Post-menopausal women need to be concerned about their risk of heart attack, but new evidence points to increased risk for younger women as well. The Archives of Internal Medicine has published a detailed analysis indicating that the number of women between the ages of 35-54 having heart attacks has risen over the past 20 years. Interestingly enough, during the same time, the number of heart attacks suffered by men in the same age group decreased. Part of the reason that men are having fewer heart attacks is that doctors are more likely to counsel them about their risk of having one. Since heart disease is considered to be a “men’s health issue,” women are not getting the same level of attention from their doctors about risk factors and what they do to lower their persona...

The presence of a protein found in the blood indicates that a person is at risk for a heart attack, but is not a good way to predict the likelihood they will have a stroke. High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation, may indicate that a heart attack is likely, but the same doesn’t hold true when it comes to predicting the likelihood of a stroke. Researchers followed 2,240 people in New York. All of them were over the age of 40 and stroke free. The study tracked them for eight years. During that time, participants with a CRP level higher than 3 mg/L of blood were 70 percent more likely to have a heart attack and (at a 55 percent higher risk of dying as a result) than those people who had a CRP level of 1 mg/L or less. ...

The U.S. Surgeon General has announced that exposure to second-hand smoke not only causes lung cancer and heart disease: it can also trigger a heart attack in non-smokers. A new report published by the Institute of Medicine claims that even brief exposure is enough to bring serious health consequences to others. The report will only serve to underline the need for a ban on smoking in the workplace, as well as restaurants and other places where members of the public gather. Nearly 50,000 people in the United States die due to exposure to second-hand smoke every year. If, as the report implies, there is no “safe” level of exposure to cigarette smoke, businesses of all kinds should be taking steps to ensure the safety of all of their customers by declaring them a smoke-free zone. ...

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente have discovered that patients who took a combination of two drugs were able to reduce their risk of serious heart attack and stroke by a whopping 60 percent. The problem with this approach to prevention was getting the study participants to take the medication regularly. The idea for the study was to lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels simultaneously for the 170,000 participants. All of the people who took the combination of lovastatin for cholesterol and lisinopril for blood pressure were California residents and members of Kaiser Permanente’s managed care programs. Just over 47,000 of the participants failed to take the medication regularly as directed. The patients who took the drug at least 50 percent of the time numbered approximately 21,...

Triglycerides are deposits of fat that are present in the body and they are linked to the amount of carbohydrates you are eating. When you consume carbohydrates (bread, pasta, cereals, fruits and vegetables) your body uses them to make glucose, which is food for your cells. They take what they need, and any excess glucose goes to your liver, where it is converted into glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the muscles. Once the muscles have enough glycogen, any excess is sent back to the liver again, where it is stored as triglycerides (also known as fat). The body has an unlimited capacity for storing triglycerides, and some of them will end up in your bloodstream. A high amount of triglycerides makes the blood thicker. Thickened blood is more likely to clot or cause blockages, which can cause a...

Here’s another reason why getting your flu shot is a good idea: Contracting influenza increases your risk of suffering a heart attack. During the flu season, the rate of heart attacks jumps up between 35-50 percent. Now that countries are taking the threat of H1N1 swine flu seriously (and they should), people who have heart disease should make sure that they get their flu shot once it becomes available. If British statistics are anything to go by, most people who are living with chronic heart disease don’t get a flu shot. In that country, only 47 percent of people who have this disorder, diabetes, or asthma actually got their shot. When the H1N1 flu shot becomes available in your area, go and get it. You may think it’s too much trouble or too time-consuming, but your heal...

People who are depressed are more likely to have a heart attack, and people who have already had a heart attack are more likely to become depressed. According to the American Heart Association, between 15-20 percent of people who have had a heart attack become depressed. This figure is much higher than the national average of 6/7 percent. When a person who has already had a heart attack becomes depressed and the condition lasts for six months or more, their risk of dying within seven years doubles. A person in that state may not eat well or exercise regularly, which puts them at increased risk for a heart attack. They are also less likely to take their heart medication, which will lead to negative health consequences whether they are suffering from depression or not. All heart attack patie...

Attention all chocoholics! If you have had a heart attack, eating the sweet stuff may help to prevent a recurrence. A study conducted by researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute were looking at whether eating chocolate affects the risk for heart disease. Antioxidants, such as the flavonol in cocoa, may help to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow throughout the body. The 1,169 participants in the study were between 45-70 years of age. All of them had had at least one heart attack. They were asked a series of questions about their diet. The results indicated that study participants who ate chocolate were less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack. Before you run out to the store to stock up on the sweet stuff, consider that the study results are not the same thing as a cl...

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, there are over one million cases of heart attack in the United States every year. Not all of them have so-called “classic” signs, like sudden crushing chest pain that radiates down through the left arm. Unfortunately, for about half of all heart attack sufferers, there are no warning signs before the heart attack occurs. Of all the people who suffer a heart attack each year, half of them don’t survive. That is a pretty disturbing thought, and one that we should be taking to heart (no pun intended). It’s never too early to take steps to lower your risk factors for heart attack by getting regular checkups, eating right, and being physically active. If you wait for a wake-up call, it may be too late. Start look...

A heart attack is such a serious health threat because once the heart muscle has been damaged, it can’t repair itself. Researchers have found that injecting the damaged muscle with a protein that stimulates growth may help to reverse the damage. The protein that researchers are so excited about is called NRG1 (neuregulin1). This protein is responsible for the development of the heart and nervous system of a fetus. Once the baby is born, the protein stops working on the muscle cells of the heart. When Boston Children’s Hospital pediatric cardiologist Dr Bernhard Kuhn and his team injected the protein into rats who had experienced a heart attack on a daily basis for 12 weeks, cells started to regenerate and the heart’s pumping action improved. The injected rats also avoided...