Harvard Heart Letter articles from May 2006

Harvard Heart Letter archives from May 2006

A switch in time saves more than nine.
May 1, 2006... Two popular statins, Pravachol and Zocor, go generic in the summer of 2006, paving the way for significant savings. Bargain hunters, start your engines! The cost of lowering cholesterol is dropping dramatically for anyone willing to switch...

Better diet? No pressure.(antihypertensive diet)
May 1, 2006... A variety of eating strategies can help you lower your blood pressure. What you eat affects your cholesterol. No surprise there. But here's something you may not be aware of: What you eat can also affect your blood pressure. Parts of...

Beyond the bulge: A new look at heart disease in women.(heart disease without signs of cholesterol bulges in arteries)
May 1, 2006... Heart disease with arteries that appear to be free of cholesterol-filled bulges isn't a contradiction in terms. Up to 3 million American women -- and some men -- may have this "new" form of heart disease. If a "standard approach" to...

Heart Beat; Safety of bypass drug questioned.
May 1, 2006... Are you headed for bypass surgery sometime soon? If so, ask your surgeon if he or she plans to use a clotting drug called Trasylol (aprotinin). Two reports suggest that you'd be better off with a safer and cheaper alternative. Just before...

Heart Beat; Longer survival, more cases, boost heart failure population.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Here's a classic good news, bad news report: People with heart failure are living longer than they were thirty years ago. But combine this with more people surviving heart attacks and the graying of the population, and you can see why we're in...

Heart Beat; Coffee may slow the flow.(coffee and exercise)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A jolt of java before exercise limits the body's ability to increase blood flow through coronary arteries when the heart needs an extra supply of oxygen and fuel. The change isn't huge. Two cups of coffee drunk an hour before exercise reduced...

Heart Beat; Heart hurt by carbon monoxide poisoning.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Carbon monoxide poisons 40,000 Americans a year. Survivors sometimes have long-lasting brain damage that leads to memory loss, trouble learning, or other problems. What hadn't been recognized is that carbon monoxide poisoning also has long-term...

Follow-up; Procedures for atrial fibrillation.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The March issue of the Heart Letter looked at treatments aimed at curing -- not merely managing -- the erratic heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. A nonsurgical treatment called pulmonary vein ablation is the most advanced. It involves...

Ask the doctor; Can fried fish be good for my heart?
May 1, 2006... Q. You have written that fried fish isn't nearly as good for the heart as baked or broiled fish, probably because of the oils many restaurants use for frying. What if I fry my fish at home using olive oil or canola oil? Would that make a...

Ask the doctor; MRIs and stents.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Q. I read an article about MRIs being bad for pacemakers and defibrillators. What about stents? They are metal, too. I had two stents put in a few months ago. Can I ever have an MRI? A. Although it seems as though the wire-mesh stents used...