Drinking cup of beetroot juice daily may help lower blood pressure – A cup of beetroot juice a day may help reduce your blood pressure, revealed researchers. People with high blood pressure who drank about 8 ounces of beetroot juice experienced a decrease in blood pressure of about 10 mm Hg. But the preliminary findings don’t yet suggest that supplementing your diet with beetroot juice benefits your health.
Clogged heart arteries can foreshadow stroke — American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report – Blockages in your heart arteries could mean you’re more likely to have a stroke, even if you’re considered low risk. A new study raises the need for intensified interdisciplinary efforts for providing adequate disease prevention and management strategies for stroke.
Reducing sodium consumption could save 280,000 to 500,000 lives in the United States over 10 years. — Americans consume about 3,600 mg of sodium per day ? more than twice the recommended limit. – Less sodium in the U.S. diet could save 280,000 to 500,000 lives over 10 years, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
Treatment with clot-busting drug yields better results after stroke than supportive therapy alone – In an update to previous research, Johns Hopkins neurologists say minimally invasive delivery of the drug tPA directly into potentially lethal blood clots in the brain helped more patients function independently a year after suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), a deadly and debilitating form of stroke.
The Nutrition Facts Label: Helping Americans Make Heart-Healthy Choices – February is American Heart Month, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a tool to help you achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. It?s called the Nutrition Facts Label, and it can be found on all packaged foods and beverages.
Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in women — American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report – Eating three or more servings of blueberries and strawberries per week may help women reduce their risk of a heart attack by as much as one-third. Blueberries and strawberries contain high levels of naturally occurring compounds called dietary flavonoids, also found in grapes and wine, blackberries, eggplant, and other fruits and vegetables.
Healthy diets have long-lasting positive effects even with partial weight regain – Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets have lasting, healthy effects, even with partial weight regain. The study is published in a peer-reviewed letter in the current New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) as an update to the landmark study, the workplace-based Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT), a tightly controlled 24-month dietary intervention.
Mom’s high blood pressure in pregnancy could affect child’s IQ in old age – New research suggests that a mother’s high blood pressure during pregnancy may have an effect on her child’s thinking skills all the way into old age. The study is published in the Neurology.
FDA takes action against thousands of illegal Internet pharmacies — Agency participates in international Operation Pangea V to protect consumers from potentially dangerous, unapproved drugs – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in partnership with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, took action this week against more than 4,100 Internet pharmacies that illegally sell potentially dangerous, unapproved drugs to consumers. Actions taken include civil and criminal charges, seizure of illegal products, and removal of offending websites.
Low birth weight may increase risk for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and diabetes — New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that poor high blood pressure management during pregnancy may have negative long-term health consequences for offspring – Being underweight at birth may have consequences above and beyond the known short-term effects says a research report. The report shows that rats with a low birth weight have an increased long-term risk for developing cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and diabetes.
‘Cafeteria diet’ hastens stroke risk — High-sugar, high-salt intake creates ‘a ticking time bomb of health problems’ – The fat- and sugar-rich Western diet leads to a lifetime of health problems, dramatically increasing the risk of stroke or death at a younger age,. Researchers found that a high-calorie, high-sugar, high-sodium diet nicknamed the ‘cafeteria diet’ induced most symptoms of metabolic syndrome ? a combination of high levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and obesity ? in rats after only two months.
Poor sleep in adolescents may increase risk of heart disease – Adolescents who sleep poorly may be at risk of cardiovascular disease in later life. “We found an association between sleep disturbance and cardiovascular risk in adolescents, as determined by high cholesterol levels, increased BMI [body mass index] and hypertension,” writes lead author Dr. Indra Narang, respirologist and director of sleep medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Ontario.
