When pharmacists help patients reach cholesterol goals by assessing risks, prescribing drugs, ordering tests, and explaining results, more than three times as many patients reach their cholesterol targets. That’s the encouraging finding of a study published in the September/October 2016 issue of the Canadian Pharmacists Journal. The results showed that patients who received help from… Continue reading Pharmacists Can Help Patients Reach Cholesterol Goals
Category: Heart Health
Your heart keeps your body running. And we keep you on top of everything you need to know about heart health so that you’re in the know.
Light Therapy May Someday Help Fight Heart Disorders
Using high-tech human heart models and mouse experiments, scientists at Johns Hopkins and Germany’s University of Bonn have shown that beams of light could replace electric shocks in patients reeling from a deadly heart rhythm disorder. The findings, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, could pave the way for a new type of implantable… Continue reading Light Therapy May Someday Help Fight Heart Disorders
AFib Linked to a Wider Range of Serious Conditions Than Previously Thought
An irregular heartbeat (known as atrial fibrillation or AFib) is associated with a wide range of serious events, including heart attacks, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and sudden cardiac death, according to a large study published in The BMJ in September 2016. A release from the publisher notes that the findings show that the risk… Continue reading AFib Linked to a Wider Range of Serious Conditions Than Previously Thought
Driving Diastolic Blood Pressure Too Low Is Linked to Heart Damage
By analyzing medical records gathered over three decades on more than 11,000 Americans participating in a federally funded study, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have more evidence that driving diastolic blood pressure too low is associated with damage to heart tissue. A release from Johns Hopkins notes that the researchers caution that their… Continue reading Driving Diastolic Blood Pressure Too Low Is Linked to Heart Damage
Diet and Exercise Equally Effective Against Heart Disease
When it comes to improving cardiovascular health, what’s important is weight loss – but not how you do it. Exercise and dieting, or a combination of both, are equally effective. “For men and women with excess body weight, modest weight loss provides powerful protection against cardiovascular disease, regardless of whether weight loss is achieved by… Continue reading Diet and Exercise Equally Effective Against Heart Disease
Internet and Mobile Devices Prompt Positive Lifestyle Changes
People are more likely to adopt heart healthy behaviors when guided and encouraged via the Internet, their cellphones or other devices, according to 23 years of research reviewed in August 2016 in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. A release from the association quotes… Continue reading Internet and Mobile Devices Prompt Positive Lifestyle Changes
Intensive-Care Units May Not Be Best for Some Patients
Patients who suffer heart attacks, or flare-ups of congestive heart failure, can be cared for in a variety of hospital locations. But a new study suggests that they’ll fare worse in hospitals that rely heavily on their intensive care units to care for patients like them. In fact, depending on where they go, they may… Continue reading Intensive-Care Units May Not Be Best for Some Patients
Caregiving and Atrial Fibrillation
Many people associate cardiovascular disease solely with blocked arteries and heart attacks. However, over five million people suffer with electrical problems of the heart—a complex condition called atrial fibrillation. Most common in the elderly, AFib, as it’s known, comes in various forms; some come and go while some are persistent and even permanent, but they… Continue reading Caregiving and Atrial Fibrillation
Do Lengthy Travel Times to Primary Stroke Centers Offset Benefits?
Physicians and families of stroke victims often have to make quick decisions about whether to treat patients locally or refer them to a more distant Primary Stroke Center (PSC). Until now, there has been little information to help guide them. However, a new study by researchers from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical… Continue reading Do Lengthy Travel Times to Primary Stroke Centers Offset Benefits?
What You Should Know About Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is probably less well known than cardiovascular disease, but it can be just as deadly. Experts from SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institutes of Health, share what you should know about the illness and how you can help prevent it: Peripheral arterial disease is a disease in which plaque builds… Continue reading What You Should Know About Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Give Cardiac Patients More Time to Come Out of Coma
Physicians may be drawing conclusions too soon about survival outcomes of patients who suffered a cardiac arrest outside the hospital, according to new research. A study led by Bentley Bobrow, MD, professor at the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix and co-director of the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center – Phoenix,… Continue reading Give Cardiac Patients More Time to Come Out of Coma
The Heart Condition that Threatens Millions of Men
About one in every nine men will experience sudden cardiac death, most before age 70, as well as about one in 30 women, according to research published in June 2016 the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Sudden cardiac death claims up to 450,000… Continue reading The Heart Condition that Threatens Millions of Men
African-Americans with AFib Face Higher Risks than Whites
Black people suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib) have nearly double the risk of their white counterparts of having stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease and mortality from all causes, according to a study in JAMA Cardiology. The study, funded by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and led by Jared Magnani, M.D., associate professor… Continue reading African-Americans with AFib Face Higher Risks than Whites
Diet Soda and Hypertension
Does drinking diet soda raise blood pressure? Despite what you might have heard, the answer is no, according to experts at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Irvin Cohen, a nephrologist at Mayo in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that there have been several studies on a possible connection between diet soda and hypertension but that none of them… Continue reading Diet Soda and Hypertension
Computer Model May Help Treat Congestive Heart Failure
Researchers have created a detailed computer model that shows how the heart’s electrical signals are affected by congestive heart failure. The model will help medical researchers study new drug therapies for the condition. The model, developed at UCLA, can simulate tiny, subtle changes in the heart’s cells and tissues as well as the larger impact… Continue reading Computer Model May Help Treat Congestive Heart Failure
High Blood Pressure Linked to Some Air Pollutants
High blood pressure has been linked to both short- and long-term exposure to some air pollutants commonly associated with coal burning, vehicle exhaust, airborne dust and dirt, according to results published by the American Heart Association. The conclusions were published in the AHA’s journal Hypertension. The findings are especially significant because high blood pressure is… Continue reading High Blood Pressure Linked to Some Air Pollutants
Steps Women Can Take to Reduce Heart-Disease Risk
More women die from heart disease than from any other cause—a staggering one in four American women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But you can take action now to help prevent problems. Resources from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can help women of all ages learn how to use… Continue reading Steps Women Can Take to Reduce Heart-Disease Risk
Blood Pressure Goals Good for Those 75 and Older
NIH-supported researchers are reporting additional details about a widely-publicized study that linked a systolic blood pressure target under 120 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) with reduced cardiovascular disease and a lower risk of death. A new analysis by NIH researchers found that a systolic blood pressure target of 120 helps reduce the risk of heart… Continue reading Blood Pressure Goals Good for Those 75 and Older