Cardiovascular Risk Factors

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Antidepressant Use Linked to Increased Brain Bleed Risk

Nancy A. Melville January 12, 2016 Use of antidepressants is linked to an increased risk for the development of first-time cerebral microbleeds, results of a longitudinal study show. “In this population-based study, we found that antidepressant use was associated with an increased risk of incident first-ever microbleeds after 4 years of follow-up,” the authors, led […]

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 […]

High-Sugar/Fat Diet Tied to High Insulin, Subsequent Hypertension

Marlene Busko November 04, 2015 LOS ANGELES — Most doctors and many laypersons are aware that eating a diet high in sugar and/or fat is unhealthy, but now a new study connects a couple more dots, revealing that such diets are associated with a greater likelihood of having high insulin levels, which in turn seems […]

Study Associates Chronic Dysglycemia (HbA1c ≥ 5.8%) with Inflammation, Endothelial Dysfunction, and Higher Cardiovascular Event Rates post STEMI

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Cleveland HeartLab Many prevention specialists believe that we are not diagnosing diabetes early enough if we wait for hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c) levels to reach ≥ 6.5%.  Filepe Moura and colleagues sought to find out if there was a relationship between HbA1c  levels in non-diabetic ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients and […]

Stopping Hormone Therapy Linked to Cardiovascular Death

Kate Johnson October 05, 2015 LAS VEGAS — In the first year after a postmenopausal women discontinues hormone therapy, her risk for cardiovascular mortality is higher than if she had continued the therapy, according to an observational study. Hormone therapy guidelines for postmenopausal women recommend the lowest dose for the briefest period. “This has led […]

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 […]

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 […]

Knee and Hip Replacements May Be Bad for the Heart

Date: August 31, 2015 Source: Wiley Summary: Contrary to recent reports, researchers found that osteoarthritis patients who had total knee or hip joint replacement surgery, known as arthroplasty, were at increased risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) in the early post-operative period. However, findings indicate that long-term risk of heart attack did not persist, while […]

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 […]

Impaired Fasting Glucose May Be a Risk Factor for Unrecognized MI

Deborah Brauser August 18, 2015 WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The prediabetes marker of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) may also be a predictor of silent MI in adult patients, suggests new research[x]. Additional analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) showed that, among nearly 6000 participants, those with IFG were significantly more likely to have an […]

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 […]

Obesity and Atrial Fibrillation Risk

June 16, 2015 Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology TAKE-HOME MESSAGE The authors of this review and meta-analysis evaluated the impact of incremental increases in BMI on the risks of developing incident, post-operative, and post-ablation atrial fibrillation (AF). The study included data from 51 studies involving 626,603 individuals. For every 5-U BMI […]

NSAIDS: Worth the Side Effects?

If you regularly take a nonsteroidal antinflammatory drug (NSAID) for arthritis pain, you may be wondering if it’s safe. Here’s our advice. We’ve known for some time that NSAIDs are linked to potentially serious gastrointestinal (GI) and heart troubles. A study published in The Lancet helps characterize and quantify the cardiovascular and GI risks of […]

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 […]