Cardiovascular System

Aged Cheese Lowers Blood Pressure

05.15.2016 Study: Aged Cheese Lowers Blood Pressure Small randomized trial suggests effect of Grana Padano on par with antihypertensives by Crystal Phend Senior Associate Editor, MedPage Today NEW YORK — A few tablespoons of Grana Padano cheese every day had the blood pressure-lowering impact typical of antihypertensive medications in a small blinded, randomized trial. A […]

Long-Term Warfarin Use Tied to Increased Dementia Risk

May 09, 2016 Both warfarin and atrial fibrillation may raise risk FRIDAY, May 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Patients with atrial fibrillation may have a heightened risk of developing dementia — and the quality of their anticoagulation treatment may play a role, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society, […]

Clues to How Popular Heartburn Drug Might Harm Arteries

May 10, 2016 HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, May 10, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A popular over-the-counter heartburn medication accelerated aging of blood vessel cells in lab tests, raising red flags about its long-term effect on heart health, researchers say. Faster aging of blood vessel cells exposed to the antacid Nexium (esomeprazole) might potentially hinder the tasks these […]

Six weeks of toggle recoil spinal manipulation did not lower systolic or diastolic blood pressure

Effect of Spinal Manipulation of Upper Cervical Vertebrae on Blood Pressure: Results of a Pilot Sham-Controlled Trial Christine M. Goertz, DC, PhD Abstract Objective The purpose of this pilot sham-controlled clinical trial was to estimate the treatment effect and safety of toggle recoil spinal manipulation for blood pressure management. Methods Fifty-one participants with prehypertension or […]

Bleeding Risks With Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention

May 06, 2016 Annals of Internal Medicine TAKE-HOME MESSAGE The authors of this systematic review evaluated the risk of severe bleeding associated with the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The use of low-dose aspirin was associated with a 58% increased risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding and a 27% increased […]

Metabolic Syndrome and Female Pattern Hair Loss

April 26, 2016 International Journal of Dermatology TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This study examined the association between female pattern hair loss (FPHL) and metabolic syndrome (MtS) in Egyptian women. Risks for hypertension and central obesity were increased 3.5-fold and 5.6-fold, respectively, in patients with FPHL as compared with controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between the […]

High-Fructose Diet in Pregnancy Leads to Hypertension, Insulin Resistance, and Obesity in Adult Offspring

April 20, 2016 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Pregnant mice were randomized to receive 10% fructose solution or water as the sole drinking fluid throughout pregnancy to assess the effect of fructose-rich diets on cardiovascular disease risk factors in the offspring. Maternal and birth weights were similar in the two groups. At […]

Coenzyme Q10 and Heart Failure

April 12, 2016 Circulation: Heart Failure TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This review discusses the use of coenzyme Q10 for patients with heart failure. CoQ10 enhances the cardiac production of ATP through its antioxidant activity, and it may also improve endothelial dysfunction. Abstract Heart failure (HF) with either preserved or reduced ejection fraction is associated with increased morbidity […]

Exercise Linked to Better Afib Outcomes

04.10.2016 Ability of atrial fibrillation patients to get up and move pays dividends by Ed Susman Contributing Writer, MedPage Today CHICAGO — A pair of studies indicate that patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation who can exercise have better outcomes than those who are sedentary, researchers said here at the annual scientific sessions of the American […]

Thrombosis Risk Highest With Combined HRT in Menopausal Women

04.04.2016 by Molly Walker Contributing Writer For women who used hormone replacement therapy to treat menopausal symptoms, risk of blood clots tended to vary depending on the type of therapy used, a small Swedish case-control study found. While the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) was moderately higher with estrogen-only therapy compared with untreated, age-matched controls, […]

Replacing red meat and processed red meat for white meat, fish, legumes or eggs is associated with lower risk of incidence of metabolic syndrome

Clinical Nutrition, 04/05/2016 BecerraTomás N, et al. – The authors investigated associations between total consumption of meat and its subtypes and incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) and estimated the effect of substituting red meat (RM) or processed red meats (PRM) for alternative protein–rich foods. RM and PRM consumption was associated with higher risk of MetS. Replacing […]

Habitual coffee consumption and 24-h blood pressure control in older adults with hypertension

Clinical Nutrition, 04/05/2016 LopezGarcia E, et al. The aim of this study was to assess the association of habitual coffee consumption on 24–h blood pressure (BP) and BP control among older adults with hypertension. Habitual coffee consumption was associated with uncontrolled BP in a hypertensive older population. Methods Data were taken from the Seniors–Study on […]

Vitamin D improves heart function, study finds

Date: April 4, 2016 Source: University of Leeds Summary: A daily dose of vitamin D3 improves heart function in people with chronic heart failure, a five-year research project has found. The study involved more than 160 patients who were already being treated for their heart failure using proven treatments including beta-blockers, ACE-inhibitors and pacemakers. A […]

Very High LDL Seldom Caused By Familial Hypercholesterolemia Gene Variants

Susan Jeffrey April 03, 2016 CHICAGO, IL — Only a small fraction of those with very high LDL- cholesterol levels carry one of the known genes that cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a new study shows[1]. However, for any two individuals with the same LDL level, those with these gene variants have a significantly increased risk […]

More dietary calcium may lower risk of cardiovascular disease

Diet change did not affect stroke or fracture risk Date: April 3, 2016 Source: The Endocrine Society Summary: In older people, higher dietary calcium intake may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, but not of stroke and fracture, new research suggests. In older people, higher dietary calcium intake may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, […]

Obesity Now More Common Than Underweight Worldwide

Marcia Frellick April 02, 2016 Global obesity numbers have shot up from 105 million people in 1975 to 641 million in 2014, according to the most comprehensive body mass index (BMI) trend analysis to date. Researchers estimate that the age-corrected proportion of men who were obese climbed from 3.2% to 10.8% in that time and […]

Call them spare tires or love handles, belly fat is bad

Heart failure risk increases with waistline Date: April 1, 2016 Source: Norwegian University of Science and Technology Summary: Bad news. It’s not just obesity that can increase the risk of heart failure. Just a few extra kilos, especially around the gut, are dangerous, too. Researchers believe that the obesity wave, combined with an aging population, […]

Exercise Prescriptions for Chronic Conditions: A How-to Guide – Full Text Article

Diana Phillips March 22, 2016 Exercise can be an effective component of treatment for many chronic conditions from knee osteoarthritis to type 2 diabetes, but physicians must be aware of the details of evidence-based interventions for the specific condition to properly prescribe it for their patients, according to a multidisciplinary review and how-to guide published […]

Recent Study Shows Nutraceuticals Improve Abnormal LDL-C

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Cleveland HeartLab Since statins are often discontinued due to tolerability problems, a study of dyslipidemic patients (n=100) post percutaneous coronary intervention by Marazzi and colleagues published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology sought to determine the value of a combination of nutraceuticals (policosanol, folic acid, red […]

Obese Women Have Higher Asthma Prevalence

3.16.2016 CDC: Obese Women Have Higher Asthma Prevalence Overall asthma prevalence in U.S. adults also rose in 2013-2014 by Salynn Boyles Contributing Writer Current asthma prevalence among obese women in the U.S. is almost double that of normal-weight women, but the same association was not seen in men, according to a CDC report. In 2011–2014, […]