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Statins Are Underused With Black Patients
The color of a patient's skin appears to influence the medical care they receive for high cholesterol levels, a new study shows. Blacks are less likely than whites to receive appropriate treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins, the researchers report. The reasons behind...
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Skip Electrocardiograms on Low-Risk Patients, Panel Says
Doctors have been advised by a federal panel to skip electrocardiograms on low-risk patients because the possible harms can outweigh any potential benefits.
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Heart Failure Reversed by Stem Cell Therapy Now in Trials
Heart failure could be reversed by a new stem cell therapy now on trial in Britain that could cut out the need for surgery as the treatment revitalizes damaged tissue by cells harvested from the patient's blood.
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Study: Impotence Increases Chance of Heart Attack & Other Deadly Conditions
Troubles in the bedroom can be a double whammy for older men: Researchers have found that erectile dysfunction ups the risk for heart disease. Their four-year study concluded that men whose impotence is vascular-related, not emotional, are twice as likely to suffer a heart...
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New Lifestyle Habits Slash Blood Pressure in 14 Days
Changing lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise can slash blood pressure in only 14 days, says a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. In fact, the lifestyle changes lowered blood pressure as effectively as medication."This...
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Forget Statins! Lower Your Cholesterol With a Soybean-Based Treatment
As we age, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Primary care doctors and cardiologists encourage a number of lifestyle modifications - good diet, exercise, weight loss, and maybe statins - to reduce that risk.But some doctors are adopting alternative therapies -...
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Can Drones Save Patients in Cardiac Arrest?
Drones, the unmanned aircraft that got its start as part of the U.S. military's arsenal and is today being used by everyone from photographers to farmers, are now heralded as a solution to a problem that's bedeviled emergency medical personnel for years: How to deliver...
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Risk for Fatal Heart Attacks Higher in Winter
Maybe there's a good reason you dislike cold weather: The risk of death from a heart attack is higher in the winter than in the summer, a new study says. Researchers at Leeds General Infirmary in England examined data from more than 4,000 patients treated for heart attack...
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Study Reveals the 'Healthy' Diet That Increases Heart Failure Rate
A blockbuster new study has found that middle aged men who follow high protein diets may be at higher risk of heart failure. That's the conclusion of research conducted on nearly 2,500 men aged 42 to 60 who ate the most animal protein and dairy. Scientists who conducted the...
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Millions of Americans May Be Getting the Wrong Heart Meds
Millions of Americans may be getting the wrong treatment to prevent a heart attack or stroke, a new study suggests. Prescriptions for blood-thinning aspirin, cholesterol-lowering statins and blood pressure medications might be incorrect because a tool that estimates risk...
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Stressful Jobs Can Increase A-Fib Risk
New European research has found that having a stressful job could increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm irregularity also known as heart flutter which can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other serious health conditions. Carried out by...
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6 Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Without Drugs
There is a raging controversy about the role of cholesterol in the diet and in the blood. Some scientists say that dietary cholesterol-without gorging on saturated and trans fats-doesn't increase cholesterol levels in the blood. However the reverse is also true. Certain...
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Smoking Causes Millions of Heart Attacks, Strokes: WHO
While the link between smoking and a range of cancers is well known, the World Health Organization warned Thursday there was too little awareness of tobacco's impact on the human heart. On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day Thursday, the UN health agency hailed that...
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Needed Heart Attack Care Is Faster When EMS Can Bypass Local Hospital
Heart attack patients get faster life-saving treatment to restore blood flow if they live in states where ambulances are allowed to bypass local hospitals and rush to facilities with specialized cardiac care, a U.S. study suggests.
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Obesity Linked to Risk of Irregular Heart Rhythm
Both men and women who are overweight or obese may be more likely to develop an irregular heart rhythm condition known as atrial fibrillation than their counterparts who maintain a healthy weight, a recent study suggests.
In atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the...
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Osteoporosis Drug Reduces Heart Attacks and Stroke
A drug commonly prescribed to prevent or treat osteoporosis reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death in people with hip fractures, says a study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The heart-healthy benefit to those who took...
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PTSD May Raise Risk for Irregular Heartbeat
For reasons that aren't yet clear, people who battle PTSD may also be at heightened risk for the common heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation, researchers report. It's the first time a connection has been made between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and "A-fib,"...
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Even Young Male Smokers Have Higher Stroke Risk
Young men who smoke are more likely to have a stroke before age 50 than their peers who avoid tobacco, a small study suggests.
Smoking has long been linked to an increased risk of stroke in older adults, but research to date examining this connection in younger adults has...
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Smoke-Free Laws Aid Young Adults' Hearts: AHA
Laws and policies that prohibit smoking in workplaces and other public areas appeared to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease among a group of young adults who were followed over a 20-year span.The study findings are consistent with previous studies that...
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Being Annoyed About Noise Pollution Ups Heart Risks
New European research has found that exposure to annoying levels of noise could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm irregularity also known as heart flutter which can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other serious health conditions.Carried out by...
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Eat Less Saturated, Trans Fats for Healthy Hearts: WHO
Adults and children should consume a maximum of 10 percent of their daily calories in the form of saturated fat such as meat and butter and one percent from trans fats to reduce the risk of heart disease, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
The draft...
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Opioids Increase Heart Infections: Study
Here's yet another consequence of the U.S. opioid crisis: a rise in serious heart infections in a state hard-hit by the drug epidemic. A new study, done at West Virginia's largest medical center, found that admissions for endocarditis related to drug abuse more than doubled...
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Electric Cars' Magnetic Fields Appear Safe for Pacemakers: Study
Electromagnetic fields produced by motors in electric cars don't appear strong enough to interfere with implanted heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators, a small German study suggests.
All electric motors can produce electromagnetic fields. If these fields are...
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Normal Weight With Wide Waist Ups Heart Risks
People of "normal" weight who sport a wide waist are more at risk of heart problems than obese people, said researchers Friday, urging a rethink of healthy weight guidelines.How fat is distributed on a person's frame determined disease risk as much as how much fat they had...
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Divorce Ups Odds of Second Stroke, Heart Attack
New European research has found that those who survive a heart attack may be at a higher risk of a second one if they are divorced or have a low socioeconomic status. Carried out by researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, the large-scale study looked at...