Stroke
Are Optimists Protected from Heart Attacks?
Americans are often exhorted to walk on the sunny side or look for the silver lining. Can a cheery attitude influence your health? A recent meta-analysis suggests that optimists are less likely to suf…
Is Your Diet Putting You at Risk for Heart Disea…
By now, it should come as no surprise that dietary choices can affect health. But do you know how your diet affects your risk for heart disease and stroke? Meat Eaters vs. Vegetarians vs. Pescatarians…
How Soon Do Smokers Benefit from Quitting?
Ask any health professional what you should do to stay healthy, and you'll hear the advice: Don't smoke! If you do smoke, quit! It should come as no surprise to learn that heavy smokers are more likel…
Forget Vitamin D Supplements for Heart Disease
Vitamin D supplements disappoint again. That’s the conclusion of a meta-analysis published in JAMA Cardiology this week. The researchers noted that many epidemiological studies have linked low vitam…
How Risky Is It to Eat an Egg?
How risky is it to eat an egg? For decades, we’ve been warned to avoid eggs, especially yolks. We should stick with egg white omelets if we persist in consuming them at all. The idea is that egg yol…
Is Juice as Bad for Your Health as Soda?
Choosing healthful foods and beverages has become increasingly controversial. For years, nutrition experts recommended a breakfast of cold cereal, toast with margarine and a glass of orange juice. We …
Low LDL Cholesterol Linked to Bleeding Strokes
Ask any golfer if you can have too low a golf score and he will think you're nuts. After all, the lowest score wins in golf. Ask almost any cardiologist if you can have too low LDL cholesterol levels …
Will Drinking Diet Soda Raise Your Risk of Strok…
Sugar-sweetened beverages have developed a very bad reputation over the past decade or so. They contribute empty calories without corresponding nutritional value. Sugary drinks have been linked to kid…
Is Fish Oil to Prevent Heart Attacks a Dud?
In addition to vitamin D3, the VITAL study also considered the effects of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to prevent heart attacks (NEJM, Nov. 10, 2018). The results were disappointing. Concentrated…
Is Whole Fat Dairy (Milk, Cheese and Yogurt) Goo…
Cardiologists have been admonishing Americans to avoid saturated fat in the diet. Whole fat dairy products have been especially vilified. That is why skim milk, margarine and low-fat yogurt have becom…
Aspirin Strikes Out for Preventing Heart Attacks
Low-dose aspirin has been a staple of heart disease prevention for decades. However, although data have indicated that people taking aspirin are less likely to have heart attacks, they appear more lik…
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…
Should You Stop Taking Aspirin Before a Biopsy?
Millions of people take low-dose aspirin (once called "baby aspirin," though it is not for babies) to protect themselves from blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. People at higher …
Multivitamins No Help Against Heart Disease
Are multivitamins no help against heart disease? Millions of Americans take multivitamins, perhaps as many as 40 percent of older adults. A new study suggests that mixed vitamin and mineral formulatio…
Aspirin vs Activase: Cheaper Is Just as Good
Alteplase, known under its brand name as Activase, is a clot buster. That means it is injected in the early treatment of stroke in an attempt to reduce damage to the brain. Might aspirin also be helpf…
Can You Take Aspirin to Prevent Stroke?
People who experience a transient ischemic attack, also known as a TIA or a minor stroke, are at a significantly increased risk for another blood clot in the brain. In a TIA, the clot resolves on its …
Is Aspirin Better Than Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) To …
Strokes are nasty business. When a blood clot lodges in a brain artery, it leads to the death of neurons. Depending upon where the damage occurs, patients can have difficulty speaking, moving or balan…
What Can You Do If Ibuprofen Triggers Atrial Fib…
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like diclofenac, ibuprofen, meloxicam or naproxen are extremely popular pain relievers. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) and naproxen (Aleve) are even availab…
Exercise Plus Sauna Bathing Better Than Either A…
People in Finland love to spend time sauna bathing. They do not view a sweat bath as an indulgence. They think of the sauna as a special place with healing properties. The majority of people in Finlan…
Will a Sauna Bath a Day Keep Strokes and Heart A…
When most people think about sauna (pronounced SOW-nah) baths they imagine relaxing in a hot wooden room and sweating. But this Finnish tradition may pay unexpected dividends. There is growing evidenc…
Will Garlic Really Lower Your Blood Pressure?
Humans love variety in their food, and have found numerous ways to enliven it. Spices of various sorts have been used to give food an interesting flavor. Many of these additives have also been used me…
Will a Crowded Emergency Room Interfere with You…
Have you ever had to wait for hours to be seen in an emergency room? Who hasn’t? A Crowded Emergency Room May Mean Doctors Miss Information: A new study shows, unsurprisingly, that care may be compr…
Can Ginkgo Help Stroke Survivors Keep Their Wits…
Ginkgo biloba has long been a popular herb in China. It is credited with promoting memory and fighting dementia, although most studies using a German extract of the tree have not provided convincing r…
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…
How Potassium Rich Foods Help Your Heart Stay He…
If you want a healthy heart, fill your plate with potassium rich foods, especially vegetables. That seems to be the message from an important new study in mice (Sun et al, JCI Insight, Oct. 5, 2017). …
Will Drug Shortages From the Puerto Rico Disaste…
The unfolding hurricane damage is a terrible tragedy for the people of Puerto Rico. Being without power, water, food, transportation, communication and other critical services is a calamity of enormou…
Will Stopping Aspirin Lead to A Heart Attack?
Many people take low dose aspirin, usually 81 mg, to prevent cardiovascular complications. Doctors frequently prescribe aspirin after a patient has had a heart attack or after a stent has been placed …
Is the Bread Worse for You Than the Butter?
For years, we've all been admonished to skip butter and other sources of fat, especially saturated fat. Now, however, it seems that the bread may be riskier than the butter you put on it. High-Carb vs…
Is a Daily Diet Soda Bad for Your Brain?
Could drinking a daily diet soda be bad for your brain? A new study of people participating in the Framingham Heart Study found an association between downing one artificially sweetened beverage daily…
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…
Why Are Crowded Emergency Rooms Bad for Your Bra…
When it comes to strokes, doctors say, time is brain. In other words, getting a prompt diagnosis and emergency treatment is crucial for limiting brain damage. According to one study, crowded emergency…
Staying Active Can Help Prevent Chronic Health P…
Exercise remains one of the most powerful interventions for promoting health and preventing disease. An article in the BMJ reviewed 174 studies published over 25 years. The scientists evaluated the am…
Are Rehab Hospitals Hazardous to Your Health?
If you suffer a serious injury in an automobile accident, get a knee or hip replaced or suffer a stroke, there is a very good chance you will end up in a rehabilitation hospital. These facilities are …
Will Higher Bad LDL Cholesterol Help Older Peopl…
A new analysis of prior research suggests that higher levels of so-called bad LDL cholesterol is associated with longer life for older people. Not surprisingly, many cardiologists are outraged over th…
How to Lower Your Stroke Risk with Aspirin
A sudden spell of dizziness, trouble walking or speaking, confusion or incoordination might signal a transient ischemic attack or TIA, even if it lasts for just a few minutes. Such a mini-stroke could…
Eggs are Exonerated in Finnish Heart Study
For more than five decades Americans have been told that cholesterol causes heart disease. That's why nutrition experts, cardiologists and family practice physicians advised their patients to limit eg…
How Doctors Rescued Patients with Bleeding in th…
Researchers report counter-intuitive results from a trial on treating hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes. Usually strokes caused by clots are treated with drugs that can break up clots; strokes caused by …
Is There an Antidote to Pradaxa?
The human heart pushes blood out through the body to all the organs by beating rhythmically. When that rhythm falters, as it does in the condition termed atrial fibrillation, blood is still pumped but…
Do Antidepressants Speed Stroke Rehabilitation?
Doctors have long recognized that people who have suffered a stroke are prone to depression. You might think this is only natural: after all, they are adapting to a situation in which some of the abil…
Blood Pressure Pills Fall Short on Stroke Preven…
High blood pressure is a serious health problem because it increases the risk for strokes. A new study shows, however, that controlling hypertension with medication may not provide the kind of outcom…