MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'cardiovascular risk'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:50:10 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4945199&cid=t_140078_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FbndcK1mN0Gc%2F Yet another problem for Pfizer and its controversial smoking-cessation drug. The FDA has just decided to add a warning on the product labeling about an association with a small, but increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events in patients with cardiovascular disease. These are people who, of course, should not be smoking, but they are now being told the drug may be off limits. In reaching its decision, the FDA reviewed a study in which 700 patients with cardiovascular disease received either Chantix or placebo, and the results showed the Pfizer drug was effective in helping them quit smoking and remain abstinent for up to year. But Chantix was also linked more frequently to “certain events, including heart attack” (here is the statement and data summary). This is only the l... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4945199 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:57:21 +0100 4945199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4767994&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fbeer-bellies-anyone-waist-measurement-can-determine-risk-for-heart-disease%2F2011.04.30 Extra fat that accumulates around the abdomen goes by many names: beer belly, spare tire, love handles, apple shape, middle-age spread, and the more technical “abdominal obesity.” No matter what the name, it is the shape of risk. Abdominal obesity increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and other woes. The danger zone is a waist size above 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. As I describe in the April 2011 issue of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch, beer is not specifically responsible for a beer belly. What, then, is to blame? Calories. Take in more calories with food and drink than you burn up with exercise, and you’ll store the excess energy in fat cells. Many studies indicate that people who store their extra fat around the midsection (ap... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767994 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:00:10 +0100 4767994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512395&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcoronary-stent-thrombosis-and-your-body-clock%2F2011.02.23 Add coronary stent thrombosis to the list of cardiac events influenced by circadian rhythms, with more events occurring during the early morning hours and in a summertime window of late July and early August. Coronary stent thrombosis joins several other adverse cardiac events that also follow a circadian pattern, such as stroke, unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death, according to researcher published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. Most studies that addressed circadian variations in cardiovascular disease were done before the advent of stents, so, researcher from Mayo Clinic-Rochester conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records and the clinic’s registry, finding 124 patients who presented with coronary stent thrombosis betwee... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512395 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0100 4512395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507286&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fabout-white-coat-hypertension%2F2011.02.21 “But doc, my blood pressure is always normal at home.” I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard that line and I know it is true. When some patients come to see me, their blood pressure is abnormally high (above 130/90). This is known as “white-coat hypertension.” Although it has been thought to be from anxiety about seeing the doctor, even long-established patients who have no conscious anxiety can exhibit elevated blood pressure in the office. Because blood pressure naturally fluctuates and the office visit is not a “normal” setting, it is important for patients who have high blood pressure (hypertension) to have their own blood pressure cuff at home. Now that devices are automated and easy to use, everyone with hypertension should be mo... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507286 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4507286 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472951&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-still-incredible-edible-egg%2F2011.02.12 Enriched chicken feed may have resulted in eggs having less cholesterol and more Vitamin D than previously measured, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A large egg today has about 185 milligrams of cholesterol, down 14 percent from 215 milligrams in 2002, according to new research from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, reports USA Today. Also, an egg today has 41 international units (IUs) of Vitamin D, up 64 percent from 25 IUs measured in 2002. (That’s still only about 7 percent of the 600 IUs recommended per day.) The agency regularly does nutrient checks on popular foods, this time analyzing eggs taken from store shelves in 12 locations around the country. The American Egg Board said in a press release that hen feed is made up mostly of corn, soyb... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472951 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4472951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4470410&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-still-incredible-edible-egg%2F2011.02.12 Enriched chicken feed may have resulted in eggs having less cholesterol and more Vitamin D than previously measured, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A large egg today has about 185 milligrams of cholesterol, down 14 percent from 215 milligrams in 2002, according to new research from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, reports USA Today. Also, an egg today has 41 international units (IUs) of Vitamin D, up 64 percent from 25 IUs measured in 2002. (That’s still only about 7 percent of the 600 IUs recommended per day.) The agency regularly does nutrient checks on popular foods, this time analyzing eggs taken from store shelves in 12 locations around the country. The American Egg Board said in a press release that hen feed is made up mostly of corn, soyb... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4470410 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4470410 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459959&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-forecast-for-heart-disease-gloomy-with-a-strong-chance-of-boomers%2F2011.02.10 As a youngster, I loved being part of the baby boom — it meant there were dozens of kids on my block who were ready to play hide-and-seek or join mysterious clubs. Now that I’m of an AARP age, there’s one club I don’t want to join: The one whose members have bypass scars, pacemakers, or other trappings of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association’s (AHA) gloomy new forecast on cardiovascular disease tells me it won’t be easy to avoid. The AHA foresees sizeable increases in all forms of cardiovascular disease (see table) between now and 2030, the year all of the boomers are age 65 and older. Those increases will translate into an additional 27 million people with high blood pressure, eight million with coronary heart disease, four million with stroke, and thr... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459959 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:00:43 +0100 4459959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441974&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fputting-your-heart-into-the-super-bowl%2F2011.02.06 Sports fans may literally live and die on their team’s victories, according to researchers who examined cardiac mortality rates after the home team won and lost the Super Bowl. Total and cardiac mortality rates in Los Angeles County increased after the football team’s 1980 Super Bowl loss but overall mortality fell after the 1984 the team’s Super Bowl win, researchers concluded from a review of death certificates reported in Clinical Cardiology. First, authors gave a clinical review. Stress causes a cardiac cascade. The sympathetic nervous system increases and releases catecholamines. This triggers a rise in heart rate and blood pressure, and ventricular contractility increases oxygen demand, causing blood the sheer against and fracture atherosclerotic plaque, the authors... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441974 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4441974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424235&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcardiovascular-care-costs-could-triple-by-2030%2F2011.02.01 Real total direct medical costs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) could triple, from $273 billion to $818 billion (in 2008 dollars) by 2030. Real indirect costs, such as lost productivity among the employed and unpaid household work, could increase 61 percent, from $172 billion in 2010 to $276 billion. Results appeared in a policy statement of the American Heart Association. CVD is the leading cause of mortality and accounts for 17 percent of national health expenditures, according to the statement. How much so? U.S. medical expenditures rose from 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 1985 to 15 percent in 2008. In the past decade, the medical costs of CVD have grown at an average annual rate of 6 percent and have accounted for about 15 percent of the increase in medical spending... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424235 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:00:00 +0100 4424235 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4186905&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1076%2F0%2Fobesity-mortgage-crisis.mp3 Q. What’s the difference between a public health expert and an incompetent doctor? A. An incompetent doctor tends to kill only one person at a time. The deep recession and jobless “recovery” which we have enjoyed in the U.S. for going on three years now was triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble. The housing bubble was created by lending practices that awarded “subprime” mortgages to people with bad credit ratings, and offered to people with good credit ratings adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that enticed them to purchase more expensive homes than they could afford. Traditionally, banks were always reluctant to award mortgages, of any flavor, to people who obviously could not afford them, since doing so would wreck their businesses. The reason the banks began making bad... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4186905 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:00:06 +0100 4186905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077244&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpublic-health-should-be-apolitical%2F2010.10.18 You can be for freedom. You can be for smaller government that intrudes less. You can be for lower taxes. You can be for most anything, but if you’re interested in improving the sagging health of American citizens, get on Michael Bloomberg’s wheel. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bar city residents from using food stamps to buy sugary soft drinks. It turns out that last year $135 million in food stamp money was used for the consumption of these obesity-fostering beverages in NYC alone. Mr Bloomberg is morphing into a real-world public health super star. Previously, he was a pioneer in banning smoking in restaurants and bars. They said it could not be done, or that it wouldn’t work. Well,... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077244 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0100 4077244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031241&cid=t_140078_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-simple-truth-about-cholesterol%2F2010.10.05 The New York Times recently ran a piece that wondered if doctors were treating patients with cholesterol-lowering medication unnecessarily because a web-based calculator over estimated a person’s risk. The program was proudly sponsored by the pharmaceutical roundtable and was available at the American Heart Association. The implication was obvious. Simple tool determines an individual’s risk for heart attack or death from heart attack. It over estimates risk. Patients treated unnecessarily. To be also clear, the program did underestimate risk as well. Unfortunately, the article missed an important point. While the simplified calculator may not be as accurate as the more complex algorithm used by the National Cholesterol Education Program, the truth is doctors are likely to... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031241 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:00:00 +0100 4031241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=926318&cid=t_140078_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2F164971877%2F Do you worry yourself to death? Are you anxious and easily panicked? I am a very anxious person by nature and tend to worry about things that I can’t even control. But there is new research that states that women who have at least one full blown panic attack increase their risk for heart attack, stroke and an untimely death. Well, well, well… if that isn’t reason enough to get my worries under control, I don’t know what would be. The results add panic attacks to the list of emotions and psychiatric symptoms that have already been linked to cardiovascular risk, including depression, anger and hostility, the authors note. Panic attacks could be associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension. Alternatively, anxiety could contribute to adverse c... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=926318 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 01:19:17 +0100 926318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=800179&cid=t_140078_149_f&fid=35780&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwalkerma.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F08%2F15%2Faugust-15-2007%2F Why doesn’t Steven Nissen advocate for banning of roller coasters? A recent paper in JAMA (JAMA. 2007;298:739-741) studied the cardiovascular effects associated with riding a “modern” roller coaster. Among the CV-responses observed were: A pronounced increase in heart rate during and after the ride Asymptomatic sinus arrhythmias occurring in 44% of the riders 1 case of atrial fibrillation a case of asymptomatic nonsustained tachycardia (Source: one in ten thousand) one in ten thousand blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=800179 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:08:09 +0100 800179