Category Archives: Heart Health

Atrial fibrillation patients with high blood pressure face higher stroke risk. The risk of stroke was found to be 50 percent higher among atrial fibrillation patients with uncontrolled blood pressure. The findings suggest that hypertension should be closely monitored in atrial fibrillation patients in order to reduce the risk of stroke, among other complications. The ...click here to read more

There are plenty of foods you can eat to support a healthy heart. Avocados, walnuts, even salmon are some of the common examples. And now, more and more research suggests adding ancient grain bread to your diet can help improve your heart health. Ancient grain brain good for heart health Studies have shown that consuming ...click here to read more

Seniors who suffer from fainting may have a blood clot in the lungs. Italian researchers looked at 560 patients who were hospitalized for fainting. The researchers found that one in six patients had pulmonary embolism – blood clot in the lung artery. Although the findings do not suggest that every fainting patient has a blood ...click here to read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that roughly 70 million Americans have hypertension (high blood pressure). Only 52 percent of those with hypertension have the condition under control. Additionally, one in three Americans have pre-hypertension, meaning they are at high risk of developing hypertension if they do not take the necessary steps to manage their numbers. ...click here to read more

If you were to notice your heartbeat skipping and felt a thud or thump in your chest, followed by your heart racing, or if you were to feel your heart fluttering or jumping, this would not be normal – you could be experiencing what is known as atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is the most common form ...click here to read more

Stroke and chronic kidney disease risk increases with Southern-style diet of processed meats and friend foods. The Southern diet is characterized by fried and fatty foods, which by now we know can contribute to poor heart health. Researchers from the University of Alabama examined data from over 17,000 individuals over the age of 45 residing all ...click here to read more

Portal hypertension is high blood pressure in the portal venous system. These are the veins that come from the stomach, intestines, spleen, and pancreas and merge into the portal vein that further branches out into smaller vessels and extends to the liver. If the vessels in the liver become blocked, this can contribute to liver ...click here to read more

Myocardial infarction risk in women may be reduced with a diet rich in antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Lead investigator Alicja Wolk said, “Our study was the first to look at the effect of all dietary antioxidants in relation to myocardial infarction. Total antioxidant capacity measures in a single value all antioxidants present in diet ...click here to read more

Silent stroke and Parkinson’s disease may be linked, according to research findings. A silent stroke does not present any outward symptoms indicating that it has taken place. It occurs when the blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked for a short amount of time. In most cases, patients won’t even know that they have suffered ...click here to read more

A hypertensive crisis is a quick and severe risk in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke. Extremely high blood pressure refers to readings of 180/120 mm Hg and higher and it can cause damage to the blood vessels. When blood pressure is this high, the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently. For ...click here to read more

Potassium-rich foods may lower stroke risk in postmenopausal women. Senior author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller said, “Previous studies have shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn’t clear. Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of ...click here to read more

In chronic stroke patients, yoga may help improve balance and prevent falls. A small pilot study showed that group yoga can provide benefits to stroke patients no longer receiving rehabilitation care. Lead researcher Arlene Schmid said, “For people with chronic stroke, something like yoga in a group environment is cost effective and appears to improve ...click here to read more

In heart failure patients with spinal fractures, osteoporosis is often untreated. Roughly one in 10 heart failure patients have compression fractures of the spine which could be detected by X-ray, but many of these patients don’t receive treatment in order to prevent these fractures. In the study involving 623 heart failure patients, researchers found that ...click here to read more

Consuming a vegetarian diet has been associated with greater health outcomes, but a recent study found that eating meat doesn’t significantly raise the risk of heart disease over a 10-year span. So the question remains, is a vegetarian diet better for the heart? The researchers do not suggest that a vegetarian diet is useless when ...click here to read more