Heart

Stroke risk is higher in patients with permanent arrhythmia than in patients with short episodes of arrhythmia. The risk was found to be doubled among those with permanent arrhythmia. The findings are based on data from over 6,000 persons. Atrial fibrillation – heart arrhythmia – is a common condition and a known risk factor for ...click here to read more

High resting heart rate and lower heart rate variation increases the risk of heart disease in older adults. Researcher Dr. Behnam Sabayan wrote, “It has been hypothesized that heart rate and heart rate variability are markers of frailty, an increased vulnerability to stressors and functional decline. However, the direct link between these two parameters and ...click here to read more

Did you know that there is a higher risk of heart attacks during the winter months, especially near the holidays? It’s sad but true. There is generally an influx of heart attacks between the months of November and March, and if you already have some cardiovascular factors, your risk can increase during this time. While ...click here to read more

Atrial fibrillation patients doing yoga improved their quality of life and lowered their heart rate and blood pressure. Nurse and Ph.D. candidate Maria Wahlström explained, “Many patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) can’t live their lives as they want to – they refuse dinners with friends, concerts, and travelling – because they are afraid of ...click here to read more

Heart recovery may be improved by resuming regular exercise soon after a heart attack. Simply restoring the blood flow to the oxygen-starved areas of the heart after a heart attack in not enough for the proper heart functioning. The heart changes structurally as the affected areas become thinner and scarred. As a result, heart attack ...click here to read more

Modest increase in blood pressure among seniors has been linked to higher risk of heart failure and death. Recommended blood pressure readings for healthy people over 60 have been recently changed by the Joint National Committee (JNC) from 140/90 mm Hg to less than 150/90 mm Hg. The impact of these new guidelines on African ...click here to read more

Fibrosis in heart and kidneys increases with smoking, according to research findings. In addition, smoking can worsen already existing kidney disease. Fibrosis, which is scarring of organ tissue, can negatively impact the function of the affected organ. The researchers conducted their study on two groups of rats: One with normal kidney function and the other ...click here to read more

Physical activity improves psychological well-being and reduces the risk of heart attack in older adults. Lead author of the study Julia Boehm explained, “Researchers have long studied how physical activity can lead to improved mood and feelings of well-being, however, less well understood is whether being happy and optimistic might actually encourage a person to ...click here to read more

A heart murmur happens when the blood doesn’t flow through the valves as usual, so instead of the traditional “lub-dub” sound, the heart beat may sound more like swishing in different volumes, pitches, and durations. Dr. Nisha Chandra-Strobos, chief of cardiology and professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said, “Where does the ...click here to read more

Cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk is reduced with the Paleo diet in obese postmenopausal women. Lead author Caroline Blomquist explained, “Eating a Paleolithic-type diet without calorie restriction significantly improved the fatty acid profile associated with insulin sensitivity, and it reduced abdominal adiposity and body weight in obese postmenopausal women. A Paleolithic-type diet, high in polyunsaturated ...click here to read more

Coronary artery disease and stroke patients face a lower early mortality risk when following the Mediterranean diet. Researcher Professor Giovanni de Gaetano explained, “The Mediterranean diet is widely recognized as one of the healthier nutrition habits in the world. In fact, many scientific studies have shown that a traditional Mediterranean lifestyle is associated with a ...click here to read more

Managing fatigue and depression in heart failure patients lowers hospitalization rates and increases life expectancy. The researchers reviewed data from 9,869 patients with a diagnosis of heart failure during a three-year period. Detailed records covering all variables, such as test results, medications, other conditions, etc., were available for 582 patients, enabling further analysis of depression ...click here to read more

Amyloids triggering Alzheimer’s disease can also raise the risk of heart failure risk. Amyloid plaques are indicative of Alzheimer’s disease, but similar deposits can also appear on the heart, too. Senior researcher Dr. Federica del Monte explained, “We found that some forms of heart failure are basically an Alzheimer’s disease in the heart. They basically ...click here to read more

The heart has valves and chambers to allow blood to enter and be released in order for the body to work. Major heart valves are the aortic valve, tricuspid valve, and the mitral valve. These valves play important roles and a problem with any of them can affect one’s heart health. One issue in particular is ...click here to read more