Heart disease is the narrowing or blockage of the arteries and vessels that provide oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the heart. It is caused by atherosclerosis, an accumulation of fatty materials on the inner linings of arteries that restricts blood flow. When the blood flow to the heart is completely cut off, the result is a heart attack because the heart is starved of oxygen.
Heart’s surplus energy may help power pacemakers and defibrillators implanted in cardiac patients. – Surplus energy generated by the heart may one day help power pacemakers and defibrillators implanted in cardiac patients, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008.
Researchers discover new risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and a way to control it. McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) serves as Canadian centre for international study that could revolutionize treatment options. – A team of international researchers – including scientists from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University – have discovered that having high levels of particular protein puts patients at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
In US, diabetic patients have nearly doubled their spending on drugs for the diabetes disease in last 6 years. – Because of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007 according to a study in the Oct. 27, 2008, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
21st century could be the “age of paranoia”, according to a leading psychiatrist. Dr Daniel Freeman. – Paranoia is on the increase and could go unchecked unless we take urgent action, claims a leading scientist. Dr Daniel Freeman, a Wellcome Trust fellow, warns that changes in how we live and work could mean that we are entering an “age of paranoia.”
Employees who take long spells of sick leave more than once in three years are at a higher risk of death than their colleagues who take no such absence, particularly if their absence is due to circulatory or psychiatric problems or for surgery. – Major diagnoses for medically certified absences were associated with increased mortality, with the exception of musculoskeletal disease. Data on sickness absence diagnoses may provide useful information to identify groups with increased health risk and a need for targeted interventions.
American Heart Association Scientific Statement: Heart Patients Should Be Screened, Treated for Depression – Heart patients should be screened for depression — a common condition that can profoundly affect both prognosis and quality of life — according to the American Heart Association’s first scientific statement on depression and coronary heart disease.
Danish study provides new information on hormone replacement therapy and the risk of heart attacks – It’s not what you take but the way that you take it that can produce different results in women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to new research on the association between HRT and heart attacks, published online in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.
FDA analysis shows cholesterol lowering medications statins do not increase the risk of “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. FDA recommends no change in prescribing and use of statins. – A U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s analysis provides new evidence that the use of statins does not increase incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” The analysis was reported on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.
Study highlights an audio-guided relaxation CD with background sounds of ocean waves and a calming voice may lower blood pressure in elderly people. – An audio relaxation program lowered blood pressure more than a Mozart sonata in a group of elderly people with high blood pressure, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s 62nd Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly in the adult population, and these adults do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population. – Young adults with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart abnormality, experience subsequent cardiac events but do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population, according to a study in the September 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can end up causing heart disease, revealed by researchers at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. – People with poor dental hygiene and those who don’t brush their teeth regularly end up with bleeding gums, which provide an entry to the bloodstream for up to 700 different types of bacteria found in our mouths.
Drinking grapefruit juice, orange and apple juices with certain drugs could lower their effectiveness by decreasing the absorption of drugs, potentially wiping out their beneficial effects. – Grapefruit and other common fruit juices, including orange and apple, decrease the absorption of drugs, potentially wiping out their beneficial effects.
