Patients Fail To Grasp Importance of Cholesterol Numbers
"Patients may not be getting the message about the heart risks associated with dyslipidemia when the message is delivered by-the-numbers, according to researchers here.

A better way to drive home the message is to concentrate on cardiovascular risk-adjusted age-a formula that homes in on the grim fact that, as an example, a 42-year-old man with elevated Framingham Heart Score has the heart of a 70-year-old man, Brown researchers reported in the May-June issue of Annals of Family Medicine....."

Harvard Medical: The Skinny on Fat
"It’s especially easy these days to feel that the gurus of health don’t know what they’re talking about. What else would explain the recent results from the large, 8-year-long Women’s Health Initiative study showing that a low fat diet—long a mainstay of government healthy eating recommendations—does almost nothing to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, or colon cancer?....."

New Technology Detects Risks Of Drugs To Heart Sooner: "Common antidepressant medications may increase the risk of death in heart patients by as much as 55 percent. Researchers say many more studies need to be done. Past studies have found a link between depression and heart disease. Because of that, doctors have increasingly prescribed anti-depressants for heart patients."

"Common antidepressant medications may increase the risk of death in heart patients by as much as 55 percent.":
Researchers say many more studies need to be done. Past studies have found a link between depression and heart disease. Because of that, doctors have increasingly prescribed anti-depressants for heart patients."

Metabolic syndrome raises risk of heart failure:
"The findings of a new study suggest that the metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for heart failure, and this relationship is seen with or without the presence of other known heart failure risk factors, such as previous heart attack.Individuals with the metabolic syndrome have a cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors, such as excess body weight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol levels.The results imply that the 'metabolic syndrome provides important risk information beyond that of established risk factors for heart failure,' lead author Dr. Erik Ingelsson, from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues note. They suggest that insulin resistance and higher than normal levels of insulin in the blood may underlie this increased heart failure risk in these patients......"

Women at greater risk of heart disease than men: "Breast cancer gets more attention, but cardiovascular diseases kill 10 times as many women

Erectile dysfunction: Three links between erectile dysfunction and heart disease - Mayo Clinic:
"Erectile dysfunction can be a wake-up call that you are at risk for heart disease. The same factors that contribute to heart disease %u2014 smoking, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and others %u2014 can cause sexual problems.

Heart health and erectile function share several important connections. Understanding these connections may help you recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular disease sooner %u2014 and improve your chances of maintaining your sexual ability.

Atherosclerosis. This damaging process, which reduces blood flow to your heart and contributes to coronary artery disease, could also affect the blood vessels to the penis, keeping you from sustaining an erection. Conversely, if you're having trouble with erections, it could be a sign that your heart is also at risk.
Medications. Some prescriptions that men take to protect their hearts can cause erectile dysfunction. Additionally, medications that are often prescribed for erectile dysfunction may not be safe when combined with certain heart medications.
Anxiety and depression. Erectile dysfunction itself can be a significant source of anxiety for men. Add to that a fear that sexual activity could cause a heart attack, and your love life could take a plunge. Depression frequently affects men with heart disease. Both the condition itself and some of the medications used to treat it can lead to erectile dysfunction......[MORE]"

Diagnostic for mini-strokes effective
A U.S. study found an accelerated diagnostic protocol for stroke in hospitals was less costly, had shorter hospitals stays and comparable clinical outcomes.

Study leader Dr. Michael Ross said some 300,000 Americans per year are diagnosed with Transient Ischemic Attack, or mini-stroke, and more than 10 percent will suffer a stroke within 90 days, with 64 percent of those strokes disabling, and 5 percent will experience a major cardiac event. Traditionally, these patients are admitted for a series of diagnostic tests that take several days.

Heart Disease & Stroke: The Facts

Heart disease risk factors may bring on menopause
"Women with more risk factors for cardiovascular disease tend to enter menopause earlier than women without cardiovascular risk factors, according to an analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study....."

Persistent Pain Common After Stroke:
"Results of a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry suggest that patient-reported pain is common shortly after stroke and the pain may persist for months.

Dr. Ann-Cathrin Jonsson and colleagues from Lund University Hospital, Sweden, examined the prevalence, intensity and predictors of pain following stroke from the patients' perspectives. A total of 297 first-time stroke patients were registered in the Lund Stroke Register and selected based on their ability to complete the visual analog scale (VAS). VAS scores of 0 to 30 were defined as no or mild pain and scores of 40 to 100 were considered to be moderate to severe pain.

After 4 months, 96 patients (32%) reported moderate to severe pain, 23 had mild pain, and 178 had no pain. Significant predictors of pain included younger age, female sex, higher NIH stroke scale score, and higher HbA1c value.
At 16 months, 62 patients (21%) had moderate to severe pain, 12 patients had mild pain, and 223 had no pain. Pain intensity was more severe at 16 months than at 4 months, with median VAS scores of 70 and 60, respectively, (p = 0.016). A correlation was noted between higher pain intensity and female sex, worse geriatric depression scores, better mini-mental state examination score, and higher HbA1c baseline values.

Pain was constant in up to 47% of subjects reporting pain at both follow-up assessments, and was often present in up to 68%, Dr. Jonsson and colleagues report. Disturbed sleep attributed to pain occurred in at least 49% to 58% patients with moderate to severe pain. At both follow-up periods, up to 50% of patients required temporary rest for pain relief and about 25% obtained pain relief only by changing position...."

5 Simple Steps for Women Nationwide To Take Charge of Their Heart Health During Women's Health Week
The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement is encouraging women to follow 5 simple steps, during National Women's Health Week, to take charge of their heart health. While no time is better than the present, women can begin this new and improved lifestyle while preparing for the summer months

Listen to your heart - MSNBC.com: "As a wife and mom, Sharon Markey hasnt always listened to her heart. Two months ago it almost killed her.
The 38-year-old Newtown Township mother of three diagnosed her indigestion as a leftover from a dinner party the night before. Within 24 hours, doctors told her she had a heart attack, and that she might need a new heart.
While her heart condition was rare, that Markey missed signs she was having a heart attack is all too common, doctors say. It's one reason why heart problems are the No. 1 killer of American women.
The gender gap in heart care has improved over the last 15 years, but it still exists, medical professionals say. A recent American Heart Association study found that women's chest pain is often not taken as seriously as mens.
Many doctors say the problem is a lingering perception that heart disease is a man's problem - an old man's problem....."

What we risk for taste - Trans fats make fast foods delicious but dangerous
"....Last month, researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine came up with a startling calculation buried deep in their exhaustive review of dozens of trans fat studies published over more than a decade.

Near elimination of artificially produced trans fats would avert between 72,000 and 228,000 heart attacks and deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. each year.

"The evidence for harm is considerable," said lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "There really is little reason for having them in the food supply."

Banning the substances, which are devoid of nutritional value, should be considered, said Mozaffarian, who also works as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"The wisest thing to do is to eliminate anything made in partially hydrogenated oils," he said...."

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New Guidelines Offer Power to Prevent Stroke....MORE
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement

"Healthy habits and appropriate treatments help prevent stroke, according to graded, evidenced-based recommendations issued today by the American Heart Association and it's division, the American Stroke Association.

These "primary prevention" guidelines are published in the rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major source of disability in the United States. Every year about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, resulting in nearly 158,000 deaths. From 1993 - 2003, the stroke death rate fell 18.5%, but the actual number of stroke deaths declined only 0.7%, according to 2006 association statistics.

"Stroke remains a major public health problem. Its human and economic toll is staggering," said Larry B. Goldstein, MD, the guidelines' lead author and chair of the association's Stroke Council.

The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in 2006 is $57.9 billion.

"Stroke can be prevented and we are learning more about ways of accomplishing that," said Goldstein, professor of medicine (neurology) and director of the Duke Center for Cerebrovascular Disease at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. The guidelines addressed risks that can't be altered and those that can be influenced.

Non-modifiable risk factors
Risk factors that can't be changed include age, gender, race/ethnicity and family history. Older people, men, African Americans, and people with a family history of stroke are generally at greater risk than others.

Modifiable risk factors
In the guidelines, modifiable risk factors are categorized as "well-documented" or "less well-documented or potentially modifiable."

The guidelines reiterate some well-known prevention measures such as controlling high blood pressure, not smoking, avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke, being physically active and treating disorders that increase the risk of stroke such as atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat), carotid artery disease and heart failure.

The guidelines suggest physicians consider using a risk assessment tool such as the Framingham Stroke Profile to assess patients' risk.

"It is important to identify patients at high risk of stroke because research shows that many strokes can be prevented if those individuals modify their risk factors," Goldstein said.....[more]

FDA Flashes Red Light on Green Tea Heart Benefits: "Green tea does not lower heart-disease risk, according to the FDA. The agency rejected a request for a 'qualified health claim' that would have permitted labeling for cardiovascular benefits from the consumption of green tea, either as a drink or a dietary supplement. In its letter of denial, the FDA concluded that the studies presented to support the claim were flawed in design, inconclusive, or found no evidence of a beneficial relationship."

Where There's Smoke There's Often an ICD That Fires :
" Smokers, even former smokers, with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are more likely to be shocked than are patients who never smoked, researchers here found.

Current smokers have more than a sevenfold increase in risk of appropriate shocks and former smokers are more than five times more likely to receive appropriate shocks than never-smokers"

Ultrasound Can Help Predict Heart Attack Risk :
"Ultrasound imaging to detect plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) in the carotid artery of the neck may help doctors predict heart attack and other cardiac events in adults considered at low-risk for heart disease.

That's the conclusion of a study presented Monday at the American Heart Association's seventh Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, in Washington, D.C.

"A significant proportion of people who have heart attacks do not have traditional heart disease risk factors," study lead author Dr. Kwame O. Akosah, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, said in a prepared statement.

"In this study, we looked at whether using carotid ultrasound -- a simple, noninvasive, relatively cheap test that is available in many doctors' offices -- might help identify which patients are at risk for cardiac events," Akosah said.

He noted that atherosclerosis is systemic -- if there's plaque buildup in the carotid artery, it may also be present in other important arteries, such as the coronary and leg arteries......"

Men More Likely to Die From Stroke Than Women - FOXNews.com - :
"Men may be more likely to die or develop serious complications from a stroke than women.

A new study shows that despite the fact that men tend to have strokes at an earlier age than women, they face an 8 percent higher risk of death and 90 percent higher risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of a stroke.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.; each year more than 700,000 people suffer a stroke. Researchers say the results suggest that although men tend to have strokes at a younger age, they may be more vulnerable after a stroke..."

A new study suggests people who are overweight or obese early in life may not be more likely to have heart disease or stroke as adults....Reuters.com: "However, the study's authors point out that the population data used in their analysis were collected many years ago, and more precise investigations in today's children are necessary to fully answer to the question of whether childhood obesity or being overweight increases the risk of future cardiovascular disease risk.The prevalence of obesity has tripled in most of the developed world during the past 20 years, Dr. Debbie A. Lawlor of the University of Bristol in the UK and colleagues note, raising fears of a future epidemic of heart disease. But studies investigating whether childhood overweight is related to later heart disease risk have not uniformly supported this concern...."