Harvard Heart Letter articles from June 2003

Harvard Heart Letter archives from June 2003

High blood pressure isn't color-blind.
June 1, 2003... Guidelines aimed at improving blood pressure in African Americans point the way to better blood pressure control for everyone. High blood pressure is not an equal-opportunity disease. Although this silent killer affects people of every...

Don't let the heat beat your heart.
June 1, 2003... Heat and humidity stress the heart. Simple precautions to keep cool can ease the strain. After a long winter, the mere thought of summer can warm the heart. The reality of summer, though, can do much more. Hazy, hot, humid days can stress...

Recovery information fine-tunes stress test results.
June 1, 2003... Rhythm problems as the heart relaxes after an exercise stress test may signal trouble ahead. Each day, thousands of Americans take an exercise stress test. By measuring how the heart responds to and copes with increasing amounts of...

Three B's, or not three B's?(vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid evaluated as a protection against heart disease)
June 1, 2003... Do folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 protect against heart disease? That is the question. As vitamin E and other antioxidant vitamins lose their luster as powerful defenders against heart disease, three B vitamins are being touted as...

Heavy metals test heart's mettle.(and may contribute to hypertension and heart disease)
June 1, 2003... Mercury and lead may contribute to heart disease and hypertension. Alchemists long labored to transform metals such as mercury and lead into the far more valuable gold. Their efforts never panned out. Today, a sort of reverse alchemy may be...

Heart Beat - Statins for high blood pressure?(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... It's usually big news when researchers stop a large trial early because one therapy proves so much better than another. But when the treatment under study is a cholesterol-lowering statin, this development barely causes a ripple. One such trial...

Heart Beat - The high cost of heart disease.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A survey of U.S. medical costs puts heart disease at the top of the list. Add in the related conditions of stroke and hypertension, and cardiovascular disease costs us twice as much as cancer. The $92 billion estimate translates to $1,500 for...

Ask the Doctor - Should I be worried by the big difference between the two numbers on my blood pressure readings?
June 1, 2003... Q I am 75 and have had atrial fibrillation for a while. I take digoxin, lisinopril, Coumadin, and Lipitor. My medications seem to work, but I'm still concerned about the big difference between my systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings....

Ask the Doctor - Does the statin I take for my cholesterol protect my bones, too?(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Q I take a statin because of high cholesterol. Now that I'm past menopause, my doctor thinks I need to take a medication to protect my bones. I've read that statins prevent osteoporosis, so do I really need another pill? A Early studies...