Harvard Heart Letter articles from July 2008

Harvard Heart Letter archives from July 2008

Age no barrier to blood pressure control.(Report)
July 1, 2008... Age no barrier to blood pressure control New work shows it's never too late to treat high blood pressure. Much is known about the benefits of treating high blood pressure. It helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and...

Going after angiotensin.(Report)
July 1, 2008... Going after angiotensin An ACE inhibitor or an ARB, not both, best protects the heart. Deep inside the body, a protein known as angiotensin-converting enzyme creates angiotensin II, a small molecule that signals the muscles in arteries...

Fish and fish oil: Good for most folks, but not all.(Report)
July 1, 2008... Fish and fish oil: Good for most folks, but not all Whether you benefit from taking fish oil depends on the state of your heart. Back in 2002, the American Heart Association recommended that people with coronary artery disease take...

Does fitness offset fatness?(Report)
July 1, 2008... Does fitness offset fatness? Exercise is great at any weight, but it doesn't erase the health effects of carrying too many pounds. Far too few of us are active and lean, the ideal combination for staving off heart disease and a variety...

Taking heart disease to new heights.(Report)
July 1, 2008... Taking heart disease to new heights With some planning, you can get a Rocky Mountain high even if your heart isn't in tip-top shape. Once upon a time, the only way to get to the top of a mountain was to hike up. The arduous journey...

Heart beat: Air pollution fails the heart, vitamins may help.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Heart beat Air pollution fails the heart; vitamins may help Sitting in traffic puts a strain on the heart. Living near it is even worse. In a new study of people with heart failure, those whose homes were close to a major roadway were...

Heart beat: Heart-stopping thrills.(Report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Heart beat Heart-stopping thrills When a roller coaster advertises heart-stopping action, it may not be an empty boast. On average, four people die each year from roller coaster rides. About half of the deaths are caused by accidents,...

Heart beat: Hands-only CPR.(cardiopulmonary resuscitation)(Report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Heart beat Hands-only CPR If you see someone collapse and stop breathing, call 911 and then start pushing hard and fast on the middle of the person's chest, even if you've never been trained to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)....

Heart beat: sweeter note sounded for iPod users.(Report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Heart beat Sweeter note sounded for iPod users In the summer of 2007, reporting on a study out of Michigan State University, we cautioned musically minded readers with a pacemaker or implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to keep...

Heart beat: Calcium scan benefit still uncertain.(Report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Heart beat Calcium scan benefit still uncertain Using a special CT scan to measure calcium deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart has been promoted as a way to predict the chances of having a heart attack. In theory, this...

In brief.(Eggs and diabetes, Migraines and holes in the heart, Depression and atherosclerosis)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... In brief Eggs and diabetes. In 1998, a huge study showed that eating an egg a day had no effect on heart disease * except among people with diabetes. This pattern was supported by a new study of 21,000 male physicians whose health was...

Ask the doctor: should I worry about my low diastolic pressure?(Report)
July 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Should I worry about my low diastolic pressure? Q. I am a 70-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes. I take Glucophage and Glucotrol to control my blood sugar and a statin for cholesterol. I have been able to keep my blood...

Ask the doctor: does Tricor cause gallstones?(Report)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Does Tricor cause gallstones? Q. I started taking Tricor because I have low HDL and high triglycerides. Someone I know at work developed gallstones after being on Tricor for a while. Is this a common side effect? If so,...