Cardiovascular Disease

Sugar consumption plays greater role in heart disease than saturated fat

Date: January 13, 2016 Source: Elsevier Summary: Atherosclerotic Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is responsible for one in every six deaths in the United States as well as being the leading cause of death throughout the developed world. Healthcare professionals have for many years sought to limit and control CHD by focusing on prevention and, from […]

Exercise-Based Rehabilitation for Coronary Heart Disease

January 12, 2016 Journal of the American College of Cardiology TAKE-HOME MESSAGE The authors evaluated 63 studies with 14,486 participants in order to update the Cochrane review of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for the management of coronary heart disease. Exercise-based CR reduced the risk of hospital readmissions and cardiovascular mortality, but had no effect on […]

Tai Chi May Stave Off CVD in Arthritis Patients

01.07.2016 Benefits seen for endothelial function and arterial stiffness in RA by Pauline Anderson Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Practicing tai chi significantly improved endothelial function and arterial stiffness in a trial involving older women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to Jeong-Hun Shin, MD, PhD, of Hayang University, Republic of Korea, and colleagues. “To the best of […]

Review: Sweetened Drinks May Affect Cardiovascular Health

Added sugars raise risk of myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, and stroke TUESDAY, Sept. 29, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages can seriously damage cardiovascular health, a new review finds. The report was published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The added sugar in […]

USPSTF Backs Aspirin for CVD, Colon Cancer Prevention

09.14.2015 by Crystal Phend Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Low-dose aspirin was recommended for primary prevention of both cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer for 50- to 59-year-olds by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The draft recommendation applied to only people at 10% or greater 10-year cardiovascular disease risk who aren’t at increased risk […]

It is time to stop counting calories, and time instead to promote dietary changes that substantially and rapidly reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality

Open Heart 2015;2: doi:10.1136/openhrt-2015-000273 Editorial It is time to stop counting calories, and time instead to promote dietary changes that substantially and rapidly reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality Aseem Malhotra1, James J DiNicolantonio3and Simon Capewell Most heart attacks and ischaemic strokes are caused by complicated atheroma usually compounded by thrombosis suddenly reducing blood flow in […]

High protein foods boost cardiovascular health, as much as quitting smoking or getting exercise

Date: August 27, 2015 Source: University of East Anglia Summary: Eating foods rich in amino acids could be as good for your heart as stopping smoking or getting more exercise — according to new research. Eating foods rich in amino acids could be as good for your heart as stopping smoking or getting more exercise […]

Trans, but Not Saturated, Fats Up All-Cause Mortality

Trans fats linked to all-cause mortality, total CHD, CHD mortality; no associations for saturated fats WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Trans fats, but not saturated fats, are associated with all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD), and CHD-associated mortality, according to a systematic review published online Aug. 11 in The BMJ. Russell J. de […]

Intake of polyunsaturated fat in relation to mortality among statin users and non-users

Intake of polyunsaturated fat in relation to mortality among statin users and non-users in the Southern Community Cohort Study Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, 08/06/2015 Kiage JN, et al. The results suggest potential benefits of PUFA consumption on mortality which are only apparent in the absence of statin therapy. It seems prudent to consider the […]

Drinking Sweet Beverages and Type 2 Diabetes: Beyond Obesity

Expert Opinion / Commentary · August 04, 2015 Written by Wahida Karmally DrPH, RD, CDE, CLS, FNLA Sugar is on the FDA “generally recognized as safe” list despite the growing body of evidence that sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is detrimental to health and has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality,1 hypertension,2,3 liver […]

Habitual chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy men and women

Heart doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2014-307050 Chun Shing Kwok Abstract Objective To examine the association between chocolate intake and the risk of future cardiovascular events. Methods We conducted a prospective study using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort. Habitual chocolate intake was quantified using the baseline food frequency questionnaire (1993–1997) and cardiovascular end points were […]

PUFA, Linoleic Acid, EPA and DHA Inversely Associated with All-Cause Mortality and Incident CVD

Polyunsaturated Fat Intake Estimated by Circulating Biomarkers and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality in a Population-Based Cohort of 60-Year-Old Men and Women Matti Marklund CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015607 Published online before print June 17, 2015, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015607 Abstract Background—High intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. Large […]

Just two weeks of drinking sugary drinks boost risk factors for heart disease, study suggests

Date:  April 22, 2015 Source:  University of California – Davis Summary: Beverages sweetened with low, medium and high amounts of high-fructose corn syrup significantly increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease, even when consumed for just two weeks by young, healthy men and women. Consumption of sugary drinks increases risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a […]

Exercise Enhances Omega 3’s Benefits In Reducing CVD Events In Midlife

Concurrent physical activity modifies the association between n3 long-chain fatty acids and cardiometabolic risk in midlife adults. Muldoon MF, et al. J Nutr. 2013. Show full citation Abstract Greater consumption of n3 (ω3) polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can reduce risk for cardiovascular disease events, yet their effects on metabolic […]

Erectile Dysfunction as a Marker for Cardiovascular Disease

April 14, 2015 The Journal of Sexual Medicine TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This study evaluated the effect of screening men presenting with erectile dysfunction (ED) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, as well as determined the cost-effectiveness of this screening protocol. The study utilized the known incidence and prevalence of ED and CVD, the rate of undiagnosed […]

What the Evidence Really Says About PUFAs

4/14/15 by Kamal Patel MPH, MBA Keith Ayoob recently wrote a piece for MedPage Today concerning the benefits of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). In it, he recounts his advice to patients to cook and fry with high-PUFA oils such as corn oil, rather than expensive olive oil. Aside from cost issues, is corn oil actually healthy? Let’s take a step […]

Heart Health Begins to Decline in Childhood

Veronica Hackethal, MD March 24, 2015 Most US children start life with optimal cardiovascular health (CVH), but it declines substantially over time, suggests a study published online March 18 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. “Our findings indicate that, in general, children start with pretty good blood pressure. But if they have a horrible diet, it will drive a worsening […]

Folate Supplementation in HTN May Lower Risk for First Stroke

Deborah Brauser March 16, 2015 SAN DIEGO, CA — After years of negative trials from Western researchers examining folic-acid supplementation for prevention of cardiovascular events, researchers from China are reporting significantly positive results from use of the substance[1]. As part of the Joint Symposium of the Chinese Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) […]

Increased Nut Consumption Associated With Reduced Mortality

3/11/15 TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Researchers evaluated Americans of African and European descent and Chinese individuals to determine the association of nut consumption with mortality. Increased nut consumption was significantly associated with reduced total mortality and specifically cardiovascular disease mortality among all ethnic groups. Researchers suggest that nuts may be a cost-effective option to reduce cardiovascular risk. […]

Vitamin B3 / Niacin Side Effects, Benefits, & Foods

Vitamin B3, also called niacin and niacinamide, is an important water-soluble vitamin that can be found in many common foods including certain types of meat and organ meat, tuna fish, seeds, mushrooms, and others. Niacin is a part of the vitamin B complex, along with other B vitamins including Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and […]