Harvard Heart Letter articles from December 2006

Harvard Heart Letter archives from December 2006

Sudden death isn't always so sudden.
December 1, 2006... Chest pain, shortness of breath, and other common heart attack warning signs often precede sudden cardiac arrests. Sudden cardiac arrest is the Hollywood picture of a heart attack: A middle-aged man clutches his chest, slumps to the floor,...

Artificial heart helps the beat go on.
December 1, 2006... The FDA's approval of an artificial heart paves the way for wider use. But who needs it? Heart transplants extend the lives of almost 2,500 Americans each year. Thousands more with failing hearts are literally dying for a transplant. ...

Salt substitutes deserve a place at the table.
December 1, 2006... Herbs, spices, potassium chloride, and other salt alternatives can help you cut back on sodium. If you need -- or want -- to get less sodium in your diet, replacing the salt in your shaker with a substitute can help. Substitutes fall into...

Squeezing your way to lower blood pressure.
December 1, 2006... A simple hand exercise could help you lower your blood pressure without drugs. A hand grip designed to keep fighter pilots from blacking out during sharp turns and steep dives has an interesting therapeutic benefit on the ground --...

Heart Beat; What foods are rich in antioxidants?
December 1, 2006... Single antioxidants, like vitamin E or beta carotene, have never lived up to the hype that they halt heart disease, cure cancer, eradicate eye disease, or prevent Alzheimer's. That shouldn't be surprising. The notion that antioxidants are good...

Heart Beat; Searching for dollar-saving generics.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Drug costs take a big bite out of the pocketbook for many people with heart disease. One way to cut costs is by using generic drugs when possible. Generics are just as good as brand-name drugs -- by law they must contain the same active...

Heart Beat; Statins may need a boost in blacks.(African American disease differences)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2006... Cholesterol-lowering statins generally do a good job of knocking down levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. As with any drug, though, individual responses range from superb to subpar. They depend on how faithfully a person takes the drug, how well...

Heart Beat; Stick it to 'em.(cardiologist admininstered flu shots)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cardiologists are being urged to add an invasive procedure -- flu shots -- to their office-based practices. People traditionally get their yearly vaccination against the flu from their primary care physicians. But since only 1 in 3 people with...

Follow-up.(MRI damage to pacemakers)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Pacemakers and MRIs. In the April 2006 Harvard Heart Letter, we described how MRIs can damage pacemakers and implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs). A team from Johns Hopkins Hospital says that people with certain makes and models of...

Ask the doctor; Does a collapsed stent need fixing?
December 1, 2006... Q. About 10 years ago, after being unexpectedly short of breath a few times, my brother had a stent put in during an angioplasty procedure. He has been fine since. During a routine visit to his cardiologist, he was told he had a blockage in the...