Coke Can Mimic Heart Attack Symptoms

Average waits for heart attack patients rose from 8 to 20 minutes

(NEWSER) - With emergency room visits and hospital overcrowding on the rise, waiting times have grown dangerously long—36% longer than they were in 1997. A new study in medical journal Health Affairs cites especially troubling waits for heart attack victims, with 25% waiting at least 50 minutes to see a doctor in 2004. The average heart attack patient waited 8 minutes in 1997 and 20 minutes in 2004. More»

Doctors should focus more on wider population threats: study

(NEWSER) - Air pollution causes more heart attacks than cocaine, and is as threatening a trigger as coffee, alcohol, and physical exertion, researchers find. They combined data from 36 individual studies in order to calculate each cause's population-attributable fraction, or PAF—basically, the proportion of all heart attacks attributed to each trigger. No. 1? Exposure to traffic, and the air pollution that comes with it. Following that, in descending order: physical exertion, alcohol, coffee, air pollution, and then triggers like anger, sex, cocaine use. More»

Getting busy post-cardiac incident won't kill you, probably

(NEWSER) - No matter what you've seen on TV, it is really unlikely you will have sex so mind-blowing that you have a heart attack and die. A disturbing number of people—33% of men and 60% of women—abstain from sex in the year following a heart attack, researchers revealed today at an American Heart Association forum, but doctors say that's completely unnecessary. In fact, they encourage patients to do the horizontal mambo, LiveScience reports, because it's decent exercise. More»

Small amount of dark chocolate daily lowers heart attack, stroke risk

(NEWSER) - Eating small amounts of chocolate may lower your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, according to new research out today. In a study of 19,000 middle-aged subjects, German scientists noted lower blood pressure in those who ate the most chocolate, accompanied by a 39% lower risk of heart attack and stroke compared to those who ate the least. More»

Celery, seaweed could work wonders for your diet

(NEWSER) - The usual admonitions we hear at this time of year about eating right are probably going in one ear and out the other, so perhaps these unusual health-food suspects from Men’s Health will catch your attention as you prepare that New Year’s resolution.

• Celery: Its phytochemicals are thought to lower blood pressure. Bonus: It’s great in Bloody Marys.
• Seaweed: High in potassium and calcium, which lower blood pressure. You’re most likely to see it wrapped around sushi.