Stories related to: heart disease

Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin," has been getting plenty of good press lately, leading some to ask why more people aren't guzzling it to help stave off heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. But as the government looks to update its guidelines, many experts warn that bombarding people with the vitamin could be dangerous as well, the Washington Post reports. More »

Regular coffee drinking has been linked to a reduced risk of fatal heart attacks, according to a new study of the health effects of coffee. Women who regularly drank three cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than women who didn't drink coffee. Some studies have found that coffee is a source of antioxidants, which may protect people from heart disease. More »

The heart attack that claimed Tim Russert’s life yesterday was a textbook example of a one of modern medicine's blind spots. Roughly 300,000 Americans die of unexpected, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Doctors can predict the likelihood of an incident happening in the next 10 years, but they can’t tell if a patient is in imminent danger.   More »

A Chinese supplement could help lower cholesterol in patients unable to tolerate statin drugs, ABC News reports. Extract of red yeast rice, a form of fermented rice that has been used in China for many centuries in medicine and food, is naturally rich in the active ingredient in the drugs. A recent Chinese study found the extract dramatically cut the risk of heart patients suffering a repeat attack, the London Times reports. More »

Heavy users of marijuana have elevated levels of a protein that can raise the risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks, according to US government researchers.  The drug apparently causes the liver to overproduce the protein, raising serious health issues for long-term smokers, researchers warned. The survey studied people who smoked 78 to 350 joints a week, Reuters reports. More »

Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes for ex-smokers 5 years after their last puffs, WebMD reports. More »

A bar of chocolate a day may keep heart disease away, Reuters reports—or so goes the theory British scientists want to test by recruiting 150 postmenopausal women willing to do their part for science. Eating one bar each day for a year will help study whether a key chemical compound can curb heart disease risk for menopausal women with type 2 diabetes. More »

If you’re overweight or obese, exercise alone doesn't appear to reduce risk of heart disease, according to a study that pokes a hole in the “fit but fat” theory. The study followed nearly 39,000 women over 11 years, and found even active overweight women were 54% more likely to develop heart disease. For the obese, that figure ballooned to 87%, the AP reports. More »

Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Las Vegas after suffering chest pains, Access Hollywood reports. She was taken in for tests and will likely be released today after an overnight stay, said a spokesman for the Famingo hotel-casino, where Braxton has been performing since 2006. The six-time Grammy winner suffers from a heart disease known as pericarditis. More »

Gorillas in US zoos are dying from heart disease, and no one knows why, the AP reports. Zookeepers and scientists started a nationwide “Gorilla Health Project” 2 years ago to probe the causes of fibrosing cardiomyopathy, a condition that turns heart muscle into useless fibers and has left scores of gorillas dead in the last few years. More »

A drug used to lower blood sugar in diabetics significantly decreases the clogging of arteries, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Tests on diabetic patients found that Actos, a new-generation drug that lowers insulin resistance, aided arteries more than a drug that boosted insulin production. Heart disease kills 75% of diabetics and doctors are working to find ways to treat both blood sugar and heart disease. More »

With heart disease nearly epidemic among America’s captive gorilla population, zookeepers are trying to train the great apes to submit to the human medical procedures that could save their lives. But getting a gorilla to sit still for a blood test is a taxing problem, one the National Zoo is just starting to figure out. The Washington Post pays a visit to the exam room. More »

Sir Paul McCartney has publicly denied claims that he was hospitalized for heart surgery, NME reports. Earlier this month, the Sun reported that the legendary former Beatle had undergone a coronary angioplasty. But today, McCartney reassured fans and friends on his website that he had simply been tested for a "minor irregularity," and that he was in fine health. More »

Researchers at University College London have found that stressful working conditions interfere with the body's ability to deal with high-pressure situations, the Daily Telegraph reports. Company cogs under 50 with high workloads and little control over their situations had a 68% greater chance of succumbing to heart disease than more-relaxed counterparts, according to a study of 10,000 British civil servants. More »

Deaths from heart disease and strokes have dropped by a quarter since 1999—the biggest decrease on record, reports ABC News. An estimated 160,000 lives have been saved.  "This is the fastest rate of decrease we've seen. It's very meaningful," said a doctor. The American Heart Association credits innovative new treatments like angioplasty, stents and clot-busting drugs—and better prevention—for the big drop. More »

Pumping iron has long been known to improve strength and prevent injury, but evidence increasingly points to a wide range of other benefits, writes Judy Foreman in the Boston Globe . The findings—decreased heart disease and neck pain, improved metabolism and balance—are driving groups such as the American Heart Association to bump weight training to the forefront. More »

Scientists rebuilt rat and pig hearts using stem cells taken from the recipients themselves, the Telegraph reports—a medical breakthrough that could help the 22 million people who suffer from heart failure worldwide. The technique, called whole organ decellularization, produced the world’s first functioning “bioartificial” heart within eight days after researchers injected it with fresh stem cells. More »

New Yorkers have grown to know Skip Legault's face well from anti-smoking ads in the subway and on TV over the past few weeks. A smoker since he was eight, Legault has lost a leg to blood clots, suffered two heart attacks in his twenties, and had a debilitating stroke. Worst of all, ABC reports, he can't quit—a detail not made clear in the ad campaign. More »

Moderate drinking may help you live longer, according to a new study by Danish researchers. Scientists followed 12,000 participants for 20 years and found that, regardless of how much they exercised, those who drank in moderation were about 30% less likely to develop heart disease than teetotalers. Physically active drinkers saw 50% less risk than non-active non-drinkers. More »

Stress triggered by 9/11 caused a 53% increase in heart problems in the three years following the catastrophe, a new study has found. This held true even for those with no personal connection to the attacks, according to the research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry . Chronic worriers concerned about terrorism for several years after the attacks were up to 4 times more likely to suffer from problems such as high blood pressure and stroke. More »