Harvard Heart Letter articles from December 2004

Harvard Heart Letter archives from December 2004

Speaking up to ease chest pain.
December 1, 2004... In spite of clear guidelines for treating angina, many people don't get the treatments they need for chronic chest pain. As conditions go, chest pain that predictably appears with exercise or stress -- angina pectoris -- lends itself to...

Heart failure drug poses potassium problems.
December 1, 2004... When using "the water pill" spironolactone, watch your potassium intake and check your levels. The old adage "many hands make light work" applies to drug therapy for heart failure -- many medications help lighten the burden cast by this...

Searching for better heart disease tests.
December 1, 2004... Estimating your chances of having a heart attack isn't an exact science. Do you remember the classic scene from old Westerns, when one of the bad guys would put his ear to the train track, listening for the ring of the rail that heralded...

How qualified are health claims for food?
December 1, 2004... Health claims' efforts to balance free speech with solid evidence could leave you confused. In 2003, food makers got the green light to slap "heart healthy" labels on a variety of nuts and foods made with them. Now they can do the same for...

Heart beat; Exercise against heart failure.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Heart failure -- the inability of the heart to supply the body with enough oxygenated blood -- often limits one's ability to exercise and be physically active. Interestingly, activity can forestall and even counteract this common and...

Heart beat; Flying high with heart trouble.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... If worries about your heart keep you from traveling by plane, then recommendations from two Yale doctors might ease your mind. Air travel is safe for most people with stable heart disease. It's off limits for only a few groups, according to...

Heart beat; New treatment eyed for low blood pressure.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The simple act of standing up from a chair or bed strains the circulatory system. Almost a quart of blood from the upper body drops toward the legs. Nerves sense this change and fire off signals that speed up the heart and constrict blood...

Ask the doctor; With Vioxx gone, what can I do for my aches and pains that won't harm my heart?
December 1, 2004... Q The news that Vioxx was pulled from the market rattled me, since I had been taking it for my arthritis for almost two years. I have heard both that it is okay for people like me with heart disease to take one of the other Vioxx-like drugs and...