Category: heart-letter

A growing number of people with failing hearts are being given total artificial hearts as they wait for donor hearts to become available.

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.

Drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction (Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra) may also help ease heart failure. These drugs cause arteries to relax, which could help a failing heart pump more effectively.

Antioxidants from food-not from pills-can protect arteries and other tissues from damage caused by highly reactive compounds created when oxygen combines with other molecules. Colorful fruits and vegetables are great sources of antioxidants.

Adding an investigational new drug called AMD 145 to a statin dramatically lowers levels of harmful LDL cholesterol.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension occurs when arteries that supply the lungs become stiff and thick. New treatments are extending life for people with this chronic condition.

Genetic testing is useful for determining if someone has inherited a condition caused by a problem with a single gene, like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. But it can’t yet add much to predicting who will have a heart attack.

Kidney disease and some medications, like ACE inhibitors and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, can cause potassium levels to be high. It is almost impossible to achieve high potassium levels simply by eating foods rich in potassium.

For people who faint because their heart rates suddenly plummet (a condition called cardioinhibitory syncope), a dual-chamber pacemaker has been shown to reduce fainting episodes by 57%.

The antibiotic azithromycin sometimes can trigger abnormal heart rhythms. Though uncommon, it is more likely to happen to people with heart failure, diabetes, or a previous heart attack.