Many people who don’t need a drug-eluting stent during angioplasty get one anyway. More appropriate use would save $200 million a year in the cost of the stents plus the medications that must be taken afterwards.
A growing number of people with failing hearts are being given total artificial hearts as they wait for donor hearts to become available.
People with naturally high levels of protective HDL cholesterol have lower rates of cardiovascular disease. New studies suggest that boosting low HDL with medication may not pay off as much as lowering harmful LDL cholesterol.
If you have high blood pressure, it makes sense to buy a blood pressure monitor and check your blood pressure at home. This gives a more accurate view of your blood pressure than intermittent office-based readings or the occasional check.
Injections of hyaluronic acid into the knee, a treatment known as viscosupplementation, offers little relief from painful knee osteoarthritis.
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that it’s never too late to improve your health by quitting smoking. Even smokers in their 80s reduce their risks when they kick the habit.
The combination of a beta blocker and digoxin to treat atrial fibrillation can cause the heart rate to slow too much. Most people need a resting heart rate in the 60s to 80s to feel well.
Foods that harm the heart, especially those rich in saturated fat, may also harm the brain. Women with the highest consumption of saturated fat had worse memory and cognition over time than those who consumed the least saturated fat.
A new study that evaluated the combined effect of diet and exercise on longevity has a simple message for living longer: Eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise daily.