Cardiovascular System

People Are Having Strokes At Hair Salons And This Is Why

Here’s everything you need to know. Mar. 15, 2016, at 1:35 p.m. In January 2014, Elizabeth Smith, a mother of two, had a stroke caused by a visit to the hair salon. A CT scan revealed that an artery in her neck had been damaged by this shampoo chair and sink at Blowbunny: Blow Dry […]

Familial Hypercholesterolemia More Common Than Thought

Researchers find roughly 834,500 Americans have inherited condition TUESDAY, March 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Familial hypercholesterolemia affects about one in every 250 American men and women and significantly increases their risk for an early heart attack, according to a study published in the March 15 issue ofCirculation. Sarah de Ferranti, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant […]

Overweight, Oral Contraceptives Tied to Higher Risk of Cerebral VT

03.15.2016 Explain risk and discuss nonhormonal contraception by Kay Jackson Contributing Writer, MedPage Today   Women who are overweight or obese and using oral contraceptives had a significantly increased risk of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) compared with women of normal weight not taking oral contraceptives, an unmatched case-control study showed. Overweight and obesity were associated with […]

Yoga Improves Quality of Life in Afib – Video

03.15.2016 But will pilot trial findings persuade? Cardiologists weigh in Weekly group yoga improved quality of life for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients in a randomized 12-week pilot trial, Maria Wahlström, MD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues reported online in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. In this video, experts discuss the promise […]

Body Fat May Be Bigger Health Danger Than Body Size

Study finds fat levels a better indicator of early death than commonly used BMI measure TUESDAY, March 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Body mass index (BMI) may not accurately reflect a person’s body composition, or be a good indicator of health, according to research published online March 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. William Leslie, […]

Chocolate Consumption Reduces Risk of Myocardial Infarction

March 08, 2016 Heart (British Cardiac Society) TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Data from a prospective study of 67,640 Swedish adults and from a meta-analysis of six prospective studies (including the prospective Swedish study) were used to examine the association between chocolate consumption and ischemic heart disease. In the Swedish study, chocolate consumption of three or more servings […]

Role of Arm Circumference and BMI in Risk Stratification in Heart Failure

March 07, 2016 JACC: Heart Failure TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This study, conducted in Japan, explored the complementary role of arm circumference to body mass index (BMI) in risk stratification of patients with heart failure (HF), given that high BMI is associated with improved survival in patients with HF but does not discriminate between fat and lean […]

Energy drinks trigger abnormal heart rhythm, rise in blood pressure

Date: March 2, 2016 Source: University of the Pacific Summary: A new study adds to the evidence that energy drinks may be bad for your heart. A clinical trial led by researchers from University of the Pacific and David Grant Medical Center adds to the evidence that energy drinks may be bad for your heart. […]

CDC: Obesity Prevalence Tops 30% in U.S. Population

02.24.2016 0 COMMENTS Sets all-time record, although progress seen in adults’ physical activity by Parker Brown Staff Writer, MedPage Today The prevalence of obesity among adults in the U.S. passed 30% for this first time ever last year, according to new numbers from the CDC. That 30.4% figure (95% CI 29.49-31.26), is up from 29.8% […]

Decreased Vertebral Artery Hemodynamics in Patients with Loss of Cervical Lordosis

Med Sci Monit. 2016 Feb 15;22:495-500. Bulut MD1, Alpayci M2, Şenköy E2, Bora A1, Yazmalar L3, Yavuz A1, Gülşen İ4. Abstract BACKGROUND Because loss of cervical lordosis leads to disrupted biomechanics, the natural lordotic curvature is considered to be an ideal posture for the cervical spine. The vertebral arteries proceed in the transverse foramen of […]

Associations of egg and cholesterol intakes with carotid intima-media thickness and risk of incident coronary artery disease

Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Feb 10. pii: ajcn122317. [Epub ahead of print] Associations of egg and cholesterol intakes with carotid intima-media thickness and risk of incident coronary artery disease according to apolipoprotein E phenotype in men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Virtanen JK, Mursu J, Virtanen HE, Fogelholm M, Salonen JT, […]

Intake of whole grains is associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction

Intake of whole grains is associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction: The Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 02/18/2016 Helnaes A, et al. In this study, authors investigated the association between whole–grain intake in terms of total intake and intakes of different cereals and myocardial infarction. In this study, […]

Risks for Vascular Injury During Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: Prevalence of a Medial Loop of Vertebral Artery and Internal Carotid Artery

Spine: February 2016 – Volume 41 – Issue 4 – p 293–298 doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000001241 Wakao, Norimitsu MD, PhD Abstract Study Design. Observational study using a retrospective single-institute database. Objective. To investigate the prevalence of a medial loop (ML) of the vertebral artery (VA) and internal carotid artery (ICA), which might be an anatomical risk factor […]

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Chiropractic Care and Cervical Artery Dissection: No Evidence for Causation

Cureus. 2016 Feb; 8(2): e498. Published online 2016 Feb 16. doi: 10.7759/cureus.498 PMCID: PMC4794386 PMID: 27014532 Monitoring Editor: Alexander Muacevic and John R Adler Ephraim W Church Abstract Background Case reports and case control studies have suggested an association between chiropractic neck manipulation and cervical artery dissection (CAD), but a causal relationship has not been […]

Metabolically healthy obesity and development of chronic kidney disease: a cohort study

Annals of Internal Medicine, 02/15/2016 Chang Y, et al. The risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) among obese persons without obesity–related metabolic abnormalities, called metabolically healthy obesity, is largely unexplored. To investigate the risk for incident CKD across categories of body mass index in a large cohort of metabolically healthy men and women. Overweight and […]

Beet Juice Aids BP, Aerobic Endurance With Heart Failure

Daily dosing versus single, acute dose may be more effective FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Beetroot juice (BRJ) improves submaximal aerobic endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF), according to a small study published online Feb. 10 in JACC: Heart Failure. Joel Eggebeen, from the […]

Breakfast Matters Little to Obese Adults

02.12.2016 Randomized trial of 6 weeks adds to doubt over breakfast’s importance by Parker Brown Staff Writer, MedPage Today Adults with obesity who ate breakfast were more likely to have higher levels of physical activity in the morning than their counterparts who skipped their first meal, according to a new study. But there were no […]

High-cholesterol diet, eating eggs do not increase risk of heart attack, not even in persons genetically predisposed, study finds

Date: February 11, 2016 Source: University of Eastern Finland Summary: A new study shows that a relatively high intake of dietary cholesterol, or eating one egg every day, are not associated with an elevated risk of incident coronary heart disease. Furthermore, no association was found among those with the APOE4 phenotype, which affects cholesterol metabolism […]

Stress Raises Cholesterol More Than You Think

Many cardiologists say stress is an underrecognized factor contributing to high cholesterol By BETSY MCKAY Updated Feb. 8, 2016 8:18 p.m. ET Christopher Edginton was taking medication and trying to improve his diet when his cholesterol shot up anyway four years ago. His doctor suggested a new approach. “He said you’ve got to get rid […]

The association between dietary saturated fatty acids and ischemic heart disease depends on the type and source of fatty acid in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands cohort

Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Feb;103(2):356-65. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.122671. Epub 2016 Jan 20. Praagman J, Beulens JW, Alssema M, Zock PL, Wanders AJ, Sluijs I, van der Schouw YT. Author information Abstract BACKGROUND: The association between saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake and ischemic heart disease (IHD) risk is debated. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate whether dietary […]