Women — even (especially?) young women — should protect their hearts
If you asked a representative sampling of American women which health threat most concerned them, it’s likely that a goodly proportion would say cancer, especially breast cancer. But they’re not on...
View ArticleLarge study shows divorce a significant player in heart attack risk
Each year the CDC estimates that over 700,000 Americans will have a heart attack. Known risk factors include diabetes, stress, alcohol and smoking. Many of these factors are very tangible, for example...
View ArticleFollow-up study of Veterans’ diabetes treatment shows no cardiovascular benefit
A new follow-up study shows that “tight” blood sugar control for diabetes has little if any benefit on cardiovascular outcomes: stroke or heart attack. So why bother, given the risk of low blood sugar...
View ArticleCommon medicines for heartburn linked to heart attack risk
Two large “data-mining” studies show an association between the most common type of medication for heartburn and ulcers — PPIs (e.g., Nexium, Prilosec) — and heart attacks. This type of analysis cannot...
View ArticleNYTimes: reducing time for urgent delivery of care for heart patients
A new series of articles by the NYTimes’ Gina Kolata focuses on improvements in dealing with emergency cardiac events, and indeed the progress has been remarkable. But that’s not the solution to...
View ArticleJAMA study assessing statin guidelines shows they might be too limiting...
In 2013, a combined panel of cardiology and lipid experts under the aegis of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) published revised recommendations for...
View ArticleSoda-Heart Attack Study Uses Fizzy Math
A new study tries to demonstrate that there is a correlation between purchase (not even consumption) of soda and heart attacks. It fails miserably, but that didn't stop the Washington Post from...
View ArticleUS Science Panel Endorses Aspirin for Cancer, Heart Health
For the first time, the official federal health panel has recommended aspirin to protect against colorectal cancer, as well as heart attack and stroke. But the guidance is far from clear-cut, with age...
View ArticleHey Heart Patients, Sex is Your Friend
There's a widespread misconception that sex is a risk factor for heart attack. However, a new study finds that this is just another one of those pesky health myths that needs another round of...
View ArticleWoman’s Heart Attack Differs from a Man’s
A comprehensive study of heart attacks in women by the American Heart Association reveals many important differences between those that afflict men and women: symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and...
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