Harvard Heart Letter articles from August 2008

Harvard Heart Letter archives from August 2008

Hypertension and diabetes - double trouble.(Report)
August 1, 2008... Hypertension and diabetes * double trouble Get checked for diabetes if you have high blood pressure. Do you have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension? If so, you should be tested for diabetes. That recommendation comes...

Balancing hope and reality in heart failure.(Report)
August 1, 2008... Balancing hope and reality in heart failure Hope is a powerful force. It can sustain you through personal tragedy or carry you through the dark tunnel of disease. A sense of realism matters, too, grounding hope before it flits into fantasy....

Joint inflammation may point the finger at heart disease.(Report)
August 1, 2008... Joint inflammation may point the finger at heart disease Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. If you are coping with the joint pain of rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, you have plenty to worry about....

When quitters are winners.
August 1, 2008... When quitters are winners Breaking the addiction to cigarettes is tough, but the payoff is worth it. For generations, smoking has been thought of as a habit. We now know better. Smoking isn't a habit * it's an addiction. And though it...

Heart beat: Trial questions beta blockers for all before noncardiac surgery.(Report)
August 1, 2008... Heart beat Trial questions beta blockers for all before noncardiac surgery Drat those pesky clinical trials. The recommendation that everyone undergoing noncardiac surgery take a beta blocker to protect the heart has been called into...

Heart beat: DASH diet ignored.(Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet)(Report)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Heart beat DASH diet ignored Even as research continues to underscore the benefits of the DASH diet, fewer and fewer people are following it. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet was designed by nutritionists to lower...

In brief.(blood thinner warfarin, Loop diuretics and bone health, antiplatelet drug cilostazol)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... In brief Warfarin (Coumadin) booklet. The blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) can be a tricky medication to take. A new 20-page booklet from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality offers tips on what to expect, what to watch...

Ask the doctor: How long do I need to keep taking Plavix?
August 1, 2008... Ask the doctor How long do I need to keep taking Plavix? Q. I need to catheterize myself because of bladder problems. In April 2007, I had five stents put in my heart and started taking Plavix. Since then, I sometimes see a light tinge...

Ask the doctor: Can I have my hernia fixed while taking Plavix?
August 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Can I have my hernia fixed while taking Plavix? Q. In October 2007, I had three Cypher stents placed in my left anterior descending artery. My doctor told me to take Plavix and aspirin indefinitely. Now I need to have a...

Ask the doctor: Are community heart check-ups worth doing?
August 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Are community heart check-ups worth doing? Q. I often get mail from companies like Life Line Screening about having tests to look for "hidden" heart risks. The events are usually held at a local church and cost about...

Ask the doctor: Is sotalol making me tired and heavier?(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Is sotalol making me tired and heavier? Q. When I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation four years ago, my doctor put me on a calcium-channel blocker. A year or so later, after I had angioplasty and got a stent, my...