonic microflora and probiotic therapy in health and disease - Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2010 Oct 1 - "Reciprocal signalling between the immune system and the microbiota plays a pivotal role in linking alterations in gut microbiota with risk of metabolic disease in the host, notably insulin resistance, obesity, and chronic low-grade inflammation. Loss of ancestral indigenous organisms consequent upon a modern lifestyle may contribute to an increased frequency of various metabolic and immuno-allergic diseases. The potential to address this underpins the science of pharmabiotics" - See Garden of Life, Primal Defense at Amazon.com.

Higher bone mineral density is associated with a decreased risk of colorectal adenomas - Int J Cancer. 2010 Oct 14 - "patients in the highest tertile of total body BMD (>1.294 g/cm(2)) and in the middle tertile (≥1.167 to ≤1.294 g/cm(2)) compared to those with a total body BMD in the lowest tertile (<1.167 g/cm(2)) had a lower risk of colorectal adenomas (highest vs. lowest tertile: OR=0.29 (0.10-0.84); middle vs. lowest tertile: OR=0.26 (0.08-0.80); p-trend=0.02)"

Coffee and cancers of the upper digestive and respiratory tracts: meta-analyses of observational studies - Ann Oncol. 2010 Oct 13 - "oral cavity/pharynx (OP) and larynx, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), comparing the highest versus the lowest categories of coffee consumption, using random-effects models ... For OP cancer, the pooled RR was 0.64 (95% CI 0.51-0.80) for highest versus lowest coffee drinking, based on a total of 2633 cases from one cohort and eight case-control studies, with no significant heterogeneity across studies. The RRs were 0.61 (95% CI 0.41-0.89) for European, 0.58 (95% CI 0.36-0.94) for American and 0.74 (95% CI 0.48-1.15) for Asian studies, where coffee consumption is lower. The corresponding RRs were 1.56 (95% CI 0.60-4.02) for laryngeal cancer (732 cases from three case-control studies), 0.87 (95% CI 0.65-1.17) for ESCC (2115 cases from one cohort and six case-control studies) and 1.18 (95% CI 0.81-1.71) for EAC (415 cases from three case-control studies)"

Dietary Pectin Regulates the Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines and Immunoglobulins in Interleukin-10 Knockout Mice - J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Oct 14 - "Pectin has protective, anti-inflammatory effects on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the exact mechanism is unknown ... Pectin treatment reduced expression of TNF-α and GATA-3, an important transcription factor for the Th2 immune response. These mice also expressed lower levels of IgE in the spleen and Peyer's patches (PP) and lower IgG and IgM expression in PP. Interestingly, IL-10 deficiency resulted in lower CD4(+) and CD8(+) populations in the spleen, mesenteric lymph node (MLN), and PP; however, pectin counteracted these declines in the MLN and PP. Therefore, dietary pectin downregulates the inflammatory response in the colon by moderating the production of proinflammatory cytokines and immunoglobulins" - See pectin supplements at Amazon.com.

Exercise counteracts fatty liver disease in rats fed on fructose-rich diet - Lipids Health Dis. 2010 Oct 14;9(1):116 - "The fructose-fed rats showed decreased insulin sensitivity, and the late-exercise training protocol counteracted this alteration. There was no difference between the groups in levels of serum ALT, whereas AST and liver lipids increased in the fructose-fed sedentary group when compared with the other groups. Serum triglycerides concentrations were higher in the fructose-fed trained groups when compared with the corresponding control group"

Absorption of silicon from artesian aquifer water and its impact on bone health in postmenopausal women: a 12 week pilot study - Nutr J. 2010 Oct 14;9(1):44 - "bottled water from artesian aquifers is a safe and effective way of providing easily absorbed dietary silicon to the body. Although the silicon did not affect bone turnover markers in the short-term, the mineral's potential as an alternative prevention or treatment to drug therapy for osteoporosis warrants further longer-term investigation in the future" - Note:  It's something to think about.  Is the purified water (the stuff in the BPA plastic containers that might be toxic) purified to the point of eliminating the silicon?  Personally, I've been taking Jarrow BioSil for years.  I use reverse osmosis water and drink out of stainless steel bottles.  Some day if I get rich I might get a distiller.  See Jarrow BioSil at Amazon.com.  See water distillers at Amazon.com.

Quercetin is equally or more effective than resveratrol in attenuating tumor necrosis factor-{alpha}-mediated inflammation and insulin resistance in primary human adipocytes - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Oct 13 - "These data suggest that quercetin is equally or more effective than trans-RSV in attenuating TNF-α-mediated inflammation and insulin resistance in primary human adipocytes" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.

New evidence for nicotinic acid treatment to reduce atherosclerosis - Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2010 Oct;8(10):1457-1467 - "Emerging evidence from clinical and basic research studies indicates that novel direct antiatherosclerotic properties might mediate nicotinic acid-induced cardiovascular protection. Despite some limitations in its clinical use (mainly due to the incidence of adverse events, such as cutaneous flushing and hepatotoxicity), nicotinic acid should be considered as a very potent therapeutic approach to reduce atherosclerosis. Promising research developments are warranted in the near future" - See niacin at Amazon.com.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

• Gmail Add-On EmailOracle Just Destroyed Your Inbox Overload Lie - TechCrunch, 10/11/10
• Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
• Am I the only one that's gotten the dreaded "Error 46" three different times with QuickTime?  Anyway, if you do a Google search you'll find some really radical solutions.  Click here for the easy one.

Health Focus (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 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
• Association of Japanese dietary pattern with serum adiponectin concentration in Japanese adult men - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 27 - "Although previous studies suggest that the traditional Japanese dietary pattern is independently associated with a low cardiovascular disease mortality risk, the mechanisms mediating or linking this association are not well understood. Adiponectin has emerged as a valuable biomarker for cardiovascular diseases ... Greater adherence to the "Japanese" dietary pattern was independently associated to a higher serum adiponectin concentration in Japanese adult men. This finding supports the hypothesis that the traditional Japanese diet may have a potentially beneficial effect on adiponectin concentrations"
• Sulphoraphane inhibited the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 through MyD88-dependent toll-like receptor-4 pathway in cultured endothelial cells - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Sep 27 - "Chronic inflammation plays pivotal roles in both cancer and cardiovascular diseases. A large body of evidence suggests that high intake of cruciferous vegetables is closely related with low risk of these disorders ... Taken all together, adhesion molecules are confirmed to be the novel targets of sulphoraphane in preventing inflammatory insult to endothelial cells. Sulphoraphane suppressed TLR-4 followed by MyD88 and downstream factors such as p38 MAPK and JNK, ultimately blocking NF-кB translocation and the subsequent expression of adhesion molecules. These data suggested a novel inflammatory pathway mediated by sulphoraphane" - See sulforaphane at Amazon.com.
• Garlic oil may reverse diabetes linked heart disease - Nutra USA, 9/30/10 - "garlic oil supplementation for diabetic rats leads to several alterations at multiple levels in hearts including cardiac contractile functions and structures, myosin chain gene expressions, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and related signaling activities" - [Abstract]
• Cardiac Contractile Dysfunction and Apoptosis in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats Are Ameliorated by Garlic Oil Supplementation - J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Sep 13 - "these diabetes-related cardiac dysfunctions were almost dose-dependently ameliorated by garlic oil administration. In conclusion, garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy" - See garlic oil products at iHerb.
• Garlic oil shows protective effect against heart disease in diabetes - Science Daily, 9/29/10 - "Garlic has "significant" potential for preventing cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is a leading cause of death in people with diabetes ... people with diabetes have at least twice the risk of death from heart disease as others ... The scientists fed either garlic oil or corn oil to laboratory rats with diabetes. Animals given garlic oil experienced beneficial changes associated with protection against heart damage" - See garlic supplements at Amazon.com.
• Low serum magnesium concentrations predict increase in left ventricular mass over 5 years independently of common cardiovascular risk factors - Atherosclerosis. 2010 Sep 21 - "Mg(2+) at baseline (0.790+/-0.003mmol/l, mean+/-SEM) inversely correlated with the difference in LVM over 5 years (p<0.0001, females: p<0.002, males: p<0.024). In the lowest Mg(2+)-quintile (Mg(2+)<=0.73mmol/l), LVM (187.4+/-3.1g at baseline) increased by 14.9+/-1.2g, while in the highest Mg(2+)-quintile (Mg(2+)>=0.85mmol/l) LVM (186.7+/-3.4g at baseline) decreased by -0.5+/-2.8g (p<0.0001 between quintiles). By multivariable analysis including several cardiovascular risk factors and antihypertensive treatment, serum Mg(2+) was associated with the increase in LVM at a statistically high significant level (p<0.0001). LVM after 5 years was significantly higher in subjects within the lower Mg(2+)-quintiles. This association remained highly significant after adjustment for several cardiovascular risk factors including arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.
• Chocolate consumption is inversely associated with prevalent coronary heart disease: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study - Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 19 - "Compared to subjects who did not report any chocolate intake, odds ratios (95% CI) for CHD were 1.01 (0.76-1.37), 0.74 (0.56-0.98), and 0.43 (0.28-0.67) for subjects consuming 1-3 times/month, 1-4 times/week, and 5+ times/week, respectively (p for trend <0.0001) adjusting for age, sex, family CHD risk group, energy intake, education, non-chocolate candy intake, linolenic acid intake, smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, and fruit and vegetables. Consumption of non-chocolate candy was associated with a 49% higher prevalence of CHD comparing 5+/week vs. 0/week [OR = 1.49 (0.96-2.32)]"
• Frequent chocolate consumption could reduce CHD risk, US study - Nutra USA, 9/21/10 - "dark chocolate intake was associated with a 39 per cent lower risk of myocardial infarction and stroke combined ... In the fully adjusted model, consumption of chocolate more than five times a week was associated with 57 per cent lower prevalent CHD compared with subjects who did not consume chocolate ... Exclusion of subjects with prevalent diabetes and those who were on a weight loss diet made the association stronger ... the inability to distinguish the different types of chocolate might have led to an underestimation of the true association between cocoa/chocolate polyphenol consumption and CHD in the study"
• Dietary polyphenols: Focus on resveratrol, a promising agent in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and control of glucose homeostasis - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Oct;20(8):618-25 - "Plants continuously produce an extraordinary variety of biologically active low-molecular-mass compounds. Among them, resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) is endowed with significant positive activities by protecting against cardiovascular diseases and preventing the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, the molecule significantly ameliorates glucose homeostasis in obese mice. These beneficial effects have driven considerable interest towards resveratrol molecular activities, and intensive efforts for the identification of the stilbene targets have been made. The molecule shows a pleiotropic mode of action. Particularly, its cellular targets are crucial for cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, antioxidant defence and mitochondrial energy production. The complexity of resveratrol activities might account for its effectiveness in ameliorating multifactorial processes, including the onset and/or progression of several degenerative diseases such as myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol improves myocardial perfusion in a swine model of hypercholesterolemia and chronic myocardial ischemia - Circulation. 2010 Sep 14;122(11 Suppl):S142-9 - "hypercholesterolemic diet with supplemental resveratrol (100 mg/kg/d orally, HCRV ... Total cholesterol was lowered about 30% in HCRV animals (P<0.001). Regional wall motion analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in inferolateral function from baseline to 7 weeks in HCC swine (P=0.04). There was no significant change in regional function in HCRV swine from baseline to 7 weeks (P=0.32). Tissue blood flow during stress was 2.8-fold greater in HCRV swine when compared with HCC swine (P=0.04). Endothelium-dependent microvascular relaxation response to Substance P was diminished in HCC swine, which was rescued by resveratrol treatment (P=0.004). Capillary density (PECAM-1 staining) demonstrated fewer capillaries in both HCC and HCRV swine versus control swine (P=0.02). Immunoblot analysis demonstrated significantly greater expression in HCRV versus HCC swine of the following markers of angiogenesis: VEGF (P=0.002), peNOS (ser1177) (P=0.04), NFkB (P=0.004), and pAkt (thr308) (P=0.001) ... Supplemental resveratrol attenuates regional wall motion abnormalities, improves myocardial perfusion in the collateral dependent region, preserves endothelium-dependent coronary vessel function, and upregulates markers of angiogenesis associated with the VEGF signaling pathway" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Cardiac hypertrophy and remodelling: pathophysiological consequences and protective effects of melatonin - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S7-12 - "Whereas melatonin did not reduce left ventricular hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats or in nitric oxide-deficient hypertension, it did have other beneficial effects, e.g. it curtailed oxidative damage to the heart that resulted in an attenuation of left ventricular fibrosis. In contrast to the findings in hypertensive rats, melatonin administration was effective in overcoming cardiac enlargement resulting from induced hyperthyroidism or chronic hypoxia exposure. In addition, in these situations, melatonin also conferred protection against free radical-mediated damage at the level of cardiomyocytes. Collectively, the results of the publications summarized herein along with numerous other published reports on other aspects of cardiovascular physiology indicate that, when damage to the heart is a result of free radicals, melatonin is clearly protective. This is not unexpected considering the now well documented potent antioxidative actions of both melatonin and its metabolites. In general, melatonin improves cardiovascular physiology and heart function" - See my favorite Source Naturals, Melatonin, Peppermint Flavored Sublingual, 1 mg, 300 Tablets at iHerb.
• Melatonin improves the restoration of endothelium-derived constricting factor signalling and inner diameter in the rat femoral artery after cessation of L-NAME treatment - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S19-2 - "Although melatonin did not accelerate blood pressure reduction, it attenuated EDCF-contractions and oxidative load and enlarged arterial diameter. These effects may be beneficial for cardiovascular protection" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Continuous light and L-NAME-induced left ventricular remodelling: different protection with melatonin and captopril - J Hypertens. 2010 Sep;28 Suppl 1:S13-8 - "In hypertension induced by a combination of continuous light and L-NAME treatment, melatonin and captopril protect the heart against pathological left ventricular remodelling differently" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Serum magnesium and risk of sudden cardiac death in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study - Am Heart J. 2010 Sep;160(3):464-70 - "sudden cardiac death (SCD) ... Individuals in the highest quartile of serum Mg were at significantly lower risk of SCD in all models. This association persisted after adjustment for potential confounding variables, with an almost 40% reduced risk of SCD (hazard ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.42-0.93) in quartile 4 versus 1 of serum Mg observed in the fully adjusted model ... This study suggests that low levels of serum Mg may be an important predictor of SCD" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.
• 'Jailbreak' bacteria can trigger heart disease - Science Daily, 9/5/10 - "Poor dental hygiene can lead to bleeding gums, providing bacteria with an escape route into the bloodstream, where they can initiate blood clots leading to heart disease"
• Vitamin D is a prognostic marker in heart failure, study finds - Science Daily, 8/31/10 - "Survival rates in heart failure patients with reduced levels of vitamin D are lower than in patients with normal levels ... Results also suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with activation of the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS -- a pivotal regulatory system in heart failure) and an altered cytokine profile" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Iron deficiency in heart failure - Science Daily, 8/31/10 - "Iron deficiency is a relatively common nutritional disorder that affects more than one third of the general population, and is often associated with chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid diseases and renal failure ... iron deficiency must be viewed in a much broader clinical context, as it also affects at least one-third of non-anaemic CHF patients ... Iron deficiency appears to be independent of the severity of CHF symptoms, and occurs irrespective of anaemia. It also seems to be associated with exercise intolerance and leads to a reduced quality of life. Our research shows that it probably constitutes an ominous sign of a poor outcome, independently of the other well-established prognosticators. In light of its high prevalence and clinical consequences, iron deficiency may well be perceived as an attractive therapeutic target in CHF" - See Slow Fe Slow Release Iron Tablets 90-Count Box at Amazon.com.
• DHEA-S Levels and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Postmenopausal Women - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug 25 - "Women in the lowest DHEA-S tertile had higher CVD mortality (17% 6-yr mortality rate vs. 8%; log-rank P = 0.011), and all-cause mortality (21 vs. 10%; P = 0.011) compared with women with higher DHEA-S levels. The increased CVD mortality risk [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.55; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.19-5.45] remained unchanged after adjustment for multiple CVD risk factors (HR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.06-5.56) but became nonsignificant when further adjusting for the presence or severity of angiographic obstructive CAD (HR = 1.99; 95% CI = 0.87-4.59). Results were similar for all-cause mortality. Lower DHEA-S levels were only marginally but not independently associated with obstructive CAD" - See DHEA at Amazon.com.
• Major Dietary Protein Sources and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women - Circulation. 2010 Aug 16 - "26 years of follow-up ... higher intakes of red meat, red meat excluding processed meat, and high-fat dairy were significantly associated with elevated risk of CHD. Higher intakes of poultry, fish, and nuts were significantly associated with lower risk. In a model controlling statistically for energy intake, 1 serving per day of nuts was associated with a 30% (95% confidence interval, 17% to 42%) lower risk of CHD compared with 1 serving per day of red meat. Similarly, compared with 1 serving per day of red meat, a lower risk was associated with 1 serving per day of low-fat dairy (13%; 95% confidence interval, 6% to 19%), poultry (19%; 95% confidence interval, 3% to 33%), and fish (24%; 95% confidence interval, 6% to 39%). Conclusions-These data suggest that high red meat intake increases risk of CHD and that CHD risk may be reduced importantly by shifting sources of protein in the US diet"
• N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids early supplementation improves ultrasound indices of endothelial function, but not through NO inhibitors in patients with acute myocardial infarction N-3 PUFA supplementation in acute myocardial infarction - Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug 11 - "the study group (group P; n = 20; standard therapy + n-3 PUFA 1g daily) or the control group (group C; n = 20; standard therapy) ... There was a significant difference between both groups in mean delta (baseline/after one month) FMD (P: 8.1 +/- 12.6% vs C: -2.2 +/- 11.8%; p = 0.02) with no difference in mean delta NMD (P: 3.3 +/- 11.9% vs 0.66 +/- 14.3%; p = 0.53). We found also a significant increase in mean FMD (7.4 +/- 6.4 to 15.5 +/- 10.5%; p = 0.02) with a nonsignificant change in mean NMD values (26.9 +/- 12.1 to 30.2 +/- 14.0%; p = 0.24) after 1-month therapy with n-3 PUFA. FMD and NMD mean values did not change in control patients (FMD: 11.6 +/- 6.1% to 9.4 +/- 8.0%; p = 0.5 NMD: 25.1 +/- 11.4% to 25.8 +/- 14.0%; p = 0.84). The comparison of mean delta ADMA values for both groups revealed no differences (P: 6.2 +/- 9.7 mumol/l vs C: 3.6 +/- 9.5 mumol/l; p = 0.43). Mean serum ADMA concentrations were significantly increased after 1-month therapy in the group P (P: 2.1 +/- 1.8 to 8.3 +/- 9.7 mumol/l; p = 0.001; C: 4.5 +/- 7.1 to 8.1 +/- 9.5 mumol/l; p = 0.09). However, there was a nonsignificant difference in mean baseline serum ADMA levels between both groups (P: 2.1 +/- 1.8 mumol/l vs C: 4.5 +/- 7.1 mumol/l; p = 0.32). There were no significant correlations between FMD, NMD, ADMA levels and demographic, clinical or biochemical parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Early and short-term n-3 PUFA supplementation improved ultrasound indices of endothelial function without affecting serum ADMA levels in patients with AMI and successful primary PCI" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Bilberry anthocyanin-rich extract alters expression of genes related to atherosclerosis development in aorta of apo E-deficient mice - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Jul 31 - "bilberry anthocyanin-rich extract (BE) ... BE supplementation significantly improved hypercholesterolemia whereas the plasmatic antioxidant status remained unchanged. Nutrigenomic analysis identified 1261 genes which expression was modulated by BE in the aorta. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that these genes are implicated in different cellular processes such as oxidative stress, inflammation, transendothelial migration and angiogenesis, processes associated with atherosclerosis development/protection. Some of the most significantly down-regulated genes included genes coding for AOX1, CYP2E1 or TXNIP implicated in the regulation of oxidative stress, JAM-A coding for adhesion molecules or VEGFR2 implicate in regulation of angiogenesis. Other genes were up-regulated, such as CRB3, CLDN14 or CDH4 potentially associated with increased cell-cell adhesion and decreased paracellular permeability. These results provide a global integrated view of the mechanisms involved in the preventive action of bilberry anthocyanin-rich extract against atherosclerosis" - See bilberry at Amazon.com.
• Red meat consumption and risk of heart failure in male physicians - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Jul 30 - "there was a positive and graded relation between red meat consumption and HF [hazard ratio (95% CI) of 1.0 (reference), 1.02 (0.85-1.22), 1.08 (0.90-1.30), 1.17 (0.97-1.41), and 1.24 (1.03-1.48) from the lowest to the highest quintile of red meat, respectively"
• Industry : Calcium research “cherry picked” results - Nutra USA, 7/30/10
• Calcium supplements linked to increased risk of heart attack, study finds - Science Daily, 7/29/10 - "calcium supplements were associated with about a 30% increased risk of heart attack and smaller, non-significant, increases in the risk of stroke and mortality"
• Calcium supplements play an important role in maintaining bone health, experts say - Science Daily, 7/29/10 - "The authors of the meta-analysis examined the effects of calcium supplements on the risk of cardiovascular events, concluding there is an increased risk, and calling for a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements for osteoporosis. According to CRN, these conclusions are dramatically overstated, considering the limitations of meta-analysis, in general, and this meta-analysis, specifically ... The authors characterize these findings as though all of the selected studies suggest increased risk. In fact, the opposite is true: most of the studies do not suggest increased risk ... these researchers are making sweeping judgments about the value of calcium supplements by only assessing a handful of handpicked studies ..."
• Vitamin D levels and mortality in type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Care. 2010 Jul 6 - "All-cause mortality was increased in patients with severe vitamin D deficiency; HR [95% CI] 1.96 [1.29-2.98] ... Severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality; HR 1.95 [1.11-3.44]" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Dietary Fiber Intake Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease among Japanese Men and Women - J Nutr. 2010 Jun 23 - "Total, insoluble, and soluble dietary fiber intakes were inversely associated with risk of mortality from CHD and total CVD for both men and women. For men, the multivariable HR (95% CI) for CHD in the highest vs. the lowest quintiles were 0.81 [(95% CI, 0.61-1.09); P-trend = 0.02], 0.48 [(95% CI, 0.27-0.84); P-trend < 0.001], and 0.71 [(95% CI, 0.41-0.97); P-trend = 0.04] for total, insoluble, and soluble fiber, respectively. The respective HR (95% CI) for women were 0.80 [(95% CI, 0.57-0.97); P-trend = 0.01], 0.49 [(95% CI, 0.27-0.86); P-trend = 0.004], and 0.72 [(95% CI, 0.34-0.99); P-trend = 0.03], respectively. For fiber sources, intakes of fruit and cereal fibers but not vegetable fiber were inversely associated with risk of mortality from CHD. In conclusion, dietary intakes of fiber, both insoluble and soluble fibers, and especially fruit and cereal fibers, may reduce risk of mortality from CHD"
• Effect of Long-Term L-Arginine Supplementation on Arterial Compliance and Metabolic Parameters in Patients with Multiple Cardiovascular risk Factors: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study - J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2010 Jun 7 - "large artery elasticity index (LAEI) ... Although large artery elasticity index (LAEI) did not differ significantly between the groups at baseline (10.64.3 vs.11.64.5 ml/mm HgX100, p=0.346), at the end of the study LAEI was significantly greater in patients treated with L-arginine than in the placebo group (12.73.4 vs. 8.02.8 ml/mm HgX10, p<0.0001). Systemic vascular resistance was significantly lower in patients treated with L-arginine than in the placebo group after 6 months. Small artery elasticity index (SAEI) did not differ significantly between the groups at baseline or at the end of the study. Serum aldosterone decreased significantly in Group 1 from 10.76.3 to 8.45.0 ng/ml (p=0.008), but did not change in the placebo group. CONCLUSION:: L-arginine supplementation improves LAEI in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. This improvement was associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure, peripheral vascular resistance as well as a decrease in aldosterone levels. The results suggest that long term L-arginine supplementation has beneficial vascular effects in pathologic disease states associated with endothelial dysfunction" - See L-arginine products at Amazon.com.
• Mediterranean-style diet improves heart function, twin study shows - Science Daily, 6/15/10 - "heart rate variability (HRV) ... Eating a Mediterranean-style diet -- one characterized by low saturated fats and high in fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, cereals and moderate alcohol consumption -- reduces a person's heart disease risk ... the higher a person's diet score, the more variable the heart beat-to-beat time interval -- 10 percent to 58 percent (depending on the HRV measure considered) for men in the top Mediterranean diet score quarter compared to those in the lowest quarter; this equates to a 9 percent to 14 percent reduction in heart-related death"
• Plasma Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 Levels Are Reduced following Low-Calorie Cranberry Juice Supplementation in Men - J Am Coll Nutr. 2009 Dec;28(6):694-701 - "Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, also known as gelatinase B, is implicated in the development of hypertension and atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability to rupture, an important step in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases ... cranberry juice cocktail (CJC) ... We found that CJC supplementation significantly decreased plasma MMP-9 concentrations (mean +/- SEM: -36% +/- 9%, p < 0.0005; week 12 vs. baseline) while baseline plasma MMP-9 concentrations strongly correlated with the changes noted over the entire intervention (r = -0.71, p < 0.0001). We also show that the reduction in plasma MMP-9 levels was associated with a change in plasma nitrites/nitrates (NOx) concentration over the entire intervention (r = -0.38, p < 0.05; week 12 vs. baseline). Significant correlations were also noted between changes in plasma MMP-9 levels and those of systolic (r = 0.39, p < 0.05) and diastolic (r = 0.60, p < 0.001) blood pressure during the course of the study (week 12 vs. baseline). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that daily CJC consumption is associated with a decrease in plasma MMP-9 concentrations in abdominally obese men. We hypothesize that polyphenolic compounds from cranberries may be responsible for this effect, supporting the notion that the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods can exert cardioprotective effects" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.com.
• Brushing Teeth May Keep Away Heart Disease - WebMD, 5/27/10 - "people who admitted to brushing their teeth less frequently had a 70% extra risk of heart disease ... People who reported poor oral hygiene also tested positive for bloodstream inflammatory markers such as fibrinogen and C-reactive protein"
• Anti-atherogenic effects of resveratrol - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 May 19 - "RS exerts several health benefits including anti-atherogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. RS may also prevent lipid oxidation, platelet aggregation, arterial vasodilation and modulates the levels of lipids and lipoproteins. As a potent, anti-oxidant RS reduces oxidative stress and regenerates alpha-tocopherol, which further strengthens the anti-oxidant defense mechanism. RS has been considered safe as no significant toxic effects have been identified, even when consumed at higher concentrations. This evidence identified RS as an effective anti-atherogenic agent, which could be used in the prevention and treatment of CVD" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Bran Reduces Heart Disease Deaths - WebMD, 5/10/10 - "women who ate the most bran had a 35% lower risk of death from heart disease and a 28% lower risk of death from all causes than women who ate the least"
• Couple of Coffees May Help Some Heart Patients - Medscape, 5/7/10 - "A study of 374 patients who had a heart attack or other acute coronary event found those with normal blood pressure drinking one or two coffees a day were 88% less likely than non-coffee drinkers to develop left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD)"
• Grapes reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, animal study shows - Science Daily, 5/10/10 - "After three months, the rats that received the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, and reduced indicators of inflammation in the heart and the blood than rats who received no grape powder. Rats also had lower triglycerides and improved glucose tolerance" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95, 100 mg, 100 Capsules.
• Curcumin inhibits cholesterol uptake in Caco-2 cells by down-regulation of NPC1L1 expression - Lipids Health Dis. 2010 Apr 19;9(1):40 - "Curcumin inhibits cholesterol uptake through suppression of NPC1L1 expression in the intestinal cells"
• Diet high in B vitamins lowers heart risks in Japanese study - Science Daily, 4/15/10 - "The findings on the value of B vitamins were consistent with studies in Europe and North America, although the dietary consumption of vitamin B-6 is generally lower in Japan than in the United States ... Comparing those with the diets lowest and highest for each nutrient, they found that higher consumption of folate and vitamin B-6 was associated with significantly fewer deaths from heart failure in men, and significantly fewer deaths from stroke, heart disease and total cardiovascular diseases in women"
• Coffee Consumption and Mortality Due to All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer in Japanese Women - J Nutr. 2010 Mar 24 - "In women, the multivariate hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) for all-cause mortality in participants who drank coffee never, occasionally, 1-2 cups (150-300 mL)/d, and >/=3 cups/d were 1.00, 0.88 (0.73-1.06), 0.82 (0.66-1.02), and 0.75 (0.53-1.05), respectively (P-trend = 0.04). For CVD mortality in women, the multivariate HR (95% CI) were 1.00, 0.56 (0.36-0.86), 0.48 (0.29-0.80), and 0.45 (0.20-1.03), respectively (P-trend = 0.006). Of the specific CVD diseases, there was a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and mortality due to coronary heart disease (CHD) in women (P-trend = 0.02) but not in men. Death due to cancer was not associated with coffee consumption in either men or women, except for colorectal cancer in women. Our results suggest that coffee may have favorable effects on morality due to all causes and to CVD, especially CHD, in women"
• Marine (n-3) Fatty Acids, Fish Consumption, and the 10-Year Risk of Fatal and Nonfatal Coronary Heart Disease in a Large Population of Dutch Adults with a Low Fish Intake - J Nutr. 2010 Mar 24 - "Compared with the lowest quartile of EPA+DHA, participants in the top quartile had a 49% lower risk of fatal CHD (95% CI: 6-73%) and a 62% lower risk of fatal MI (95% CI: 23-81%). We observed inverse dose-response relations for EPA+DHA intake and fatal CHD (P-trend = 0.05) and fatal MI (P-trend = 0.01)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Treating vitamin D deficiency significantly reduces heart disease risk, studies find - Science Daily, 3/15/10 - "Preventing and treating heart disease in some patients could be as simple as supplementing their diet with extra vitamin D ... For the first study ... 47 percent of the patients who increased their levels of vitamin D between the two visits showed a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease ... In the second study ... The patients in each category who increased their vitamin D levels to 43 nanograms per milliliter of blood or higher had lower rates of death, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, high blood pressure, depression, and kidney failure. Currently, a level of 30 nanograms per milliliter is considered "normal" ... Increasing vitamin D intake by 1000 to 5000 international units (IU) a day may be appropriate" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Effect of Niacin Therapy on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease - J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Mar 5 - "Compared to placebo group, niacin therapy significantly reduced coronary artery revascularization (RR [relative risk]: 0.307 with 95% CI: 0.150-0.628; P = .001), nonfatal myocardial infarction ([MI]; RR: 0.719; 95% CI: 0.603-0.856; P = .000), stroke, and TIA ([transient ischemic attack] RR: 0.759; 95%CI: 0.613-0.940; P = .012), as well as a possible but nonsignificant decrease in cardiac mortality (RR: 0.883: 95% CI: 0.773-1.008; p= 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: In a meta-analysis of seven trials of secondary prevention, niacin was associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular events and possible small but non-significant decreases in coronary and cardiovascular mortality" - See niacin at Amazon.com.
• Risks from low potassium in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease - Science Daily, 2/22/10 - "In findings reported in January in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers say that even a mild decrease in serum potassium level increased the risk of death in this patient group ... Hypokalemia, or low potassium, is common in heart-failure patients and is associated with poor outcomes, as is chronic kidney disease ... Death occurred in 48 percent of the patients with hypokalemia during the 57-month follow-up period, compared with only 36 percent of patients with normal potassium. The vast majority of subjects, 87 percent, had mild hypokalemia" - See potassium citrate at Amazon.com.
• High levels of vitamin D in older people can reduce heart disease and diabetes - Science Daily, 2/16/10 - "Researchers looked at 28 studies including 99,745 participants across a variety of ethnic groups including men and women. The studies revealed a significant association between high levels of vitamin D and a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (33% compared to low levels of vitamin D), type 2 diabetes (55% reduction) and metabolic syndrome (51% reduction)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Red clover extract: a source for substances that activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and ameliorate the cytokine secretion profile of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages - Menopause. 2010 Feb 5 - "In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages, red clover extract and its compounds reduced the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, increased the secretion of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10, and/or reduced the expression of nuclear factor-kappaB, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and/or cyclooxygenase 2. Tumor necrosis factor alpha production was most efficiently reduced by biochanin A and genistein. Interleukin-6 levels were most efficiently reduced by genistein and equol. CONCLUSIONS:: Owing to its PPARalpha activation and modulation of the secreted cytokine profile, red clover extract is a putative candidate for preventing atherosclerosis and, thus, cardiovascular disease" - See Trinovin at Amazon.com.
• OPCs come out tops for heart health beverages - Nutra USA, 2/5/10 - "Cranberry juice rich in antioxidant procyanidins is effective at boosting the health of blood vessels ... oligomeric procyanidins (OPC) had “by far the most potent effects” on the function of the endothelium (the cells lining blood vessels)" - [Abstract] - See cranberry extract at Amazon.comand grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Function by Procyanidin-Rich Foods and Beverages (dagger) - J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jan 28 - "Evaluation of the relative effects of extracts of cranberry juice compared to apple, cocoa, red wine, and green tea showed inhibition of ET-1 synthesis was dependent primarily on their oligomeric procyanidin content. Procyanidin-rich extracts of cranberry juice triggered morphological changes in endothelial cells with reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and increased immunostaining for phosphotyrosine residues ... procyanidin tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, and heptamer produced concentration-dependent decreases with IC(50) values of 5.4, 1.6, 0.9, and 0.7 muM, respectively. Levels of ET-1 mRNA showed a similar pattern of decreases, which were inversely correlated with increased expression of Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), a key endothelial transcription factor with a broad range of antiatherosclerotic actions including suppression of ET-1 synthesis" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.comand grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• High Omega-3 Levels May Slow Aging in Heart Patients - WebMD, 1/19/10 - "Heart disease patients with the highest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids appear to age more slowly than those with the lowest blood levels ... Farzaneh-Far and his colleagues looked at a marker of biological age -- the rate of shortening of telomeres, structures at the end of a chromosome involved in its replication and stability. As the telomeres shorten over time, the eventual result is cell death, scientists believe ... In the new study, the higher the blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the patients evaluated, the slower the rate of telomere shortening ... patients with the lowest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids exhibited a rate of telomere shortening 2.6 times faster than patients with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids" - [Science Daily] - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Low Vitamin D Has a Role in Heart Risk - WebMD, 1/7/10 - "Darker-skinned people produce less vitamin D from the sun than those with lighter skin, and studies show that blacks are far more likely to have lower levels of the vitamin than whites ... Several recent studies also suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk for heart attack and stroke ... Compared to everyone else in the study, the quarter with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 40% higher risk of dying from heart attacks, strokes, and other heart-related events ... Blacks were 38% more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than non-Hispanic whites, and the researchers concluded that most of this excess was related to their lower vitamin D levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Moderate Fish Consumption May Lower Risk in Patients with a History of Heart Failure - Science Daily, 12/18/09 - "Including fish in a balanced diet has long been associated with the prevention of heart disease, and scientists now believe that it can help preserve heart function in patients who have experienced heart failure. A new study in the Journal of Food Science reports that moderate fish consumption can help reduce the risk of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in post acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Sea of science deepens for fish heart benefits - Nutra USA, 12/16/09 - "left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) ... moderate fish consumption, defined as , was associated with 53 per cent reduction in the risk of developing LVSD compared to no/rare consumption of fish ... In addition, moderate fish consumption was associated with a lower inhibition of the nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme which produces nitric oxide – a potent vasodilator that relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com and glucosamine products at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D May Reduce Cardiac Work - Medscape, 12/10/09 - "Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are linked with increased heart rate and systolic blood pressure and with the rate-pressure product (RPP) ... The inverse association between vitamin D status and the rate-pressure product suggests that people with high vitamin D levels have hearts that work more efficiently" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Continuous Aspirin May Lower Mortality Despite Increased Risk for Recurrent Peptic Ulcer Bleeding - Medscape, 12/1/09 - "Continuous low-dose aspirin therapy may increase the risk for recurrent peptic ulcer bleeding but potentially lowers mortality rates ... Compared with patients who received placebo, patients who received aspirin had lower all-cause mortality rates (1.3% vs 12.9%; difference, 11.6 percentage points; 95% CI, 3.7 - 19.5 percentage points). In addition, patients in the aspirin group had lower mortality rates resulting from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or gastrointestinal tract complications vs patients in the placebo group (1.3% vs 10.3%; difference, 9 percentage points; 95% CI, 1.7 - 16.3 percentage points)"
• Alcohol May Reduce Men's Heart Risk - WebMD, 11/18/09 - "Drinking any type of alcohol lowered the risk of serious heart disease in men, with the amount of risk reduction associated with the amount of alcohol: ... Light drinking reduced risk by 35% ... Moderate drinking reduced risk by 51% ... High and very high levels of drinking reduced risk by 54% and 50% ... Light drinking was up to 5 grams a day -- or about one glass of wine, one and one-half beers, or less than a half glass of hard liquor ... Moderate drinking was 5 to 30 grams a day, or about two glasses of wine, two or three beers, or a half to one glass of hard liquor ... High and very high levels of drinking were 30 to 90 grams a day, or about five or more glasses of wine, seven or more beers, and one to one and a half glasses or more of hard liquor"
• Inadequate levels of vitamin D may significantly increase risk of stroke, heart disease and death - Science Daily, 11/16/09 - "a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well -- and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease ... patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 78 percent were more likely to have a stroke than patients with normal levels. Patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure than those with normal Vitamin D levels ... Recently, studies have also linked Vitamin D to the regulation of many other bodily functions including blood pressure, glucose control, and inflammation, all of which are important risk factors related to heart disease" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Niacin Tops Zetia in Cutting Artery Plaque - WebMD, 11/16/09 - "The question is whether ezetimibe works at all ... Niacin has been around for 50 years. It's a well-understood drug, and in this trial it was clearly superior ... Ultrasound images of neck arteries showed that Niaspan reduced artery plaque by about 2%. Zetia did not slow plaque buildup, although it did lower cholesterol" - See niacin at Amazon.com.
• Low HDL Levels as the Most Common Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor in Heart Failure - Int Heart J. 2009 Sep;50(5):571-80 - "The most prevalent parameters were low HDL-C (69%) and hypertension (69%) in all participants" -  Note:  The best way to raise HDL is with niacin.  The no flush form doesn't work and the slow release may cause liver damage.  People complain about the flush but I've been taking it for years and the longer you take it the less flush.  After a while, there is no flush at all but be sure to take it with food.  http://www.lipidsonline.org/slides/slide01.cfm?tk=25&dpg=34 shows that with extended release niacin, HDL peaks out at 2,500 mg.  http://www.lipidsonline.org/slides/slide01.cfm?q=effect+of+niacin&dpg=4 shows immediate release crystalline niacin compared to Niaspan.  The numbers are basically the same.  I don't see any point in the prescription other than that it might have less flushing when you first start taking it.  See niacin at Amazon.com.
• Insufficient Levels Of Vitamin D Puts Elderly At Increased Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease - Science Daily, 9/21/09 - "Compared to those with optimal vitamin D status, those with low vitamin D levels were 3 times more likely to die from heart disease and 2.5 times more likely to die from any cause ... Dr. Ginde says the findings suggest that current daily recommendations of vitamin D may not be enough for older adults to maintain optimal health" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Green tea slashes heart disease death - Nutra USA, 9/8/09 - "Compared to people who drank less than one cup a day, seven or more cups of green tea a day may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by a whopping 75 per cent ... Additionally, a reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer mortality of 31 per cent was observed for people who drank more than seven cups of green a day, compared to people who frank less than three cups a day" - [Abstract] - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Green Tea Consumption and Mortality among Japanese Elderly People: The Prospective Shizuoka Elderly Cohort - Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Oct;19(10):732-739 - "The multivariate HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD mortality compared those who consumed seven or more cups per day with those who consumed less than one cup per day, were 0.24 (0.14-0.40), 0.30 (0.15-0.61), and 0.18 (0.08-0.40) for total participants, men, and women, respectively. Although green tea consumption was not inversely associated with cancer mortality, green tea consumption and colorectal cancer mortality were inversely associated with a moderate dose-response relationship" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• How Much Omega-3 Fatty Acid Do We Need To Prevent Cardiovascular Disease? - Science Daily, 9/1/09 - "a 200 mg dose of DHA per day is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. This study is the first to identify how much DHA is necessary to promote optimal heart health" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Why Low Vitamin D Raises Heart Disease Risks In Diabetics - Science Daily, 8/21/09 - "Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes ... When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can't get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol prevents hyperglycemia-induced endothelial dysfunction via activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Aug 7 - "Endothelial dysfunction secondary to persistent hyperglycemia plays a key role in the development of type 2 diabetic vascular disease ... These results provide new insight into the protective properties of resveratrol against endothelial dysfunction caused by high glucose, which is attributed to the AMPK mediated reduction of superoxide level" - Click here for a definition of endothelial dysfunction.  See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular diseases - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Aug 11;54(7):585-94 - "The most compelling evidence for CV benefits of omega-3 PUFA comes from 4 controlled trials of nearly 40,000 participants randomized to receive eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with or without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in studies of patients in primary prevention, after myocardial infarction, and most recently, with heart failure (HF) ... The target EPA + DHA consumption should be at least 500 mg/day for individuals without underlying overt CV disease and at least 800 to 1,000 mg/day for individuals with known coronary heart disease and HF" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Effects of grape seed extract in Type 2 diabetic subjects at high cardiovascular risk: a double blind randomized placebo controlled trial examining metabolic markers, vascular tone, inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin sensitivity - Diabet Med. 2009 May;26(5):526-31 - "GSE significantly improved markers of inflammation and glycaemia and a sole marker of oxidative stress in obese Type 2 diabetic subjects at high risk of cardiovascular events over a 4-week period, which suggests it may have a therapeutic role in decreasing cardiovascular risk" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Daily Omega-3s Recommended for Heart - WebMD, 8/3/09 - "omega-3 fatty acids' strongest protective effect appears to be in people with established heart disease after a heart attack. In these people, a daily dose of DHA and EPA is associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of heart-related death ... But researchers say healthy people can also benefit from including omega-3s in their diet. Research shows a diet rich in omega-3s can also reduce the risk of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), heart attack, sudden cardiac death, and heart failure" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Anthocyanin supplementation improves serum LDL- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations associated with the inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in dyslipidemic subjects - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul 29 - "Anthocyanin consumption increased HDL-cholesterol concentrations (13.7% and 2.8% in the anthocyanin and placebo groups, respectively; P < 0.001) and decreased LDL-cholesterol concentrations (13.6% and -0.6% in the anthocyanin and placebo groups, respectively; P < 0.001). The cellular cholesterol efflux to serum increased more in the anthocyanin group than in the placebo group (20.0% and 0.2%, respectively; P < 0.001). Anthocyanin supplementation decreased the mass and activity of plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) (10.4% and 6.3% in the anthocyanin group and -3.5% and 1.1% in the placebo group, respectively; P < 0.001)" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com and bilberry at Amazon.com.
• Influence of conjugated linoleic acids on functional properties of vascular cells - Br J Nutr. 2009 Jul 22:1-18 - "Based on these studies, it can be concluded that CLA exert several beneficial actions in cells of the vascular wall through the activation of nuclear PPAR. These actions of CLA, which may, at least partially, explain the inhibition of atherogenesis by dietary CLA, include modulation of vasoactive mediator release from endothelial cells, inhibition of inflammatory and fibrotic processes in activated smooth muscle cells, abrogation of inflammatory responses in activated macrophages, and reduction of cholesterol accumulation in macrophage-derived foam cells" - See conjugated linoleic acid at Amazon.com.
• Ameliorating Hypertension and Insulin Resistance in Subjects at Increased Cardiovascular Risk. Effects of Acetyl-L-Carnitine Therapy - Hypertension. 2009 Jul 20 - "glucose disposal rate (GDR) ... Systolic blood pressure decreased from 144.0+/-13.6 to 135.1+/-8.4 mm Hg and from 130.8+/-12.4 to 123.8+/-10.8 mm Hg in the lower and higher GDR groups, respectively (P<0.05 for both; P<0.001 overall) and progressively recovered toward baseline over 8 weeks posttreatment. Total and high molecular weight adiponectin levels followed specular trends. Diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased only in those with higher GDRs. Treatment was well tolerated in all of the patients. Acetyl-L-carnitine safely ameliorated arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, and hypoadiponectinemia in subjects at increased cardiovascular risk" - See acetyl l-carnitine products at Amazon.com.
• Daily Glass of Orange Juice Is Heart Smart - WebMD, 7/20/09 - "An antioxidant in orange juice called hesperidin improves blood vessel function and helps lower a person’s risk of heart disease ... An antioxidant in orange juice called hesperidin improves blood vessel function and helps lower a person’s risk of heart disease" - See hesperidin at Amazon.com or Natural Balance, Great Legs, 60 Capsules at iHerb.
• Curcumin May Prevent Clogged Arteries - WebMD, 7/20/09 - "The current study suggests curcumin may thwart the development of atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries, a key risk factor for heart attacks and strokes ... Researchers in France fed 20 mice a diet supplemented with curcumin or a comparison diet not supplemented with curcumin. After 16 weeks, mice fed on the curcumin-based diet had a 26% reduction in fatty deposits in their arteries compared to mice on the comparison diet ... In addition, curcumin appeared to alter the genetic signaling involved in plaque buildup at the molecular level" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.
• Fish Oil and Heart Health - J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 26 - "Large controlled trials have shown that intake of fish oil (marine n-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid), whether from dietary sources or fish oil supplements, may exhibit beneficial effects on total and cardiovascular disease mortality. Stabilization of cell membranes and suppression of cardiac arrhythmias have been identified as possible mechanisms. Moreover, n-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects, reduce blood pressure, and may also be antiatherogenic. Finally, high doses of n-3 fatty acids can lower elevated serum triglyceride levels. The n-3 index (erythrocyte eicosapentaenoic acid plus docosahexaenoic acid) may be considered as a potential risk marker for coronary heart disease mortality, especially sudden cardiac death. The balance of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids is an important determinant in decreasing the risk for coronary heart disease, both in the primary and in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Patients with known coronary heart disease should be recommended to consume n-3 fatty acid supplements at 1 g per day, without raising concerns for interactions with other medications or side effects. On the other hand, fish in the diet (preferably oily fish, 1-2 meals/week) should be considered as part of a healthy diet low in saturated fat"
• A new insight into resveratrol as an atheroprotective compound: Inhibition of lipid peroxidation and enhancement of cholesterol efflux - Atherosclerosis. 2009 May 22 - "Resveratrol thus appears to be a natural antioxidant that enhances cholesterol efflux. These properties make it a potential natural antioxidant that could be used to prevent and treat CVD" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Prospective Study of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality in Older U.S. Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Jun 22 - "In noninstitutionalized older adults, a group at high risk for all-cause mortality, serum 25(OH)D levels had an independent, inverse association with CVD and all-cause mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• High Carbohydrate Foods Can Cause Heart Attacks - Science Daily, 6/25/09 - "Doctors have known for decades that foods like white bread and corn flakes aren't good for cardiac health ... foods with a high glycemic index distended brachial arteries for several hours ... Enormous peaks indicating arterial stress were found in the high glycemic index groups: the cornflakes and sugar group ... During the consumption of foods high in sugar, there appears to be a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelial walls of the arteries ... Endothelial health can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body. It is "the riskiest of the risk factors,""
• Low HDL-cholesterol is associated with the risk of stroke in elderly diabetic individuals: Changes in the risk for atherosclerotic diseases at various ages - Diabetes Care. 2009 Jun 9 - "IHD and CVD occurred in 1.59% and 1.43% of participants over 2-year period. The relation of lower HDL-cholesterol and/or higher LDL-cholesterol to occurrence of IHD in subjects<65 y.o. was significant. Lower HDL-cholesterol was also significantly related to CVD in subjects >=65y.o. and especially those>=75 y.o. (n=1016; odds ratio, 0.511*; 95%CI, 0.239- 0.918, *P<0.05). Stepwise multiple regression analysis with onset of CVD as a dependent variable showed same result. Conclusion: Lower HDL-cholesterol is an important risk factor for not only IHD but also CVD, especially in the diabetic elderly" - See niacin at Amazon.com (niacin increases HDL).
• Red-wine Polyphenol Called Resveratrol Demonstrates Significant Health Benefits - Science Daily, 6/11/09 - "The breadth of benefits is remarkable – cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more ... Resveratrol exhibits therapeutic potential for cancer chemoprevention as well as cardioprotection ... The simplest explanation is that resveratrol turns on the cell's own survival pathways, preventing damage to individual cells ... Further mechanisms help, including removing very reactive oxidants in the body and improving blood supply to cells ... Low doses of resveratrol improve cell survival as a mechanism of cardio- and neuro-protection, while high doses increase cell death" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Prevent Depression In Coronary Heart Disease? - Science Daily, 6/9/09 - "The prevalence of depression ranged from 23% in participants in the lowest tertile of omega –3 fatty acids (< 3.1% of total blood fatty acids) to 13% in participants in the highest tertile ( >4.3% of total blood fatty acids; p for trend = 0.004). Each unit decrease in EPA + DHA was inversely associated with depressive symptoms as a continuous variable, and these associations persisted after adjustment for age, sex and race. Similarly, each SD decrease in EPA + DHA was associated with significantly greater odds of depression as a dichotomous variable (Patient Health Questionnaire score >10)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Ignored cholesterol blamed for heart attacks - MSNBC, 6/9/09 - "Statins — taken by millions to cut heart attack and stroke risk — do not affect lipoprotein (a) ... people with the highest liporotein (a) levels were two to three times more likely to have a heart attack than those with the lowest levels ... Niacin, a vitamin often prescribed generically to lower cholesterol, also lowers lipoprotein (a) levels. It can cause uncomfortable flushing, however. Aspirin can also lower lipoprotein (a) levels" - [WebMD]
• CoQ10 Improves Endothelial Dysfunction in Statin-Treated Type 2 Diabetics - Medscape, 5/29/09 - "Study subjects were randomized to receive either 200 mg/day of oral CoQ10 or placebo for 12 weeks ... Our absolute improvement in FMD of 1% with CoQ10 supplementation may potentially translate to a 10-25% reduction in residual cardiovascular risk in these patients" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
• Suppressive effect of EPA on the incidence of coronary events in hypercholesterolemia with impaired glucose metabolism: Sub-analysis of the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Apr 5 - "investigated the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on coronary artery disease (CAD) ... impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) and normoglycemic (NG) patients ... Compared to NG patients, IGM patients had a significantly higher CAD hazard ratio (1.71 in the non-EPA group and 1.63 in the EPA group). The treatment with EPA resulted in a 22% decrease in the CAD incidence (P=0.048) in IGM patients and an 18% decrease (P=0.062) in NG patients" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Eating Fatty Fish And Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Risk Of Heart Failure - Science Daily, 4/28/09 - "men who consumed approximately 0.36 grams a day were 33% less likely to develop heart failure than men who consumed little or no marine omega-3 fatty acids"
• Vitamin K supplementation and progression of coronary artery calcium in older men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr 22 - "those who received phylloquinone supplements had 6% less progression than did those who received the multivitamin alone ... Phylloquinone supplementation slows the progression of CAC in healthy older adults with preexisting CAC, independent of its effect on total MGP concentrations"
• Benefit Of Grapes May Be More Than Skin Deep: Lower Blood Pressure, Reduced Heart Damage - Science Daily, 4/22/09 - "After 18 weeks, the rats that received the grape-enriched diet powder had lower blood pressure, better heart function, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than the rats that ate the same salty diet but didn't receive grapes ... Rats that received the blood pressure medicine, hydrazine, along with a salty diet also had lower blood pressure, but their hearts were not protected from damage as they were in the grape-fed group" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Fatty Fish May Lower Heart Failure Risk - WebMD, 4/22/09 - "Study participants who got the equivalent of 0.36 grams of omega-3 a day from fish had a 33% reduction in heart failure risk"
• Resveratrol attenuates angiotensin II-induced interleukin-6 expression and perivascular fibrosis - Hypertens Res. 2009 Apr 17 - "Resveratrol significantly attenuated Ang II-induced IL-6 mRNA expression and IL-6 protein in the supernatant of VSMC in a dose-dependent manner. Resveratrol suppressed the IL-6 gene promoter activity. Resveratrol inhibited the Ang II-induced cAMP-response element-binding protein and nuclear factor-kappa B activity, which are critical for Ang II-induced IL-6 gene activation. An increase in the serum concentration of IL-6 induced by Ang II infusion was attenuated by an oral administration of resveratrol. Resveratrol also inhibited Ang II-induced hypertension and perivascular fibrosis of the heart. Although hydralazine reduced blood pressure level equal to resveratrol, it did not reduce the Ang II-induced IL-6 production and perivascular fibrosis. These data suggest that the inhibition of Ang II-induced vascular inflammation and high blood pressure by resveratrol may contribute, at least in part, to the anti-atherogenic effects of resveratrol" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• The More Oral Bacteria, The Higher The Risk Of Heart Attack, Study Shows - Science Daily, 4/1/09 - "two oral pathogens in the mouth were associated with an increased risk of having a heart attack, but that the total number of germs, regardless of type, was more important to heart health"
• Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 3/30/09 - "The fewer hours a man slept each night, the higher his BMI, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels"
• Red blood cell membrane alpha-linolenic acid and the risk of sudden cardiac arrest - Metabolism. 2009 Apr;58(4):534-40 - "Higher levels of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in red blood cell membranes are associated with lower risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Whether membrane levels of alpha-linolenic acid, a medium-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, show a similar association is unclear ... Higher membrane alpha-linolenic acid was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest: after adjustment for matching factors and smoking, diabetes, hypertension, education, physical activity, weight, height, and total fat intake, the odds ratios corresponding to increasing quartiles of alpha-linolenic acid were 1.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-3.0), 1.9 (95% CI, 1.1-3.3), and 2.5 (95% CI, 1.3-4.8) compared with the lowest quartile. The association was independent of red blood cell levels of long-chain n-3 fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, and linoleic acid. Higher membrane levels of alpha-linolenic acid are associated with higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest" - Note:  Alpha-linolenic acid (a medium-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) is the omega-3 found in vegetable sources such as flaxseed as opposed to the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) forms (long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) found in fish oils.
• The response of gamma vitamin E to varying dosages of alpha vitamin E plus vitamin C - Metabolism. 2009 Apr;58(4):469-78 - "vitamin E has several isomers, with the alpha form being available via dietary supplements and the gamma form being available via dietary foodstuffs. The gamma form of vitamin E demonstrates several superior properties (such as trapping reactive nitrogen species and detoxifying nitrogen dioxide) compared with alpha vitamin E. All clinical trials have used the alpha isomer, with little concern that this isomer of vitamin E may actually suppress the gamma isomer of vitamin E ... The results demonstrate that alpha vitamin E levels increased in proportion to the dose administered. However, at every dose of alpha vitamin E, gamma vitamin E concentration was significantly suppressed ... Our results suggest that all prospective cardiovascular clinical trials that used vitamin E supplementation actually suppressed the beneficial antioxidant gamma isomer of vitamin E" - Dah!!  I've been saying that for years.  They're finally catching on.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Fruit and vegetable consumption and risk factors for cardiovascular disease - Metabolism. 2009 Apr;58(4):460-8 - "Consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with lower concentrations of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and with the risk of CVD per se in a dose-response manner"
• Resveratrol Prevents the Prohypertrophic Effects of Oxidative Stress on LKB1 - Circulation. 2009 Mar 16 - "Our data identify a molecular mechanism in the cardiomyocyte involving the oxidative stress-derived lipid peroxidation byproduct HNE and the LKB1/AMPK signaling pathway that contributes to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy. We also suggest that resveratrol may be a potential therapy for patients at risk for developing pathological cardiac hypertrophy by preventing this prohypertrophic process" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Consuming A Little Less Salt Could Mean Fewer Deaths - Science Daily, 3/11/09 - "A 3-gram–a-day reduction in salt intake (about 1200 mg of sodium) would result in 6 percent fewer cases of new heart disease, 8 percent fewer heart attacks, and 3 percent fewer deaths ... Currently, Americans eat 9-12 grams of salt per day"
• Catechin prevents endothelial dysfunction in the prediabetic stage of OLETF rats by reducing vascular NADPH oxidase activity and expression - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Feb 3 - "studies have indicated that regular intake of green tea reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This study examined whether catechin prevents endothelial dysfunction and hyperglycemia in the prediabetic stage of a type 2 diabetic (T2D) rat ... Catechin significantly reduced blood pressure (OLETF vs. Catechin-OLETF; 138+/-16mmHg vs. 126+/-16mmHg, p=0.013), fasting sugar (129+/-11mg/dL vs. 118+/-9mg/dL, p=0.02) and the insulin level (2.13+/-1.29ng/mL vs. 0.53+/-0.27ng/mL, p=0.004). In the aorta of Catechin-OLETF at 25 weeks, endothelium-dependent relaxations were significantly improved and NADPH oxidase activity in aortic rings was markedly decreased compared with those of OLETF. Catechin reduced vascular reactive oxygen species formation in the aorta and suppressed the expression of p22phox and p47phox NADPH oxidase subunits" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Coffee consumption and mortality after acute myocardial infarction: The Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program - Am Heart J. 2009 Mar;157(3):495-501 - "Self-reported coffee consumption at the time of hospitalization for myocardial infarction was inversely associated with subsequent postinfarction mortality in this population with broad coffee intake"
• Sweetened beverage consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Feb 11 - "sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) ... After standard and dietary risk factors were adjusted for, the RRs (and 95% CIs) of CHD according to categories of cumulative average of SSB consumption (<1/mo, 1-4/mo, 2-6/wk, 1/d, and >/=2 servings/d) were 1.0, 0.96 (0.87, 1.06), 1.04 (0.95, 1.14), 1.23 (1.06, 1.43), and 1.35 (1.07, 1.69)"
• Vitamin K2, but not K1, effective for heart health benefits: Study - Nutra USA, 2/12/09 - "This study confirms our findings in the Rotterdam study, showing that increased vitamin K2 intake strongly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease" - [Abstract] - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.
• A high menaquinone reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease in women - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Jan 27 - "A high intake of menoquinones, especially MK-7, MK-8 and MK-9, could protect against CHD" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.
• Novel Benefits Of Fatty Acids In Arteries Shown - Science Daily, 2/11/09 - "a diet rich in fish oils can prevent the accumulation of fat in the aorta, the main artery leaving the heart. The beneficial actions of fish oil that block cholesterol buildup in arteries are even found at high fat intakes ... the fatty acids contained in fish oil markedly inhibit the entry of "bad," or LDL, cholesterol into arteries and, as a result, much less cholesterol collects in these vessels ... Dr. Deckelbaum advises those interested in increasing omega-3 intakes do so by either increasing fish intake or by using supplements that contain the "long-chain" fatty acids, EPA and DHA, which are found in cold water fish" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Novel Benefits Of Fatty Acids In Arteries Shown - Science Daily, 2/5/09 - "Now, a CUMC research team led by Richard J. Deckelbaum, M.D., Director of the Columbia Institute of Human Nutrition, has found that a diet rich in fish oils can prevent the accumulation of fat in the aorta, the main artery leaving the heart. The beneficial actions of fish oil that block cholesterol buildup in arteries are even found at high fat intakes" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Salt May Restrict Blood Flow to Heart - WebMD, 1/22/09 - "Overweight and obese study participants with normal blood pressure who restricted the sodium in their diets showed evidence of improved endothelial function compared to participants who did not restrict salt ... The improvement appeared to be unrelated to the impact on blood pressure, suggesting that salt restriction is independently protective of blood vessel function"
• Red Rice Yeast for Cholesterol Control? - Dr. Weil, 1/22/09 - "Of all the natural supplements available to help lower cholesterol, red rice yeast extracts are by far the most effective" - See red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
• High-Dose B Vitamin Supplementation and Progression of Subclinical Atherosclerosis. A Randomized Controlled Trial - Stroke. 2008 Dec 31 - "high-dose B vitamin supplementation (5 mg folic acid+0.4 mg vitamin B12+50 mg vitamin B6) or matching placebo for 3.1 years ... High-dose B vitamin supplementation significantly reduces progression of early-stage subclinical atherosclerosis (carotid artery intima media thickness) in well-nourished healthy B vitamin "replete" individuals at low risk for cardiovascular disease with a fasting tHcy >/=9.1 micromol/L"
• Resveratrol inhibits the mTOR mitogenic signaling evoked by oxidized LDL in smooth muscle cells - Atherosclerosis. 2008 Nov 24 - "Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation is a major feature in atherosclerosis, since it contributes to the formation of the fibrous cap, thus to plaque stability, but also to arterial stenosis and post-angioplasty restenosis ... These data indicate that the mTOR pathway is activated by oxLDL via PI3K/PDK1/Akt, and is required for SMC proliferation. Resveratrol blocks specifically this pathway, thereby inhibiting oxLDL-induced SMC proliferation. These data highlight a new property for resveratrol that could contribute to the general anti-atherogenic properties of this polyphenol" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Go ahead, sleep in — it’s good for the heart - msnbc.com, 12/23/08 - "About 12 percent of the people in the study developed artery calcification during the five-year study period. Among those who had slept less than five hours a night, 27 percent had developed artery calcification ... That dropped to 11 percent among those who slept five to seven hours, and to 6 percent among those who slept more than seven hours a night"
• Inflamed Gums Linked To Heart Disease - Science Daily, 12/20/08 - "a protein associated with inflammation (called CRP) is elevated in people who are at risk for heart disease. But where's the inflammation coming from? ... infected gums may be one place ... something as simple as taking good care of your teeth and gums can greatly reduce your risk of developing serious diseases"
• Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - Doctor's Guide, 12/10/08 - "a review article published in the December 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ... patients with vitamin D levels below 15 ng/mL were twice as likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or other CV event within the next 5 years compared with those with higher levels" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Fish consumption and risk of major chronic disease in men - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Dec;88(6):1618-1625 - "Compared with fish consumption of <1 serving/mo, consumption of 1 serving/wk and of 2-4 servings/wk was associated with a lower risk of total cardiovascular disease of approximately 15%" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol protects cardiomyocytes from hypoxia-induced apoptosis through the SIRT1-FoxO1 pathway - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Dec 3 - "Loss of cardiomyocytes through apoptosis has been proposed as a cause of ventricular remodeling and heart failure. Ischemia- and hypoxia-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes reportedly plays an important role in many cardiac pathologies. We investigated whether resveratrol (Res) has direct cytoprotective effects against ischemia/hypoxia for cardiomyocytes. Exposure of H9c2 embryonic rat heart-derived cells to hypoxia for 24h caused a significant increase in apoptosis, as evaluated by TUNEL and flow cytometry, while treatment with 20muM Res greatly decreased hypoxia-induced apoptosis in these cells. Exposure of the cells to Res (20muM) caused rapid activation of SIRT1, which had a dual effect on FoxO1 function: SIRT1 increased FoxO1's ability to induce cell cycle arrest, but inhibited FoxO1's ability to induce cell death. This effect could be reversed by SIRT1 inhibition. Results of our study indicate that Res inhibits hypoxia-induced apoptosis via the SIRT1-FoxO1 pathway in H9c2 cells. This polyphenol may have potential in preventing cardiovascular disease, especially in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D Deficiency An Important, Common, and Easily Treatable Cardiovascular Risk Factor? - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Dec 9;52(24):1949-1956 - "Vitamin D deficiency is a highly prevalent condition, present in approximately 30% to 50% of the general population. A growing body of data suggests that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may adversely affect cardiovascular health. Vitamin D deficiency activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and can predispose to hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. Additionally, vitamin D deficiency causes an increase in parathyroid hormone, which increases insulin resistance and is associated with diabetes, hypertension, inflammation, and increased cardiovascular risk. Epidemiologic studies have associated low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with coronary risk factors and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Vitamin D supplementation is simple, safe, and inexpensive. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to firmly establish the relevance of vitamin D status to cardiovascular health. In the meanwhile, monitoring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and correction of vitamin D deficiency is indicated for optimization of musculoskeletal and general health" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Effect of cranberry extracts on lipid profiles in subjects with Type 2 diabetes - Diabet Med. 2008 Dec;25(12):1473-7 - "Changes in lipid profiles, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), glycaemic control, components of the metabolic syndrome, C-reactive protein (CRP) and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) were assessed after cranberry or placebo treatment for 12 weeks ... Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol decreased significantly in the cranberry group (from 3.3 +/- 0.2 to 2.9 +/- 0.2 mmol/l, P = 0.005) and the decrease was significantly greater than that in the placebo group (-0.4 +/- 0.1 vs. 0.2 +/- 0.1 mmol/l, P < 0.001). Total cholesterol and total : high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio also decreased significantly (P = 0.020 and 0.044, respectively) in the cranberry group and the reductions were significantly different from those in the placebo group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.032, respectively) ... Cranberry supplements are effective in reducing atherosclerotic cholesterol profiles, including LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels, as well as total : HDL cholesterol ratio, and have a neutral effect on glycaemic control in Type 2 diabetic subjects taking oral glucose-lowering agents" - See cranberry extract at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin E Shows Possible Promise In Easing Chronic Inflammation - Science Daily, 12/4/08 - "the larger take-home message of the study, published in the December issue of the journal Experimental Physiology, is that Vitamin E “may be beneficial in individuals with chronic inflammation, such as the elderly or patients with type II diabetes or chronic heart failure" - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Too Little Vitamin D Puts Heart at Risk - WebMD, 12/1/08 - "people with low vitamin D levels were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or other heart-related event during follow-up, compared with those with higher vitamin D levels ... Sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 blocks approximately 99% of vitamin D synthesis by the skin ... The safe upper limit of vitamin D consumption is 10,000 IU per day ... Vitamin D supplements are available in two different forms: Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Although both appear effective in raising vitamin D blood levels, Vitamin D3 supplements appear to result in a longer-lasting boost" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Caffeinated Coffee Consumption, Cardiovascular Disease, and Heart Valve Disease in the Elderly (from the Framingham Study) - Am J Cardiol. 2008 Dec 1;102(11):1502-8. Epub 2008 Sep 11 - "A significant negative association between caffeinated coffee consumption and CHD mortality was observed for subjects with systolic blood pressure (BP) <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg. The decrease in risk of CHD mortality for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43% (95% confidence interval 9 to 64). This decreased risk appeared to be caused primarily by an inverse prospective relation between caffeinated coffee consumption and the development or progression of heart valve disease. The decrease in risk of heart valve disease for subjects with systolic BP <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43%"
• Higher Blood Phosphorus and Calcium Levels in Coronary Arteries - Science Daily, 11/26/08 - "Higher serum phosphorus levels, even within the normal range, may be a risk factor for coronary artery atherosclerosis in healthy young adults"
• Coenzyme Q(10) An Independent Predictor of Mortality in Chronic Heart Failure - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Oct 28;52(18):1435-1441 - "Plasma CoQ(10) concentration was an independent predictor of mortality in this cohort. The CoQ(10) deficiency might be detrimental to the long-term prognosis of CHF, and there is a rationale for controlled intervention studies with CoQ(10)" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
• Grapes May Aid A Bunch Of Heart Risk Factors, Animal Study Finds - Science Daily, 10/29/08 - "Could eating grapes help fight high blood pressure related to a salty diet? And could grapes calm other factors that are also related to heart diseases such as heart failure? A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests so" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Grapes And Grape Extracts May Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Review Article Suggests - Science Daily, 10/28/08 - "grape polyphenols work in many different ways to prevent cardiovascular and other "inflammatory-mediated" diseases. Polyphenols are natural antioxidants found in grapes and some other plant foods. Their types and actions vary, depending on where in the grape they are found. Grape seeds, grape skin, and grape juice contain several types of polyphenols, including resveratrol, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and flavonoids" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Eating Whole Grains Lowers Heart Failure Risk, According To New Study - Science Daily, 10/27/08 - "whole grain consumption lowered HF risk, while egg and high-fat dairy consumption raised risk. Other food groups did not directly affect HF risk"
• Coenzyme Q-10 Depletion Linked to Worse Heart Failure Outcomes - Medscape, 10/22/08 - "Low plasma concentration of coenzyme Q-10 is an independent predictor of reduced survival in patients with chronic heart failure" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com.
• Flavonoids’ heart health benefits in the blood vessels: Study - Nutra USA, 10/10/08 - "A daily dose of quercetin or (-)-epicatechin led to improvements in endothelial function, a key marker of cardiovascular health" - [Abstract]
• Dietary fiber intake in relation to coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality over 40 y: the Zutphen Study -  Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1119-25 - "Every additional 10 g of recent dietary fiber intake per day reduced coronary heart disease mortality by 17% (95% CI: 2%, 30%) and all-cause mortality by 9% (0%, 18%). The strength of the association between long-term dietary fiber intake and all-cause mortality decreased from age 50 y (hazard ratio: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.93) until age 80 y (0.99; 0.87, 1.12). We observed no clear associations for different types of dietary fiber. CONCLUSIONS: A higher recent dietary fiber intake was associated with a lower risk of both coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. For long-term intake, the strength of the association between dietary fiber and all-cause mortality decreased with increasing age"
• Intakes of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and fish in relation to measurements of subclinical atherosclerosis - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1111-8 - "After adjustment for potential confounders, intakes of long-chain n-3 PUFAs and nonfried (broiled, steamed, baked, or raw) fish were inversely related to subclinical atherosclerosis determined by cCIMT but not by iCIMT, CAC score, or ABI. The multivariate odds ratio comparing the highest to the lowest quartile of dietary exposures in relation to subclinical atherosclerosis determined by cCIMT was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.55, 0.86; P for trend < 0.01) for n-3 PUFA intake; 0.80 (95% CI: 0.64, 1.01; P = 0.054) for nonfried fish consumption; and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.11; P = 0.38) for fried fish consumption" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Pure dietary flavonoids quercetin and (-)-epicatechin augment nitric oxide products and reduce endothelin-1 acutely in healthy men - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1018-25 - "Dietary flavonoids, such as quercetin and (-)-epicatechin, can augment nitric oxide status and reduce endothelin-1 concentrations and may thereby improve endothelial function"
• Increasing dietary fish intake has contributed to decreasing mortality from CHD among the older population in Hong Kong - Public Health Nutr. 2008 Oct 7:1-6 - "The time trend of CHD mortality was inversely related to the trend of fish intake. The frequency of fish intake may have a substantial impact on the population for the prevention of CHD deaths in Hong Kong" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Green tea and cardiovascular disease: from molecular targets towards human health - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Nov;11(6):758-65 - "Consumption of green tea has been inversely associated with the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular risk factors. Mechanisms that have been suggested as being involved in the antiatherosclerotic effects of green tea consumption primarily entail antioxidative, antiinflammatory, antiproliferative, and antithrombotic properties, as well as beneficial effects on endothelial function. Moreover, evidence exists for myocardial effects of tea constituents, including positive inotropic and antihypertrophic effects, and beneficial impact in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Fish, omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, and Mortality From Cardiovascular Diseases in a Nationwide Community-Based Cohort of Japanese Men and Women The JACC (Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk) Study - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Sep 16;52(12):988-996 - "For mortality from total cardiovascular disease, intakes of fish and omega-3 PUFA were associated with 18% to 19% lower risk ... We found an inverse association between fish and omega-3 PUFA dietary intakes and cardiovascular mortality, especially for heart failure, suggesting a protective effect of fish intake on cardiovascular diseases" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols in hyperlipidemic individuals - Atherosclerosis. 2008 Sep 27 - "The combination of n-3 PUFA and plant sterols reduced several inflammatory markers. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was reduced by 39% (P=0.009), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by 10% (P=0.02), interleukin-6 (IL-6) by 10.7% (P=0.009), leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) by 29.5% (P=0.01) and adiponectin was increased by 29.5% (P=0.05). Overall cardiovascular risk was reduced by 22.6% (P=0.006) in the combination group. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated, for the first time that dietary intervention with n-3 PUFA and plant sterols reduces systemic inflammation in hyperlipidemic individuals. Furthermore, our results suggest that reducing inflammation provides a potential mechanism by which the combination of n-3 PUFA and plant sterols are cardioprotective" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Bleeding Gums Linked To Heart Disease - Science Daily, 9/10/08 - "People with poor dental hygiene and those who don't brush their teeth regularly end up with bleeding gums, which provide an entry to the bloodstream for up to 700 different types of bacteria found in our mouths. This increases the risk of having a heart attack"
• Vitamin K2 linked to better heart health - NutraUSA, 9/10/08 - "When the intakes of K1 and K2 were divided into four groups from the lowest to highest, no association was found between K1 intakes and calcification. However, high consumption of K2 (about 45 micrograms per day) was associated with 20 per cent decreased coronary calcification, compared with low consumption of K2 (about 18micrograms per day)" - See Vitamin K products at iHerb.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids, but Not Statin Therapy, Cuts Mortality and Hospitalizations in Heart Failure - Medscape, 9/3/08 - "Speaking to the media, Tavazzi said the advantage of n-3 PUFA, as documented by the primary end points, is that they appear to have a beneficial effect on the mechanisms leading to the progression of heart failure. Although the exact reasons are unknown, omega-3 fatty acids could possibly exert favorable effects on inflammatory processes, such as reductions in endothelial activation and cytokine production, as well as influence platelet aggregation, blood pressure, heart rate, ventricular function, and autonomic tone" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Effects Of N-3 PUFA In Patients With Symptomatic Chronic Heart Failure: The GISSI-HF Results - Science Daily, 8/31/08 - "undertook a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 357 cardiology sites in Italy. They enrolled 6 975 patients with chronic heart failure of New York Heart Association class II-IV, assigned to n-3 PUFA 1 g daily or placebo. Patients were followed up for a median of 3•9 years ... In a per-protocol analysis performed in about 5000 full complier patients, the relative risk of death was reduced by 14% (p 0.004). Safety was excellent" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Fish oil helps patients with chronic heart failure - MSNBC, 8/31/08 - "Comparing the results from both studies, the researchers concluded that fish oil is slightly more effective than the drug because the oil performed better against a placebo than did Crestor ... Both studies were paid for by an Italian group of pharmaceuticals including Pfizer Inc., Sigma Tau SpA and AstraZeneca PLC" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol, at concentrations attainable with moderate wine consumption, stimulates human platelet nitric oxide production - J Nutr. 2008 Sep;138(9):1602-8 - "resveratrol, at concentrations attainable after moderate wine intake, activates platelet eNOS and in this way blunts the proinflammatory pathway linked to p38MAPK, thus inhibiting ROS production and ultimately platelet function. This activity may contribute to the beneficial effects of moderate wine intake on ischemic cardiovascular disease" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Coffee consumption and risk of coronary heart diseases: A meta-analysis of 21 prospective cohort studies - Int J Cardiol. 2008 Aug 14 - "Our findings do not support the hypothesis that coffee consumption increases the long-term risk of coronary heart disease. Habitual moderate coffee drinking was associated with a lower risk of CHD in women"
• Green tea reduces LDL oxidability and improves vascular function - J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Apr;27(2):209-13 - "The mean diameter of the brachial artery following the post-compression hyperaemia phase rose significantly (p < 0.0001) after treatment with green tea extract. Flow-mediated brachial artery vasodilation ranged from 5.68% for the placebo phase to 11.98% after the green tea extract (p = 0.02). The consumption of green tea extract was associated with a significant 37.4% reduction in the concentration of oxidized LDL (TBARS) (p = 0.017). The levels of anti-oxidized LDL IgM antibodies fell significantly after treatment (p = 0.002) ... This study found that consumption of green tea extract by women for five weeks produced modifications in vascular function and an important decrease in serum oxidizability" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Low Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat To Health; Overall 26 Percent Increased Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 8/12/08 - "This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels ... Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are technically deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Association of vitamin D deficiency with heart failure and sudden cardiac death in a large cross-sectional study of patients referred for coronary angiography - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Aug 5 - "sudden cardiac death (SCD) ... Low levels of 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D are associated with prevalent myocardial dysfunction, deaths due to heart failure and SCD" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Effects of EPA on coronary artery disease in hypercholesterolemic patients with multiple risk factors: Sub-analysis of primary prevention cases from the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) - Atherosclerosis. 2008 Jun 19 - "Multiple risk factors besides cholesterol are associated with markedly increased incidence of CAD. High TG with low HDL-C represents a particularly potent risk factor. EPA was effective in reducing the incidence of CAD events for patients with this dyslipidemic pattern, suggesting that EPA may be especially beneficial in patients who with abnormal TG and HDL-C levels" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Exercise Could Be The Heart's Fountain Of Youth - Science Daily, 7/23/08 - "Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but endurance exercise seems to make it younger ... older people who did endurance exercise training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts ... after endurance exercise training -- which involved walking, running or cycling exercises three to five days a week for about an hour per session -- the participants' hearts doubled their glucose uptake during high-energy demand"
• Long-term fish consumption and n-3 fatty acid intake in relation to (sudden) coronary heart disease death: the Zutphen study - Eur Heart J. 2008 Jul 18 - "long-term fatty-fish consumption lowered the risk of sudden coronary death [HR: 0.46" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• Alpha-linolenic acid reduces risk of nonfatal MI - theheart.org, 7/9/08 - "ALA is an intermediate-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is often overshadowed by the more famous long-chain members of the n-3 family, namely EPA and DHA acids that are found in fish oils ... ALA intake, g/day ... 1.79 ... Relative risk of MI ... 0.43 ... The relationship between ALA and myocardial infarction was nonlinear ... We see a dose effect, but only up to about 0.7% of adipose tissue, which corresponds to about 1.8 g/day. Increasing intake further was not associated with increased protection" - See flax seed at Amazon.com.
• Long-term effects of resveratrol supplementation on suppression of atherogenic lesion formation and cholesterol synthesis in apo E-deficient mice - Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Jul 5 - "The concentration of total-cholesterol (total-C) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) in plasma was significantly lower in the resveratrol-supplemented groups compare to the control group over the entire experimental period. The plasma HDL-C concentration was significantly elevated, and the ratio of HDL-C/total-C was significantly higher in the CF and RV groups than in the control group. Plasma paraoxonase (PON) activity was significantly higher in the 0.06% resveratrol group. The hepatic HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) activity was significantly lower in the clofibrate and resveratrol groups than in the control group. Resveratrol supplements attenuated the presence of atherosclerotic lesions and periarterial fat deposition in the apo E(-/-) mice. The presence of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in atherosclerotic vessels was diminished in the resveratrol-supplemented apo E(-/-) mice. These results provide new insight into the anti-atherogenic and hypocholesterolemic properties of resveratrol in apo E(-/-) mice that were fed a normal diet" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Green tea's heart benefits gain support - Nutra USA, 7/7/08 - "Regular consumption of green tea may improve the function of endothelial cells - cells lining the walls of blood vessels - and boost cardiovascular health, according to new research from Greece" - [Abstract] - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• The acute effect of green tea consumption on endothelial function in healthy individuals - Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2008 Jun;15(3):300-5 - "Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) ... FMD increased significantly with tea (by 3.69%, peak at 30 min, P<0.02), whereas it did not change significantly with caffeine (increase by 1.72%, peak at 30 min, P=NS) ... Green tea consumption has an acute beneficial effect on endothelial function, assessed with FMD of the brachial artery, in healthy individuals. This may be involved in the beneficial effect of tea on cardiovascular risk" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Benefits Of Green Tea In Reducing An Important Risk Factor For Heart Disease - [WebMD] - Science Daily, 7/2/08 - "More evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea on risk factors for heart disease has emerged in a new study. The study found that the consumption of green tea rapidly improves the function of (endothelial) cells lining the circulatory system; endothelial dysfunction is a key event in the progression of atherosclerosis" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Resveratrol inhibits cardiac hypertrophy via AMP-activated protein kinase and Akt - J Biol Chem. 2008 Jun 18 - "Taken together, our data suggest that resveratrol exerts anti-hypertrophic effects by activating AMPK via LKB1 and inhibiting Akt, thus suppressing protein synthesis and gene transcription" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Drinking Large Amounts Of Coffee May Actually Extend One's Lifespan, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/16/08 - "Women consuming two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease during the follow-up period (which lasted from 1980 to 2004 and involved 84,214 women) as compared with non-consumers, and an 18 percent lower risk of death caused by something other than cancer or heart disease as compared with non-consumers during follow-up. For men, this level of consumption was associated with neither a higher nor a lower risk of death during the follow-up period"
• Vitamin D: New Way To Treat Heart Failure? - Science Daily, 6/11/08 - "treatments with activated vitamin D prevented heart muscle cells from growing bigger – the condition, called hypertrophy, in which the heart becomes enlarged and overworked in people with heart failure. The treatments prevented heart muscle cells from the over-stimulation and increased contractions associated with the progression of heart failure" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Low Vitamin D Ups Heart Risk in Men - WebMD, 6/9/08 - "men who had vitamin D levels of 15 ng/mL or less in their blood samples -- an indication of vitamin D deficiency -- had an increased risk for heart attack compared to those whose vitamin D level was considered sufficient (30 ng/mL). The twofold increased risk remained significant even when adjusting for other factors known to contribute to heart disease, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of heart disease" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Chinese Red Yeast Rice Is Good For Your Heart, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds" - See red yeast rice at Amazon.com.
• Low-dose resveratrol may slow ageing: for mice at least - Nutra USA, 6/4/08 - "animals in the calorie-restriction and low-dose resveratrol groups had altered gene expression profiles in 90 and 92 per cent, respectively, in the heart ... In short, a glass of wine or food or supplements that contain even small doses of resveratrol are likely to represent "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac ageing,"" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Substance In Red Wine, Resveratrol, Found To Keep Hearts Young - Science Daily, 6/4/08 - "Resveratrol is active in much lower doses than previously thought and mimics a significant fraction of the profile of caloric restriction at the gene expression level ... In animals on a restricted diet, 90 percent of those heart genes experienced altered gene expression profiles, while low doses of resveratrol thwarted age-related change in 92 percent. The new findings, say the study's authors, were associated with prevention of the decline in heart function associated with aging" - See resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• Cocoa for Diabetes? - WebMD, 5/27/08 - "Researchers caution that the high-dose flavonol cocoa used in their study greatly exceeds the typical U.S. dietary intake of 20 to 100 milligrams daily, and you can't buy the extra-strength version in stores. Rather, they are optimistic that flavonol-containing diets offer an innovative approach to preventing heart disease"
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• 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 resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.  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 Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.  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 products at Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 indole-3-carbinol at Amazon.com.
• 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 alpha lipoic acid at Amazon.com.
• 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 at Amazon.com.
• 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 extract at Amazon.com.
• 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 resveratrol products at Amazon.com.
• 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 supplements at Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 Amazon.com.
• 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 aspirin at Amazon.com.
• 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

Other News:

• Persistently noisy workplace more than doubles heart disease risk - Science Daily, 10/5/10
• J-curve revisited: an analysis of blood pressure and cardiovascular events in the Treating to New Targets (TNT) trial - Eur Heart J. 2010 Sep 16 - "The relationship between SBP or DBP and primary outcome followed a J-curve with increased event rates above and below the reference BP range, both unadjusted and adjusted (for baseline covariates, treatment effect, and LDL levels). A time-dependent, non-linear, multivariate Cox proportional hazard model identified a nadir of 146.3/81.4 mmHg where the event rate was lowest. A similar non-linear relationship with a higher risk of events at lower pressures was found for most of the secondary outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal MI, or angina. However, for the outcome of stroke, lower was better for SBP. Conclusion In patients with CAD, a low BP (<110-120/<60-70 mmHg) portends an increased risk of future cardiovascular events (except stroke)"
• High stress hormone levels linked to increased cardiovascular mortality - Science Daily, 9/9/10 - "urinary cortisol did not increase the risk of non-cardiovascular mortality but did increase cardiovascular mortality risk. The third of the subjects with the highest urinary cortisol had a five-fold increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease"
• Hair provides proof of the link between chronic stress and heart attack - Science Daily, 9/3/10 - "Cortisol is considered to be a stress hormone. Its secretion is increased during times of stress. Traditionally it's been measured in serum, urine and saliva, but that only shows stress at the time of measurement, not over longer periods of time. Cortisol is also captured in the hair shaft"
• Urinary Cortisol and Six-Year Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug 25 - "During a mean follow-up of 5.7 (SD = 1.2) yr, 183 persons died, of whom 41 died from cardiovascular disease. After adjustment for sociodemographics, health indicators, and baseline cardiovascular disease, urinary cortisol did not increase the risk of noncardiovascular mortality, but it did increase cardiovascular mortality risk. Persons in the highest tertile of urinary cortisol had a five times increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio = 5.00; 95% confidence interval = 2.02-12.37). This effect was found to be consistent across persons with and without cardiovascular disease at baseline"
• Periodontal disease and carotid atherosclerosis: Are hemodynamic forces a link? - Atherosclerosis. 2010 Jul 29 - "Worse periodontal health was associated to the presence of carotid atherosclerosis. Patients with carotid plaques (n=19) had higher periodontal indices compared with subjects without plaques (n=14) (gingival index: 1.40+/-0.71 vs. 0.69+/-0.64, p=0.006) ... In the 66 examined common carotids, wall shear stress was inversely related to all periodontal indices (r=0.54, p<0.00001 for peak wall shear stress and gingival index) ... The present study identifies for the first time a link between periodontal indices and wall shear stress, suggesting that an alteration of hemodynamic profile might contribute to atherosclerosis in subjects with periodontal disease"
• Elevated heart rate over time linked to significant risk of death - Science Daily, 8/12/10 - "development of a heart rate of 84 beats per minute or greater that either developed or persisted in patients during the study's average five-year time span was linked to a 55 percent greater risk of cardiovascular death and a 79 percent greater risk of death from all causes ... A healthy heart rate is between 60 and 80 beats per minute ... every extra 10 beats per minute higher than a normal resting pulse was associated with a 16 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 25 percent greater risk of all-cause death ... To date, no medication has been approved in the United States that can reduce heart rate without side effects, although a drug (ivabradine) is being tested"
• Waist Circumference but Not Body Mass Index Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Elderly Subjects with Chronic Heart Failure - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 Jul 28 - "Mortality increased as WC increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 47.8% to 56.7%, P=.01), and the increase was even greater in patients with CHF (from 58.1% to 82.0%, P=.01). In contrast, mortality decreased as BMI increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 53.8% to 46.1%, P0 =.046) but not in those with CHF. According to Cox regression analysis, BMI protected against long-term mortality in the absence but not in the presence of CHF. In the absence of CHF, WC was associated with a 2% increased risk of long-term mortality for each 1-cm greater WC (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.03; P<.001), versus 5% increased in the presence of CHF (HR=1.06, 95% CI=1.02-1.10; P<.001)"
• Egg consumption and CHD and stroke mortality: a prospective study of US adults - Public Health Nutr. 2010 Jul 16:1-10 - "'high' egg consumption (>/=7 times/week v. <1 time/week) was not associated with significantly increased CHD mortality (HR = 1.13, 95 % CI 0.61, 2.11 (men); HR = 0.92, 95 % CI 0.27, 3.11 (women)). There was a statistically significant inverse association between 'high' egg consumption and stroke mortality among men (HR = 0.27, 95 % CI 0.10, 0.73), but the estimate was imprecise because of sparse data. We did not observe a statistically significant positive association between 'high' egg consumption and CHD or stroke mortality in analyses restricted to individuals with diabetes, but these analyses may be limited due to the small number of diabetics. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find a significant positive association between egg consumption and increased risk of mortality from CHD or stroke in the US population. These results corroborate the findings of previous studies"
• High blood cortisol levels significantly increases death rate in patients with acute coronary syndrome - Science Daily, 5/27/10 - "1036 patients with acute coronary syndrome were studied for an average period of 7.7 years. There were no significant differences in the serum cortisol levels between patients with and without acute coronary syndrome. However, the patients with ACS and high cortisol levels had a significantly elevated number of deaths when compared to the patients with ACS and the lowest cortisol levels. 758 total deaths were reported during the follow-up period. The ACS patients with the highest cortisol levels (i.e. the highest 25% serum cortisol) were significantly more likely to die from fatal cardiovascular events than those with the lowest cortisol levels (the lowest 25% serum cortisol). (The hazard ratio for highest versus lowest quartile of SCC was 1.89"
• Eating processed meats, but not unprocessed red meats, may raise risk of heart disease and diabetes, study finds - Science Daily, 5/17/10 - "eating processed meat, such as bacon, sausage or processed deli meats, was associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. In contrast, the researchers did not find any higher risk of heart disease or diabetes among individuals eating unprocessed red meat, such as from beef, pork, or lamb"
• Study: Too Much Sugar Increases Heart Risks - Time Magazine, 4/21/10 - "Compared with people consuming less than 5% of their daily calories in added sugar, those in the highest consumption group — who got 25% or more of their daily calories in added sugar — were twice as likely to have low levels of HDL cholesterol, the beneficial lipid that mops up artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. According to government health guidelines, HDL levels below 50 mg/dL for women and 40 mg/dL for men are considered low; 43% of the highest sugar consumers recorded low HDL, while only 22% of the lowest sugar consumers did ... People eating the most added sugar also recorded the highest triglyceride levels ... Low HDL and high triglyceride levels are two of the primary risk factors for heart disease"
• ApoB/apoA-I ratio is better than LDL-C in detecting cardiovascular risk - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Feb 18 - "An unfavourable apoB/apoA-I (>/=0.9 for males and >/=0.8 for females) was present in 13.9% of 108 patients with LDL-C <100mg/dL: compared to subjects with lower apoB/apoA-I (<0.9 for males and <0.8 for females), they had more elements of MetS and their lipid profile strongly correlated with high CV risk. Out of 314 patients with lower apoB/apoA-I, 40.12% had LDL-C >/=130mg/dL: these retained a more favourable lipid profile than corresponding subjects with elevated apoB/apoA-I ratio. Finally, we found a significant correlation between LDL-C and apoB/apoA-I ratio (r=0.48, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In NGT with LDL-C <100mg/dL, a higher apoB/apoA-I exhibited an atherogenic lipid profile, indicating that LDL-C alone is insufficient to define CV risk. Independent from LDL-level, when apoB/apoA-I is lower, the lipid profile is, in fact, less atherogenic. This study demonstrates that apoB/apoA-I is at least complementary to LDL-C in identifying the "effective" CV risk profile of asymptomatic NGT subjects"
• Telmisartan: a Different Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Protecting a Different Population? - J Int Med Res. 2009;37(6):1662-1679 - "Telmisartan has a unique profile among ARBs, with a high affinity for the angiotensin II type 1 receptor, a long duration of receptor binding, a high lipophilicity and a long plasma half life. This leads to sustained and powerful blood pressure lowering when compared with the first marketed ARBs, such as losartan and valsartan. Some pharmacological properties of telmisartan clearly distinguish it from other members of the ARB class and may contribute to the clinical effects seen with telmisartan. A class effect for ARBs cannot be assumed. To date, telmisartan is the only ARB that has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk in at-risk cardiovascular patients" - Click here for reasons to consider telmisartan as a first line treatment for hypertension.  See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Low IQ among strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease -- second only to cigarette smoking in large population study - Science Daily, 2/9/10
• Hyperglycemia: New mechanism underlying cardiovascular disease described - Science Daily, 12/12/09 - "Hyperglycemia starts a complex chain of events that damages blood vessels and cause cardiovascular disease"
• Low testosterone level as a predictor of cardiovascular events in Japanese men with coronary risk factors - Atherosclerosis. 2009 Nov 13 - "Cox proportional hazards models showed that the subjects with the lowest tertile of plasma testosterone (<14.2nmol/L) had an approximately 4-fold higher CV event risk compared to those with the higher testosterone tertiles after adjustment for coronary risk factors including medication and FMD (unadjusted hazard ratio, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.47-8.86: multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio, 4.61; 95% CI, 1.02-21.04). Multivariate analysis did not show any significant association of DHEA-S, estradiol or cortisol with CV events"
• Kidney Function Decline Increases Risk Of Heart Failure And Premature Death - Science Daily, 11/5/09 - "Among 4,378 eligible participants in the study, those with rapid kidney decline (1,083 patients) demonstrated a 32% increased risk of experiencing heart failure, a 48% increased risk of having a heart attack, and a 67% increased risk of developing peripheral arterial disease ... Patients whose kidney function dropped by more than 5.6% per year demonstrated a 30% increased risk of developing heart disease and a 22% increased risk of dying prematurely compared to patients with stable kidney function"
• Low-Cost Drugs Prevent Heart Attack, Stroke - WebMD, 10/1/09 - "Besides being encouraged to take a daily aspirin, patients were prescribed a medication bundle, typically lovastatin (40 milligrams a day) to lower cholesterol and lisinopril (20 milligrams a day) to lower blood pressure ... Compared with the no-exposure group, the low-exposure group (whose members picked up medicines less than half the time) had a 60% reduction in hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke"
• Association of Kidney Function With Coronary Atherosclerosis and Calcification in Autopsy Samples From Japanese Elders: The Hisayama Study - Am J Kidney Dis. 2009 Sep 16 - "The autopsy findings presented here suggest that CKD is associated significantly with severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Patients with CKD should be considered a high-risk population for advanced coronary atherosclerosis"
• Increase In Visceral Fat During Menopause Linked With Testosterone - Science Daily, 8/20/09 - "The culprit is likely not age, as is commonly believed, but the change in hormone balance that occurs during the menopause transition ... Of all the factors we analyzed that could possibly account for the increase in visceral fat during this period in a woman's lifetime, levels of active testosterone proved to be the one most closely linked with abdominal fat ... in women, it is the change in the hormonal balance – specifically, the increase in active testosterone – that is predominantly responsible for visceral fat, and for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease"
• Stress Raises Belly Fat, Heart Risks - WebMD, 8/6/09 - "Even compared to other monkeys with the same body mass index and weight, CT scans showed that the stressed monkeys had a great deal more belly fat. And when the researchers looked at the animals' arteries, they found plaque clogging the arteries of the stressed monkeys ... it's not how much fat you have, but where it is located ... Over time, high cortisol levels cause belly fat to accumulate. It also makes individual fat cells get larger ... When you have lots more fat in visceral fat cells and all the characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, each of these things promotes atherosclerosis"
• High Cholesterol Linked to Alzheimer's - WebMD, 8/4/09 - "Adults with even moderately elevated cholesterol in their early to mid-40s appear to have an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias decades later ... Total cholesterol in the high range at study entry was associated with a 66% increase in Alzheimer's risk, while having borderline high cholesterol raised the risk for vascular dementia by 52% ... total cholesterol of 240 or higher is considered high, and a cholesterol of 200 to 239 is considered borderline high" - Maybe that's why most studies on statins show that statins reduce the odds of having Alzheimer's. - Ben
• High Calcium Level In Arteries May Signal Serious Heart Attack Risk - Science Daily, 7/28/09
• Link Between Oral Infections And Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity Explained - Science Daily, 7/9/09 - "A recent study that will be cited during the presentation explored the existence of bacteria known to cause periodontitis and the growth of blood vessel walls, which is a symptom of CVD. After examining the subjects used, the investigators found a positive connection between the growth of blood vessel walls and the existence of bacteria found in dental plaque, causing periodontitis"
• Cholesterol OK? Statins Still Help Heart - WebMD, 7/1/09 - "Combined data from 10 trials that included more than 70,000 patients without cardiovascular disease, but with cardiovascular risk factors, showed a 12% reduction in deaths among patients who took statins ... The statin group also had 30% fewer heart attacks and 20% fewer strokes over four years of follow-up"
• Patients With Moderate To Severe Periodontitis Need Evaluation For Heart Disease Risk - Science Daily, 6/30/09 - "Periodontitis is common, with mild to moderate forms affecting 30 to 50% of adults and the severe generalized form affecting 5 to 15% of all adults in the USA. In addition, there is now strong evidence that people with periodontitis are at increased risk of atherosclerotic CVD — the accumulation of lipid products within the arterial vascular wall"
• New Therapy Found To Prevent Heart Failure In Many Patients - Science Daily, 6/23/09
• Pioglitazone Improves Endothelial Function with Increased Adiponectin and High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Type 2 Diabetes - Endocr J. 2009 Jun 9 - "After treatment, HbA1c levels equally decreased in both groups, but PIO-treated group had significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, and decreased triglyceride,fasting insulin levels and HOMA-R. After treatment, increases in %FMD, plasma HDL-C and adiponectin (APN) levels were significantly greater in PIO-treated group than those in control group. Changes of %FMD showed significant positive correlations with those of plasma APN and HDL-Clevels. In conclusion, the present study showed that treatment of T2DM improved endothelial function with greater increases in %FMD, APN and HDL-C levels in PIO-treated group than those in control group, suggesting the beneficial effect of PIO on endothelial function in T2DM" - See pioglitazone at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Blood-pressure-lowering Drugs Should Not Be Limited To People With High Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 5/19/09 - "Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke (or who is otherwise known to be at risk), regardless of their blood pressure ... using any one of the main classes of blood pressure lowering drugs at standard dose reduced fatal and non-fatal heart attacks by about a quarter and stroke by about a third. Heart failure was also reduced by about a quarter. The reductions in disease were similar in people with and without clinical cardiovascular disease and regardless of blood pressure before treatment ... three drugs together, each at low dose to minimize side effects, could increase the preventive effect, reducing heart attacks by about 45% and stroke by about 60%"
• High, Low Estradiol Levels and Mortality in Men With Systolic HF - Medscape, 5/19/09 - "Both low and high serum levels of estradiol, compared with mid-range levels, are significantly and independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in men with chronic systolic heart failure" - Note:  See my aromatization page for ways to reduce it.  I take a quarter tablet of letrozole every day.  See letrozole at OffshoreRx1.com.
  Serum Estradiol Concentration Quintiles as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Men (With Quintile 3 as the Reference Group)

  Parameter	Quintile 1	Quintile 2	Quintile 3	Quintile 4	Quintile 5
  Estradiol concentration (pg/mL)	<12.903	12.90–21.79	21.80–30.11	30.12–37.39	>37.40
  3-y survival* (%)	44.6	65.8	82.4	79.0	63.6
  Quintile as mortality predictor,* HR (95% CI) vs quintile 3	4.17 (2.33–7.45)	2.15 (1.16–3.99)	--	1.22 (0.64–2.31)	2.33 (1.30–4.18)

  HR= hazard ratio
• Different Treatment Options In Chronic Coronary Artery Disease - Science Daily, 4/27/09
• Fructose-Sweetened Beverages Linked to Heart Risks - NYTimes.com, 4/23/09 - "a controlled and randomized study has found that drinks sweetened with fructose led to higher blood levels of L.D.L, or "bad" cholesterol, and triglycerides in overweight test subjects, while drinks sweetened with another sugar, glucose, did not. Both L.D.L. and triglycerides have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease"
• Insulin resistance independently predicts the progression of coronary artery calcification - Am Heart J. 2009 May;157(5):939-45 - "After controlling for these variables, higher fasting insulin levels independently predicted CAC progression"
• Heart Disease: Combined Treatment Is Best - WebMD, 3/23/09 - "Heart disease patients who achieve normal blood pressure and very low cholesterol levels with aggressive drug therapy do better than patients who achieve only one of these goals ... Patients who achieved LDL levels below 70 and systolic blood pressures of below 120 had the slowest progression, as measured by increase in plaque volume"
• Neck Size Linked to Heart Risk - WebMD, 3/11/09 - "the bigger a person's neck size, the greater that person's risk of high levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol and blood fat, insulin resistance, and high blood sugar"
• New Test Successfully Identifies Life-threatening Heart Disease - Science Daily, 3/11/09
• Heart Disease Tied to Depression, Anger - WebMD, 3/9/09 - "Chronically angry or hostile adults with no history of heart disease may be 19% more likely than their peers to develop heart disease"
• Heart Rate Predicts Women's Heart Risk - WebMD, 2/3/09 - "among women with the highest heart rates (greater than 76 beats per minute) were more likely to suffer coronary events such as a heart attack than women with the lowest resting pulse rates (62 beats per minute or less)"
• Newer Antipsychotic Drugs Increase the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death - WebMD, 1/14/09 - "because these older agents cause movement disorders in some patients, they have largely been replaced with newer medications such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Seroquel ... Although the study's results reaffirmed that people who use the older antipsychotic drugs are twice as likely as nonusers to have sudden cardiac death, it also showed a similar increase in risk for the newer medications. For these, the rate of sudden cardiac death was more than twice that for nonusers"
• More May Benefit From Cholesterol Drugs - WebMD, 1/13/09 - "Eight out of 10 middle-aged and older Americans may benefit from treatment with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs ... All the participants had elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) ... Over an average of two years of treatment, participants who took the statin Crestor had half as many heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from cardiovascular causes as participants randomly assigned to receive a placebo"
• High Systolic Pressure a Positive Sign in Chronic Heart Failure - Medscape, 1/5/09 - "In patients with chronic heart failure, higher systolic blood pressures paradoxically predict better survival ... The decrease in mortality rates associated with a 10 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure was 13.0%...in the heart failure population ... in patients with cardiac disease but without chronic heart failure affecting systolic function, mean arterial blood pressure is largely determined by peripheral vasoconstriction, and higher systolic pressure indicates poor elasticity of the arteries ... In patients with heart failure, however, systolic pressure reflects the ejection fraction and cardiac output ... a higher blood pressure is associated with a decreased mortality as it serves as an indirect measure of cardiac function"
• Low Dose Of Caffeine When Pregnant May Damage Heart Of Offspring For A Lifetime - Science Daily, 12/16/08 - "the equivalent of one dose of caffeine (just two cups of coffee) ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and then reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of the child"
• Increased Calcium Sensitivity In The Heart Can Make For An Irregular Heartbeat - Science Daily, 11/20/08
• JUPITER hits New Orleans: Landmark study shows statins benefit healthy individuals with high CRP levels - theheart.org, 11/9/08 - "In a study of individuals with low LDL cholesterol but elevated C-reactive-protein (CRP) levels, investigators showed that rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) 20 mg significantly reduced the primary end point—a composite of nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina, revascularization, and confirmed death from cardiovascular causes—by 44% compared with individuals treated with placebo" - Note:  They seem to be attributing this to the reduction in CRP.  At 12 months, the CRP  of the 20 mg Crestor group was 2.2.  The baseline was 4.2.  That's a (4.2 - 2.2)/4.2 = 47.6% reduction in CRP.  Another option to reduce CRP might be Periostat (low dose doxycycline for periodontal disease).  See my CRP page for other ways to reduce it.  See:
  • Low-dose Periostat (Doxycycline) Shows Benefits in Patients with Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/20/02 - "At six-month follow-up, sub-antimicrobial dose doxycyline significantly reduced CRP levels by 45.8 percent compared to baseline values (p<0.05). The drug was also associated with a 33.5 percent reduction in interleukin-6 and a 50 percent reduction in metalloproteinase ... The findings are exciting, since research is now showing that CRP is both a key marker of inflammation leading to future acute coronary events, but also that CRP itself may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis"
• Novel Approaches To Heart Disease And Inflammation - Science Daily, 9/30/08 - "the immune system's role in heart disease is a relatively recent finding, with the first inklings of its importance discovered in the early 1980s. Prior to that time, scientists believed that atherosclerosis, a blockage in the arteries and the underlying cause of most heart problems, was due to plaque formation caused solely by cholesterol buildup ... inflammatory T cells not only contributed to plaque formation, but they also played a key role in the rupture of the artery wall, which produces a heart attack"
• Top-selling Cholesterol Drug Does Little For Women, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 9/17/08 - "Not one of the studies that included women with a mixture of risk factors for heart attacks provided statistically significant support for prescribing Lipitor or other statins to protect against cardiovascular problems. Pfizer’s claims of clinical proof that Lipitor reduces risk of heart attack in patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease does not appear to be scientifically supported for large segments of the female population ... Lipitor’s advertising repeatedly fails to report that clinical trials were statistically significant for men but not for women. Unqualified advertising claims of protection against heart attacks may therefore be misleading"
• Treatment Appears To Reduce Heart Attack Risk And Revascularisation In Stable Coronary Patients - Science Daily, 8/31/08
• Sex Hormones Link To Heart Risk - Science Daily, 8/31/08 - "one of the sex hormones - estradiol - was associated positively with total cholesterol and negatively with HDL-cholesterol. Circulating concentrations of another sex hormone - estrone - showed strong positive associations with both total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol ... Thus, men with the highest concentrations of estrone and estradiol may have the highest level of cardiovascular risk as their levels of detrimental LDL-cholesterol are high whilst their cardio-protective HDL-cholesterol is low" - See my aromatization page for ways to reduce these.
• HbA1c Tied to Cardiovascular Risks in Patients With Symptomatic HF - Medscape, 8/28/08 - "Over a median follow-up period of almost 3 years, the researchers found that for each 1% rise in HbA1c, the risk of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization and overall mortality rose by about 25%. Moreover, this was true in subjects with and without a history of diabetes and whether or not ejection fraction was reduced or preserved"
• Air Pollution May Hurt the Heart - WebMD, 8/13/08 - "Air pollution -- even at levels deemed "acceptable" by the Environmental Protection Agency -- leads to short- and long-term injury to the heart and blood vessels, increases rates of heart disease-related hospitalizations, and can even cause death"
• Salivary cortisol is related to atherosclerosis of carotid arteries - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Aug 5 - "area under the curve (AUC), which is a measure of total cortisol exposure while awake, and the slope, which is a measure of diurnal cortisol decline. Results: Total cortisol exposure while awake (AUC) was associated with higher plaque scores (beta = 0.08 per SD of AUC, 95% CI; 0.00 - 0.17, p-value = 0.04) in a fully adjusted linear regression model. Persons with an AUC in the highest tertile had a higher number of plaques of carotid arteries compared to those in the lowest tertile (3.08 versus 2.80 ... Our results support the hypothesis that increased total cortisol exposure is independently associated with atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries" - See my cortisol page for ways to reduce it.
• Lowering Cholesterol Early In Life Could Save Lives - Science Daily, 8/4/08 - "Our review of the literature convinces us that more aggressive and earlier intervention will probably prevent considerably more than 30% of coronary heart disease ... Studies show that fatty streak lesions in the arteries that are a precursor to atherosclerosis and heart disease begin in childhood, and advanced lesions are not uncommon by age 30. Why not nip things in the bud?" Such early signs of heart disease should be taken as seriously as early signs of cancer or diabetes"
• Erectile Dysfunction May Signal A Broken Heart - Science Daily, 5/20/08
• 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 OffshoreRx1.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 at Amazon.com.
• 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 attacks than those taking a placebo" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.
• Nesiritide Safe for Acute Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome - Doctor's Guide, 9/24/02
• Statins Can Reverse Plaque Buildup - WebMD, 9/23/02 - "Statin drugs can do more than just lower your LDL "bad" cholesterol. In high enough doses, they may be able to reverse the accumulation of artery-clogging plaques that lead to heart attack and stroke"
• Salt Reduction Has Little Impact On Cardiovascular Events Or Mortality - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/02 - "Reducing patient dietary sodium intake has little effect or either cardiovascular events or mortality ... There also are doubts about effects of salt reduction on overall health"
• Does Waist Size Affect Your Heart? - WebMD, 9/19/02 - "Researchers wanted to find out if waist circumference is a more accurate measurement than BMI (body mass index) in determining the risk of heart attack or stroke ... To minimize the risk of heart disease, men with 35-inch waists and women with 33-inch waists should not gain any more weight ... To reduce their heart-disease risk, men whose waists are at least 39 inches and women whose waists are at least 37 inches should lose weight"
• Death by Angry Outburst - WebMD, 9/9/02 - "If you have heart disease, an angry outburst can cause a fatal heart attack"
• Most Heart Attack Patients Have Undiagnosed Glucose Metabolism Abnormalities - Doctor's Guide, 9/3/02 - "Most patients who present at emergency cardiac care units with a heart attack have abnormal glucose metabolism, and most of those patients are diabetic -- the majority undiagnosed ... many patients may be reaching the hospital in urgent states of undiagnosed diabetes because of a lack of communication between endocrinologists -- who treat diabetics but may not be that familiar with cardiology -- and cardiologists -- who may not be as familiar with diabetes"
• Study Indicates Glucose Infusion Could Help Heart Attack Patients Survive - Intelihealth, 9/3/02
• Growth Hormone Benefits Cardiomyopathy Patients - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/02 - "Growth hormone reduces serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic heart failure secondary to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. It also reduces soluble Fas and soluble Fas ligand system in these patients ... The investigators also observed significant improvements in peak oxygen consumption"
• Antibiotics Aid Heart Patients - WebMD, 8/19/02 - "A year later, those who received an antibiotic were 36% less likely to be rehospitalized for a heart attack or chest pain than those who took a placebo ... The question, Mendall says, is whether the antibiotics are working by fighting infection or inflammation in these patients"
• Pound by Pound, Heart Failure Risk Rises - WebMD, 8/1/02
• Salmeterol Improves Pulmonary Function In Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 7/31/02
• Brain Damage After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting - Doctor's Guide, 7/23/02
• Levosimendan Found Better Than Dobutamine for Decompensated Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 7/19/02
• Pregnancy Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 7/18/02 - "Women who experience complications during pregnancy may be at increased risk for heart disease"
• Brain May Suffer Long After Heart Bypass - WebMD, 7/15/02
• Lipids and Blood Pressure Should be Measured at Least Twice Before Risk Scoring - Doctor's Guide, 7/10/02
• Heart Disease Starts in Childhood - WebMD, 7/1/02
• Testosterone Therapy Improves Exercise Ability of Men with Chronic Congestive Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 6/21/02 - "After 12 weeks, the testosterone group achieved a 34 percent increase in exercise capacity compared to 2 percent for the control group ... In addition, the testosterone treatment improved depression and heart failure symptoms while causing few side effects"
• New Hope for an Ailing Heart - Time Magazine, 6/24/02
• Heart Failure Outcome Predicted By Circulatory Power - Doctor's Guide, 6/10/02
• Does Stress Really Cause Heart Disease? - WebMD, 5/23/02
• How Sudden Stress Raises Heart Risk - WebMD, 5/20/02 - "Researchers measured the ability of the individual's blood vessels to dilate (expand) before and 10 minutes after they took the mental stress test ... Following the test, dilation of the blood vessels was reduced by 50%. In addition, heart rates increased significantly and blood pressure spiked during the last minute of the stress test. All three events can lead to atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries that increases heart attack and stroke risk ... The study authors say this drop in dilation was completely dependent upon a chemical called endothelin-A. When the participants were given a drug that blocked the effects of this chemical, no reduction in blood vessel dilation was found ... Researchers say that finding suggests that blocking endothelin-A may offer a new way to prevent atherosclerosis"
• Study of Heart Transplant Patients Further Demonstrates Periodontitis May Be A Risk Factor For Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 5/8/02 - "This study adds one more piece of significant evidence that, along with high cholesterol and blood pressure, periodontal disease should be seen as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease ... It is now common practice for dentists to prescribe antibiotics prior to oral surgery or even advanced cleaning techniques for patients with particular heart health profiles. Among the newer methods for administering antibiotics is the product Arestin(TM), which uses patented microsphere technology to deliver the antibiotic minocycline beneath the gum, directly into the infected periodontal pocket, after deep cleaning of the teeth and gums with a common method of treatment known as scaling and root planing" - see Arestin.com
• New Test Predicts Sudden Death Risk - WebMD, 4/15/02 - "those who suffered sudden cardiac death had higher levels of a substance called C-reactive protein (CRP) ... CRP is released when blood vessels are inflamed ... the findings of this study show that the levels of CRP in the blood are even more telling than once thought ... we can intervene with lifestyle counseling and drugs like statins and aspirin"
• Endogenous Hormones Might Lower Atherosclerosis Risk in Some Older Women - Doctor's Guide, 4/1/02 - "the researchers found no association between the odds of atherosclerosis and increasing quartiles of estrone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate or androstenedione ... Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of sex hormone-binding globulin, those in the highest quartile had significantly lower odds of atherosclerosis. Participants in the highest quartile of total testosterone also had lower odds of atherosclerosis"
• Fatty Meals Harm Heart - WebMD, 4/1/02
• Mental Stress Harms Heart - WebMD, 3/25/02
• Amiodarone Superior To Lidocaine In Out-Of-Hospital Ventricular Fibrillation - Doctor's Guide, 3/21/02
• Three-Month Antibiotic Treatment Reduces Risk Of Future Heart Attack - Doctor's Guide, 3/11/02
• Pollution Increases Heart Attack Risk - WebMD, 3/11/02
• Antibiotics May Aid Heart Patients - WebMD, 3/11/02
• Antibiotic [Zithromax] Improves Heart Function - WebMD, 2/25/02
• Cool Patients Do Better After Cardiac Arrest - WebMD, 2/20/02
• FDA OKs Pocket-Sized EKG Machine - Intelihealth, 1/9/02
• Heart May Be Able To Repair Itself - Intelihealth, 1/3/02
• MRI Used To Check For Clogged Arteries - Intelihealth, 12/27/01
• The 'Fab Four' in Heart Failure Care - WebMD, 12/6/01
• Problems Documented with Nitroglycerin Use in Some Cardiac Patients - Doctor's Guide, 11/13/01
• Heart Pump Cuts Deaths in Severe Heart Failure by Half - WebMD, 11/12/01
• Studies Bolster Inflammation-Heart Disease Link; May Prove Better Predictor Than Cholesterol - Intelihealth, 11/6/01
• FDA Approves Coreg (Carvedilol) for Severe Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 11/1/01
• Normal EKGs May Not Mean Healthy - Intelihealth, 10/24/01
• Cancer Drug [GM-CSF] May Help Heart - Intelihealth, 10/23/01
• FDA Approves Cathflo Activase (Alteplase) To Clear Blocked Central Venous Access Devices - Doctor's Guide, 9/5/01
• New Pacemaker Device Gets FDA Approval to Treat Heart Failure - WebMD, 8/28/01
• FDA Approves Natrecor (Nesiritide) For Dyspnea in Congestive Heart Failure Patients - Doctor's Guide, 8/13/01
• FDA approves innovative drug for heart failure - USA Today, 8/13/01
• FDA OKs Heart Failure Breathing Drug - Intelihealth, 8/13/01
• Calculate Your Risk - Time Magazine, 7/23/01
• Early Invasive Strategy With Aggrastat (Tirofiban) Reduces Risk of Cardiac Events - Doctor's Guide, 6/27/01
• Clot-blusters reduce risk of second heart attack - USA Today, 6/14/01
• 'No-Option' Heart Patient Gets New Lease on Life, Bold, Minimally Invasive Surgery Bypasses Blocked Artery Via Heart Vein - WebMD, 5/29/01
• Help for Failing Hearts, Despite Its Name, Heart Failure Is Treatable - WebMD, 5/17/01 - "This drug cocktail includes Digoxin to increase the heart's pumping action; diuretics, or water pills, to help the body eliminate excess salt and water; ACE inhibitors to expand blood vessels, allow blood to flow more easily, and make the heart work more efficiently; and beta-blockers to improve the function of the heart's left ventricle. Beta-blockers also block a natural stress hormone capable of damaging the heart. Blocking this hormone gives the heart a chance to recover and helps prevent continued injury ... Though 80% of people with heart failure should be taking beta-blockers, Packer says that only 15-20% are currently taking them"
• Moderate drinking yields heart protection - USA Today, 4/17/01 - "Compared with abstainers, light drinkers (under seven drinks a week) were about 20% less likely to die and moderate drinkers (seven or more drinks a week) were about 30% less likely to die"
• Studies Suggest If You Have a Bum Ticker, a Little Drink May Not Hurt - WebMD, 4/17/01
• Hit 'em Hard and Fast: Statins Early After Heart Attack Improve Outcomes, Save Lives, Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Work Even if Cholesterol Is Normal - WebMD, 4/3/01 - "When given to patients with mild heart attacks, the powerful cholesterol-lowering pill Lipitor not only lowered their risk of dying from their disease, but also significantly reduced the risk of future heart attacks and strokes"
• Toprol-XL (Metoprolol) Extended Release Available In US For Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 4/3/01
• Gene Therapy Grows New Blood Supply in Diseased Hearts - WebMD, 3/22/01 - "60 patients were infused with varying doses of Ad5-FGF4, a drug created by putting DNA from fibroblast growth factor into a type of cold virus called adenovirus. This genetic "drug" was then infused into heart muscle by a catheter threaded deep into the heart. The idea, says Cindy Grines, MD, lead investigator of the study, is to have the virus infect the heart cells and then "turn into little factories that keep producing copies of the growth factor""
• Novel Pacemaker Resynchronizes Failing Hearts - WebMD, 3/20/01
• Chronic Angina And Heart Failure Respond to Ranolazine - Doctor's Guide, 3/20/01
• Potential Benefit Found In Using Ranolazine For Chronic Angina And Congestive Heart Failure - Doctor's Guide, 3/19/01
• Lowering Cholesterol Not Enough to Prevent Heart Disease in Young, Healthy Living Must Begin Early to Prevent Ill Effects - WebMD, 3/19/01 - "Young people who smoke, have high blood pressure, or are overweight may already be developing the telltale signs of heart disease -- even if their cholesterol levels are normal"
• Study Backs Heart Attack Drug - Intelihealth, 3/19/01 - "The heart drug Plavix reduces the risk of new heart attacks, strokes and death by 20 percent a year in people being treated for mild heart attacks and bad chest pain"
• Dr. Sidney Smith chats about heart disease - CNN, 2/27/01
• Common Infections May Raise Risk Of Hardening Of The Arteries - Intelihealth, 2/27/01 - "diseases of the heart and circulatory system are more common in people with chronic bacterial infections, such as gum disease, sinus infections, bronchitis and urinary tract infections.  The research found that such chronic infections might triple the risk of atherosclerosis, the build-up of clogging deposits in the arteries."
• Death Rates From Heart Disease Still High - WebMD, 2/15/01 - "heart disease is still the No. 1 killer . . .  "Why? "People are making minimal changes in preventive behaviors""
• Low-Fat Diets Safe, Beneficial For Kids With High Cholesterol: Study - Intelihealth, 2/5/01
• Radiation cuts risk of arteries reclogging - USA Today, 1/24/01
• Radiation Cuts Risk Of Arteries Reclogging After Blockage Is Cleared - Intelihealth, 1/24/01
• Quick Drug Use Improves Heart Attack Survival Chances - Intelihealth, 1/23/01 - "In the study of 19,599 patients, those given statins at or before their release from the hospital were about 25 percent less likely to die within a year than those who did not receive the drugs."
• Sleep-Related Breathing Problems Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 1/19/01
• Feel-Good Club Drug Bad for the Heart, Ecstasy Use May Increase Risk of Heart Attack - WebMD, 12/18/00
• A Shot in the Arm for Heart Protection? Flu Vaccine May Protect Against Second Heart Attacks -- Here's Why - WebMD, 12/18/00
• Taking Statins Earlier May Reduce Risk of Heart Attack and Death - WebMD, 11/15/00
• Laser Surgery Halts Chest Pain Over The Long-Term - Doctor's Guide, 11/15/00
• High-Tech Healing for the Heart - WebMD, 11/15/00
• Heart Health of U.S. Women Alarmingly Poor - WebMD, 11/14/00
• Inflammation appears to do a number on human heart - CNN, 11/13/00 - "For now, though, doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center said they were fairly certain that one cause of inflammation is high cholesterol -- and that cholesterol-fighting drugs called 'statins' tend to help."
• FDA approves treatment for narrowing arteries - CNN, 11/7/00
• Studies find more heart disease, infection links - CNN, 11/7/00
• Too Much Iron May Lead to Heart Attack  - WebMD, 10/25/00
• Salt Sensitivity Increases Heart Disease Death Risk - WebMD, 10/25/00
• Depressed? You May Be More Likely to Develop Heart Disease - WebMD, 10/9/00
• Researchers Find Heart Rate Worth a Thousand Words, Simple Test Tells Even Healthy People Their Heart Disease Risk - WebMD, 9/19/00
• Medication Shows Promise for Treating Severe Heart Failure - WebMD, 9/11/00
• Health Focus: Homocysteine: How Important? - Intelihealth, 6/7/00
• Smog May Induce Heart Attacks - Intelihealth, 6/6/00
• Study Bolsters Link Between Calcium Deposits And Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 6/6/00
• Study Finds Link Between Hostility, Heart Disease In Young Adults - Intelihealth, 5/17/00
• Study links hostility in young adults with heart disease - CNN, 5/16/00
• Depressed Men Face Heart Risks - Intelihealth, 5/8/00
• Irritability, Dominance Linked To Coronary Heart Disease in Men - Doctor's Guide, 3/23/00
• New blood test may be best predictor of heart attack - CNN, 3/22/00
• Major Heart Failure Trial Stopped Due To Life Saving Benefit Of Coreg (Carvedilol) - Doctor's Guide, 3/21/00
• Plavix (Clopidogrel) Superior To Aspirin For Preventing Acute Coronary Events - Doctor's Guide, 3/16/00
• Nicostatin (Niacin/Lovastatin) Reduces Cholesterol, Triglyceride Levels - Doctor's Guide, 3/16/00
• Zocor (Simvastatin) Increases HDL And apo A-I More Than Lipitor (Atorvastatin) - Doctor's Guide, 3/15/00
• Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Prevent Deaths After Threatened Or Actual Heart Attack - Doctor's Guide, 3/14/00
• Aspirin Greatly Underused By People With Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 3/14/00
• Aspirin Use Low In Patients With Coronary Artery Disease - Doctor's Guide, 3/14/00
• Gemfibrozil-Niacin Combination Greatly Increases Good Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 3/10/00
• More Efficient Blood Pressure Treatment Would Cut Heart Disease By Two-Thirds - Doctor's Guide, 3/10/00
• Cholesterol Levels Not Always Indicative Of Cardiac Health, Study Shows - Doctor's Guide, 3/3/00
• TMR With CABG Improves Survival In Patients With Advanced Artery Disease - Doctor's Guide, 3/3/00
• Study Links Baldness, Heart Problem - Intelihealth, 1/24/00
• Preventative measures best weapon against heart disease and stroke - CNN, 11/30/99
• Multiple Approach - A Better Way To Treat Heart Attacks? - Doctor's Guide, 11/9/99
• Good Cholesterol (HDL) May Help In Bypass Surgery - Doctor's Guide, 11/8/99
• Baycol Effects Impressive LDL-C Reductions In Women - Doctor's Guide, 10/29/99
• Elevated Cholesterol Linked To Pre-eclampsia - Doctor's Guide, 9/30/99
• What's your cholesterol IQ? - CNN, 9/1/99
• Gemfibrozil Prevents Heart Disease And Stroke In Patients With Low HDL - Doctor's Guide, 8/5/99
• In Breakthrough, Scientists Find Gene For "Good" Cholesterol - Intelihealth, 8/3/99
• ReoPro Dramatically Reduces Risk Of Heart Attack Or Death - Doctor's Guide, 7/29/99
• Study suggests inexpensive drug cuts heart-failure deaths by one-third - CNN, 7/19/99
• Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Provide Double Protection Against Heart Disease - Doctor's Guide, 7/12/99
• Lipitor More Effective Than Zocor And Baycol For Lowering Cholesterol - Doctor's Guide, 5/27/99
• New Risk Factors In Cardiovascular Disease -- Pulse Pressure - Doctor's Guide, 5/25/99
• Study Finds "New" Cholesterol (Homocysteine) Is Key To Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 5/19/99
• Heart disease top killer of women - CNN, 5/10/99
• Congestive Heart Failure On Rise In U.S. - Intelihealth, 5/4/99
• Zocor and Lipitor May Have Different Effects on Lipids, Including HDL - Doctor's Guide, 3/9/99
• Can Your Cholesterol Be Too Low? - Intelihealth, 2/8/99
• American Heart Association Recommends Homocysteine Testing In High-Risk Patients - Doctor's Guide, 1/5/99
• Raising HDL Cholesterol Reduces Incidence Of Coronary Events - Doctor's Guide, 11/12/98
• A randomized trial of the effects of atorvastatin and niacin in patients with combined hyperlipidemia or isolated hypertriglyceridemia - Am J Med. 1998 Feb;104(2):137-43
• Dose-response characteristics of cholesterol-lowering drug therapies: implications for treatment - Ann Intern Med. 1996 Dec 15;125(12):990-1000

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