Heart Advisor back issues from May 2007:
Will drugs someday reverse CAD? Three recent advances bring the possibility closer to reality.(coronary artery disease)
May 01, 2007 ... Coronary artery disease (CAD) traditionally has been thought of as a progressive disease. Medical therapies have aimed at slowing its progression to reduce the risk of heart attack. A drug that could actually shrink plaque in the arteries was considered a dream. But clinical trials of ...
Caffeine may protect you from cardiac event.(HEART BEAT)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007 ... Regular caffeine consumption may lower the risk of coronary events in older adults who experience postprandial hypotension, a sudden decrease in blood pressure that occurs after a meal, according to a recent study. Postprandial hypotension is usually found in people who have ...
FDA approves first new blood pressure drug in 10 years.(HEART BEAT)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007 ... Tekturna, the first new blood pressure medicine in more than a decade, has been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for sale and use in this country. The drug, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis, is available in U.S. pharmacies now. Prescribed in ...
'Device living will' backed for implanted device users.(HEART BEAT)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007 ... People with implantable cardioverter defibrillators or implanted pacemakers should sign a "device living will" as a means of recovering such appliances for study or to provide for needy patients, according to a University of Pennsylvania cardiologist. Speaking at the annual scientific ...
Sleep apnea treatment may reduce your heart risk.(HEART BEAT)(Brief article)
May 01, 2007 ... A recent study shows that people with obstructive sleep apnea are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The study, published in the March issue of the journal Sleep, shows that an increase in blood pressure resulting from sleep apnea contributes to a range of ...
Alleviating the discomfort of edema: help is available to reduce swelling, but check with your doctor first to make sure it's not something more serious.(TREATMENT)
May 01, 2007 ... Swelling in the legs and ankles is fairly common among older adults, but it also may be a sign of a more serious condition. "Swelling, in general, is abnormal," says Dr. Wilson Tang, a heart failure specialist in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. In fact, ...
Stack the cardiac cards in your favor with exercise: if you've already had a heart attack or undergone bypass surgery, it's a fair bet you'd rather not repeat the experience. The right exercise program can help you reduce your chances of a second cardiac event.(CARDIO FITNESS)
May 01, 2007 ... so you've had one cardiac event. Are you in a cardiac rehabilitation program now to prevent another one? For many of you, the surprising answer is "no." "Only about 20-30 percent of patients eligible for a cardiac rehab program ever follow up with one," says Gordon Blackburn, ...
Was that a heart attack? Sometimes symptoms are so subtle that patients get sent home untreated. Help your doctors get to the root cause with proper communication.(DIAGNOSIS)
May 01, 2007 ... Up to four percent of patients who arrive in the emergency room with heart attack symptoms are mistakenly sent home with an undiagnosed acute heart attack, according to an article published in a recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The article demonstrates how blood tests ...
Free aortic aneurysm screenings could save lives: many patients have no symptoms of this often fatal condition, so getting checked can reduce your risk.(PREVENTION)
May 01, 2007 ... A recent change in Medicare law gives some people just entering the federal health program the chance to receive a free, one-time ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) that potentially could save thousands of lives. Men and women between ages 65 and 75 who have smoked ...
Heart treatment made easier for patients: advances in technology are enabling faster diagnoses and more effective treatment, with less stress for patients.(PREVENTION)
May 01, 2007 ... Physicians and hospitals are working to embrace new advances in technology, and making extra efforts to involve patients in the decision-making process regarding their own treatment. Constant developments in medical science help make heart treatment a more "patient-friendly" ...
Ask the doctors.(heart diseases)
May 01, 2007; ... I had a pacemaker implanted several years ago and recently was diagnosed with superior vena cava syndrome. Have you ever heard of that? Superior vena cava syndrome is an unusual complication of pacemakers and defibrillators. Basically, these devices are implanted through large ...