Heart Failure
How Can You Overcome the Harms of Sitting Too Mu…
How many hours a day do you sit? Be honest, please. If you work in front of a computer, we’ll bet you spend more than eight hours a day sitting. And that doesn’t count time sitting in your car, si…
Show 1160: How Good Is the Evidence for Cutting …
For decades, public health experts have been admonishing Americans to cut the salt in our diets. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that we limit ourselves to 2,300 mg of sodium daily.…
Physicians Finally Fed Up With the FDA and ARB R…
Week after week, month after month, we have been learning about ARB recalls. These angiotensin receptor blockers have been taken by at least two million Americans to control blood pressure or treat he…
The Law of Unintended Consequences Strikes Hospi…
Have you ever heard of the law of unintended consequences? This is when something that was supposed to be beneficial turns out to bite you in the butt. Here is just one example: Kudzu is an ornamental…
Unbelievable! Yet Another Drug Recall | Amlodipi…
OK, we admit it, we're starting to sound like a cracked record when it comes to drug recalls. We apologize. It is really sad that we have to issue regular reports about FDA oversight and pharmaceutica…
Why You Can Die of a Broken Heart
Can you really die of a broken heart? This centuries-old idea may have seemed like an old wives' tale or a romantic fancy powering folk songs like "Barbara Allen." (Here's a link to Joan Baez singing …
Do People Who Eat Fish Grow Old More Healthfully…
Does eating fish or taking fish oil make any difference for your health? For decades, researchers have touted the anti-inflammatory benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. They have sug…
Statins Fail to Help Healthy Older People
Statin drugs that lower cholesterol are among the most important tools cardiologists have for preventing heart disease among middle-aged patients. Until recently, however, no one knew whether drugs su…
Was Aspirin to Blame for Leaky Heart Valve?
Nonprescription drugs don't always get the respect they deserve. Many over-the-counter medications have significant effects, for good or for ill. If you take anything day in and day out, you should di…
The Dangers of Diclofenac and Other NSAID Pain R…
Doctors love NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). That’s largely because they don’t have a lot of other tools in the toolkit when it comes to treating pain and inflammation. Opioids have…
When Is High LDL Cholesterol a Problem?
You have probably heard that high LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. That is the reason doctors prescribe medication to lower cholesterol. Most people imagine this is most important f…
Better Diet for Poor Americans Is Not a SNAP
Poor diet may underly a wide range of undesirable health problems, from obesity to diabetes and heart disease. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to help very low-income…
High Protein Diet Is Linked to Heart Failure Ris…
Many people striving to lose weight turn to a low-carb diet to try to jump-start the process. Instead, they try to get most of their energy from fat or protein sources. But does this increase their he…
No Study Support for Fish Oil Soothing Dry Eyes
Fish oil is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds have anti-inflammatory activity, and doctors have hoped that fish oil supplements would prove useful against a wide range of…
Coffee Drinkers Lower Their Chances of Heart Fai…
One of the longest running heart studies comes from Framingham, Massachusetts. It began in 1948 and continues to this day. The Framingham Heart Study is a longitudinal epidemiological study that coll…
Is It Safe to Use a Sauna If You Have High Blood…
Sauna baths are popular in Scandinavian countries. People there appreciate the strong contrast between the extreme dry heat of the sauna and the cold outside. Classically, when people emerge from the …
Should You Add Meditation to Your Medication?
The American Heart Association (AHA) has just issued guidelines for the first time on meditation. Sitting practices such as zen, mindfulness and transcendental meditation were considered for their po…
Show 1085: The Statin Standoff and New Drugs for…
Cardiologists agree that we should all be getting regular exercise and eating a healthful diet with lots of vegetables and fruits. But they don't agree on which of us should be taking statins to prote…
Is There a Link Between Poverty and Heart Diseas…
It's no secret that Americans are not all equal when it comes to income. A new study in JAMA Cardiology shows that these income disparities are related to the risk of heart disease. How Does Income R…
Really Bad News About Ibuprofen, Naproxen and Ot…
People who are hurting are in a tough situation. Whether they're suffering from a bad back, arthritis, headaches, nerve pain or fibromyalgia, there aren't many medications that are effective. Doctors …
Should You Take Fish Oil to Protect Your Heart?
If you have heart disease, you've probably read lots about statin drugs to lower cholesterol. You may have seen recommendations about eating a Mediterranean-style diet for heart health. But should you…
Why Is a Magnesium-Rich Diet So Good for You?
If you have been looking for ways to help control your blood pressure with minimal medication, you might want to consider a magnesium-rich diet. Whole foods like vegetables, nuts and fish can make a d…
High Prescription Drug Prices: Bargaining for yo…
Americans are used to negotiating prices--some call it haggling--for big-ticket items like cars and houses. Sometimes parents arm-wrestle colleges over tuition aid. But rarely do we bargain over the p…
Are ALL Arthritis Drugs Including Celebrex Risky…
The big news out of the American Heart Association meetings in New Orleans is that Celebrex (celecoxib) is no more dangerous for the heart and cardiovascular system than pain relievers like ibuprofen …
What Vitamins and Minerals are in the Cardio For…
Last week we asked the question, "Can You Trust Your Multivitamin?" A report from ConsumerLab.Com stated "defects found in 33% of multis [multivitamins] put to the test." This was based on analyses …
Should the “Salt Is Safe” Heretics B…
Modern medicine likes to think of itself as scientific, driven by data. But when new evidence disputes old dogma public health leaders might wish for the old days when dissenters were dealt with harsh…
How Vitamin D Could Help Heart Failure
Heart failure is becoming increasingly common, but it can be quite difficult to manage. In this condition, weak heart muscles have difficulty pumping blood through the body effectively and efficiently…
Could Digoxin Protect Your Heart Two Ways?
A very old drug derived from the foxglove plant (Digitalis purpurea) may turn out to be surprisingly effective against heart disease. (How old? you may ask. Its first mention in medical literature dat…
What Is the Downside of a Low-Sodium Diet?
When it comes to a healthful diet, we are constantly exhorted to eat less overall, avoid sugary beverages, shun fat (especially sat fat) and stick to a low-sodium diet. Perhaps the simplest way to …
Do Bad Bacteria in the Intestines Harm the Heart…
Over the last few years it has become clear that our microbiota, the collection of bacteria, yeast, fungus and other microscopic denizens of our guts, skin, reproductive tracts and other parts of our …
Patients Want Doctors to Look at Them, Not the C…
If you have seen a doctor in the last several years, the chances are good that he or she has entered your data into a computer during the visit. Electronic health records have become ubiquitous in hea…
Doctors Despise EDTA Chelation But Science Suppo…
Q. Are you familiar with EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid)? My newspaper has a large ad today on this for artery cleaning. It sounds too good to be true...and I know the rest of that sentence.…
Soft Drinks Linked to Heart Failure in Swedish M…
Soft drinks have come in for a lot of criticism over the last several years. Some experts have claimed that the obesity epidemic in the US can be traced in part to America's weakness for soda. (See Dr…
Beet Juice Strengthens People with Heart Failure
Beet juice has been shown to boost muscle performance for athletes. (You can read more about that here.) Stronger Leg Muscles for Heart Failure Patients: Now a study shows that it can also help improv…
HIIT Undid Heart Damage from Diabetes
A small study from England shows that people with diabetes can reverse some of the heart complications of the disease with a special approach to exercise called HIIT. HIIT (High-Intensity Intermittent…
Could Gratitude Help the Heart Grow Stronger?
Heart failure is a hard-to-treat condition that results when the heart does not have adequate pumping power. About 5 million Americans suffer from this chronic condition, which often leads to repeat h…
Study Prompts Reassessment of Cardiovascular Ris…
The Women's Health Initiative began more than two decades ago. The study recruited over 160,000 women over the age of 50 20 years ago and has followed them ever since. New data from the observational …
Rapid Pulse May Wear Heart Out Sooner
Danish researchers report that resting heart rate may predict longevity. A study of 2,800 men followed for 16 years reveals that those with a rapid pulse at rest die earlier, even if they are in good …
CoEnzyme Q10 Fights Heart Failure
The antioxidant Coenzyme Q10 has been promoted for years as a way to treat heart failure. Studies gave conflicting results, but a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials shows modest benefit…
Aspirin vs. Warfarin for Heart Failure
Aspirin appears to work as well as prescription warfarin for patients with heart failure. Such patients are at increased risk for blood clots and strokes because their hearts do not pump blood efficie…