Vitamin D May Protect Against Heart Attack
June 10, 2008
From abcnews.com
By Will Dunham
Men with low levels of vitamin D have an elevated risk for a heart attack, researchers said on Monday in the latest study to identify important possible health benefits from the “sunshine vitamin.”
In the study, men classified as deficient in vitamin D were about 2 1/2 times more likely to have a heart attack than those with higher levels of the vitamin.
“Those with low vitamin D, on top of just being at higher risk for heart attack in general, were at particularly high risk to have a fatal heart attack,” study author Dr. Edward Giovannucci of the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said in a telephone interview.
Sex problems ‘may be heart alert’
May 20, 2008
From BBC News
Men with diabetes who are having trouble keeping an erection could be at increased risk of serious heart problems, suggests a study.
Those with erectile dysfunction were twice as likely as other men with diabetes to develop heart disease.
The root cause of both can be blood vessel damage caused by high blood sugar levels, the Chinese University of Hong Kong said.
Experts said men with erectile dysfunction should see their doctor.
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reported that researchers wanted to see if erectile dysfunction could be a reliable independent warning signal for doctors that further problems were on the way.
Heart attack: Top 9 risk factors
May 18, 2008
From Health 24
One of the world’s widest studies into heart attacks has identified nine risk factors that account for nine out of 10 of all cardiac arrests, with cholesterol, smoking and stress topping the table.
People who have high lipid concentrations in the blood or who smoke account for roughly 60 percent of all heart attacks, according to the study, published online Friday by the British medical weekly The Lancet.Someone with high blood cholesterol faces a 3,25 higher risk of a heart attack than someone with normal levels; someone who smokes has a 2,9 higher risk than a person who has never smoked.
Study Gives The Skinny On “Fit And Fat”
May 2, 2008
By Kelli Stacy
Regular exercise has long been touted as the key to a healthy heart, but a new study shows it is unlikely to fully reverse a woman’s chances of heart disease if she is carrying extra weight.
Researchers report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine that although physical activity definitely helps improve cardiovascular health, such exercise does not “eliminate the negative effects of being overweight.”
The findings underscore the importance of being fit and trim and cast doubt on the newer notion that it’s possible to be “fit and fat.” Both obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States.
Wine Coupled With Second Hand Smoke May Damage Heart
March 8, 2008
From Foxnews.com
A glass of wine may be good for the heart, but coupled with second-hand smoke — and you may be hurting your health, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham tested the effects of drinking alcohol while inhaling second-hand smoke. They found the combination increases the damage cigarette smoke has on the heart.
The researchers reported that mice exposed to smoky air in a laboratory enclosure and fed a liquid diet containing ethanol (the intoxicating ingredient in alcohol) had a 4.7-fold increase in artery lesions, compared to mice breathing normal air and eating a normal diet.
Artery lesions are a common problem in heavy smokers and a sign of advancing cardiovascular disease, according to the study, which is published in the journal “Free Radical Biology & Medicine.”
The researchers reported mice solely exposed to the smoky air had a 2.3-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice who breathed filtered air. Mice solely fed a liquid diet containing ethanol had a 3.5-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice fed a normal diet.
