Harvard Heart Letter articles from October 2008

Harvard Heart Letter archives from October 2008

Dial 911 when a heart attack has your number.
October 1, 2008... Dial 911 when a heart attack has your number Calling for help is the best way to start treating a heart attack. When a heart attack strikes, two steps can help you protect your heart, and your life. First, recognize you are having a...

Alcohol's cardiac effects differ by sex.(Report)
October 1, 2008... Alcohol's cardiac effects differ by sex A little alcohol goes a longer way in women * for good and bad. Alcohol can be a boon or a bane for health. The difference lies largely in the dose * a little is generally good, a lot is bad. But...

Ankle-brachial index.
October 1, 2008... Ankle-brachial index Comparing blood pressure at the arm and ankle can reveal peripheral artery disease. Arteries that deliver blood to parts of the body below the heart don't get nearly as much attention as the coronary arteries that...

Smaller surgery speeds recovery from valve fix.(Report)
October 1, 2008... Smaller surgery speeds recovery from valve fix A less invasive operation to repair or replace a faulty valve rivals full, open-heart surgery. There's no simple remedy for a failing heart valve. It must be replaced or repaired. At least...

Heart beat: Coffee: A connection to good health?(Report)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Heart beat Coffee: A connection to good health? Some coffee drinkers worry that their habit is a bad one * not nearly on a par with smoking but in that general direction. Those worries are groundless. In the past few years, coffee...

Heart beat: CT scans may interfere with pacemakers, other devices.(computed tomography)(Report)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Heart beat CT scans may interfere with pacemakers, other devices For folks with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), MRIs have long been off limits. Now the FDA is warning that CT scans may also interfere with...

Heart beat: Tapping the power of potassium.(Report)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Heart beat Tapping the power of potassium When it comes to fighting high blood pressure, the average American diet delivers too much sodium and too little potassium. Eating to reverse this imbalance could prevent or control high blood...

In brief.(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In brief Obesity surgery. For people who are seriously overweight, surgery that shrinks the stomach to an egg-sized pouch can lead to substantial weight loss. This improves cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and often reverses...

Ask the doctor: Is my blood pressure medicine changing my ability to taste?(Report)
October 1, 2008... Ask the doctor Is my blood pressure medicine changing my ability to taste? Q. My sense of taste isn't as good as it was a few months ago. The only big change in my health is that I started taking Capoten on top of the diuretic I have...

Ask the doctor: How is a blocked stent fixed?(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Ask the doctor How is a blocked stent fixed? Q. What happens when a stent gets clogged up? Someone told me that a new one gets put over the plugged-up one, but that doesn't sound right. A. The procedure you are asking about isn't...

Ask the doctor: How do I know if my new valve isn't working correctly?(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Ask the doctor How do I know if my new valve isn't working correctly? Q. I had a mechanical valve put in to replace a stiff aortic valve. But it hasn't made a big difference in how I feel. I still get short of breath when I try to walk...