Harvard Heart Letter articles from April 2005

Harvard Heart Letter archives from April 2005

What's #1, and does it really matter?
April 1, 2005... Cancer surpasses heart disease among "young" Americans, but isn't tops overall. Cancer, not heart disease, is now the leading cause of death among Americans under age 85. So says the American Cancer Society's latest statistical atlas of...

Aneurysm check urged for some men.
April 1, 2005... For older smokers, a quick test for a bulging aorta could save lives. If you are a man between the ages of 65 and 75, and you smoke or once smoked, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has a message for you: Ask your doctor to check you...

New diet guidelines: A few steps forward, a few back.
April 1, 2005... For your heart and overall health, don't follow all of the government's healthy eating recommendations. Every five years, the federal government tells us what we should eat to stay healthy. It's a daunting task, really, given how many of...

Ounces of prevention? Women -- go for more!
April 1, 2005... Heart disease is harder on women, making prevention efforts extra important for them at all ages. Fifty years ago, articles on women and heart disease focused mainly on how to take care of a husband after a heart attack. Today, it should...

Heart beat; Another reason to hate Mondays.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Blood pressure rises and falls over the course of a day. In the average person, it is lowest just before waking up, surges upon getting out of bed, and peaks during the middle of the day. A Japanese study suggests that a weekly cycle may...

Heart beat; PDAs okay for pacemakers, but zip the Zapper.(personal digital assistants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... During the early days of cellphone use, a flurry of reports raised the possibility that these now-ubiquitous devices could interfere with pacemakers or implanted cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs). That didn't pan out. As long as you don't keep...

Heart beat; Please don't let this be the wave of the future.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Two reports from the Annals of Thoracic Surgery offer a glimpse into how doctors are pushing the envelope when it comes to reducing complications from bypass surgery and minimizing recovery after it: Awake heart surgery: (It hurts just to...

Heart beat; Working while sick.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Every workplace has its legendary iron men and women -- workers who never take a day off even when they are sick enough to warrant staying home. Their dedication, while laudable, isn't so good for their co-workers, who are exposed to their...

Heart beat; Blood pressure and a B vitamin.
April 1, 2005... Folic acid, one of the eight B vitamins, plays a key role in preventing spina bifida and anencephaly in newborns. These two birth defects occur when the tube that ultimately becomes the spinal cord, brain, and surrounding bone doesn't close as...

Heart beat; Stents don't protect the entire artery.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Say you've just come home from the hospital with a stent or two propping open one or more cholesterol-narrowed arteries. The scare is over, your chest pain is gone, and you're taking the medications your doctor prescribed. All is right with...

Ask the Doctor; Should low HDL get more attention?(High Density Lipoprotein)
April 1, 2005... Q. My doctor is focused on keeping my LDL in a good range, but she doesn't seem too concerned that my HDL is on the low side. Shouldn't it get the same attention? A. You are asking about one of the important unanswered questions in...