Cardiovascular System

Risk of Carotid Stroke after Chiropractic Care: A Population-Based Case-Crossover Study

Cassidy JD, et al. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2017. Abstract BACKGROUND: Chiropractic manipulation is a popular treatment for neck pain and headache, but may increase the riskc of cervical artery dissection and stroke. Patients with carotid artery dissection can present with neck pain and/or headache before experiencing a stroke. These are common symptoms seen by […]

Calcium supplementation and cardiovascular risk: A rising concern – Full Text Article

MAY 04, 2017 The Journal of Clinical Hypertension Tankeu AT, et al. – A recently found evidence suggesting the adverse impact of calcium supplementation on cardiovascular health was the trigger for the execution of this study. Researchers wished to shed light on this emerging topic and therefore, they studied the available evidence. After analyzing the […]

Does supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs add to the prevention of cardiovascular disease?

April 24, 2017 Current Cardiology Reports Rizos EC, et al. – Researchers conducted this study to re–assess the impact of omega–3 supplements on all–cause and cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke. They searched for and analyzed data from the relevant randomized controlled trials to derive the conclusion that the proposed benefits of omega–3 supplementation in […]

Is soda bad for your brain? (And is diet soda worse?)

Both sugary, diet drinks correlated with accelerated brain aging Date: April 20, 2017 Source: Boston University Summary: Excess sugar — especially the fructose in sugary drinks — might damage your brain, new research suggests. Researchers found that people who drink sugary beverages frequently are more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volume, and […]

Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages linked to obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

APRIL 18, 2017 QJM: An International Journal of Medicine Ruanpeng D, et al. Researchers evaluate the relationship between intake of sugar and artificially sweetened soda and obesity. This study exhibited an important relationship amongst sugar and artificially sweetened soda intake and obesity. This finding brings issues to light and question of the negative clinical effect […]

Exercise Training in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation

April 14, 2017 JACC: Journal of the American College of Cardiology TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This randomized trial examined the effects of aerobic exercise in 2331 ambulatory patients with heart failure (ejection fraction ≤35%) with and without atrial fibrillation. Of the total population, 17% (n = 382) had atrial fibrillation at enrollment. After a median follow-up of […]

Chlamydia and Heart Disease

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S. How secure should you feel if your doctor tells you that your cholesterol levels are normal Are you immune to heart disease just because you have been informed you have normal cholesterol levels? If you have been a reader of my weekly articles for any length of time, you […]

Glycemic index, glycemic load, and blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition EL Evans C, et al. This study was performed to find out the relationship between dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in healthy individuals. This review of healthy individuals demonstrated that a lower glycemic diet may lead to […]

Sudden Arrhythmia from an Underappreciated Danger

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S., CFMP An underappreciated highway danger has been shown to cause sudden cardiac arrest or clotting off of a coronary artery In addition, this highway danger has been found to cause sudden arrhythmia that makes a person pass out or have a heart attack. The highway danger I am referring […]

Obesity mediates the association between Mediterranean diet consumption and insulin resistance and inflammation in US adults

The Journal of Nutrition, 03/20/2017Park YM, et al. This study was performed to explore whether the relationship between Med–diet intake and markers of insulin resistance and inflammation are mediated by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) in a representative US population. These outcomes propose that decreasing abdominal obesity may play an imperative role […]

Meditation and blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Journal of Hypertension, 03/07/2017 Shi L, et al. – This exploration was designed to assess the impact of meditation interventions (transcendental meditation and non–transcendental meditation interventions) on blood pressure (BP). Findings of this meta–analytical study suggested the potential of non–transcendental meditation for providing promising reductions in both SBP and DBP when employed as an alternative […]

Mediterranean diet may decrease pain associated with obesity

Published: Friday 24 February 2017 Eating a Mediterranean diet could decrease the chances an overweight person will experience regular pain, new research suggests. A well-established connection between body weight and chronic pain might be explained by inflammation in the body, and the study points to anti-inflammatory foods including fish, nuts and beans as a key […]

HbA1c Tied to Progression of Aortic Stiffness Without Diabetes

February 08, 2017 TUESDAY, Feb. 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For individuals without diabetes, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is associated with accelerated progression of aortic stiffness, according to a study published online Jan. 25 in Diabetes Care. Carmel M. McEniery, Ph.D., from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the impact of […]

Dietary Intake Mediates the Relationship of Body Fat to Pain

January 26, 2017 Pain TAKE-HOME MESSAGE A 3-hour home visit was conducted with 98 healthy adults in the community to collect information on environment, food-related behaviors, and adiposity to evaluate the effect of dietary intake of anti-inflammatory foods on the relationship of body fat to body pain. Modelling revealed that quality of dietary intake mediated […]

Tea consumption and risk of ischaemic heart disease

Heart, 01/23/2017 Li X, et al. This article was composed with the objectives to prospectively look at the relationship between tea intake and the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). In this large prospective study, daily tea intake was connected with a decreased risk of IHD. Methods A prospective study utilizing the China Kadoorie Biobank; […]

Hypertension and Mercury Toxicity

Here is an interesting article by Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S. A growing body of medical literature has discovered the damaging effects of mercury on endothelial (the inner lining of blood vessels) function and vascular smooth muscle function. Mercury induces mitochondrial dysfunction with reduction in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), depletion of glutathione, and increased lipid […]

Soft drink intake and the risk of metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

International Journal of Clinical Practice, 01/17/2017 Narain A, et al. In this systematic review and meta–analysis, researchers assess whether soft drink intake is connected with the development of metabolic syndrome. This work suggested sugar–sweetened beverage and artificially sweetened beverage (ASB) consumption are both connected with metabolic syndrome. This connection may be driven by the fact […]

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease risk

Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 01/17/2017 Alexander DD, et al. The target of this study was to assess the impact of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA+DHA) on coronary heart disease (CHD), and to lead meta–analyses of prospective cohort studies to estimate the association between EPA+DHA consumption and CHD risk. Outcomes show that EPA+DHA might be connected with […]

Obesity does not increase the risk of chronic low back pain when genetics are considered. A prospective study of Spanish adult twins

The Spine Journal Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2017, Pages 282–290 Amabile Borges Dario, MSc Abstract Background Context Obesity is commonly investigated as a potential risk factor for low back pain (LBP); however, current evidence remains unclear. Limitations in previous studies may explain the inconsistent results in the field, such as the use of a […]

Morbid Obesity and Lumbar Fusion in Patients Older Than 65 Years: Complications, Readmissions, Costs, and Length of Stay

Spine: 15 January 2017 – Volume 42 – Issue 2 – p 122–127 doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000001692 Epidemiology Puvanesarajah, Varun MD; Werner, Brian C. MD; Cancienne, Jourdan M. MD; Jain, Amit MD; Pehlivan, Hakan MD; Shimer, Adam L. MD; Singla, Anuj MD; Shen, Francis MD; Hassanzadeh, Hamid MD Study Design. Retrospective database review. Objective. The aim of […]