Coughing or gagging may help slow a very rapid heartbeat caused by supraventricular tachycardia. Known as vagal maneuvers, these techniques work by stimulating the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the abdomen.
Men who eat processed red meats such as sausages and cold cuts may raise their risk of heart failure. These foods may be especially detrimental because of their high levels of sodium, nitrates, and other additives.
Compression stockings can help prevent the leg swelling and blood clot formation that can occur after long periods of sitting. Drinking water and moving the legs can also help.
Digoxin is among the oldest cardiac drugs still in use, but its history has been marked by controversy. However, better knowledge of how the drug works has created a potential new role for digoxin in people with advanced heart failure.
For people who can’t take blood thinners to prevent blood clots in the legs from traveling to the lungs, a tiny cage-like device called a vena cava filter placed within a major vein can trap migrating clots before they can travel to the lungs.
Blood transfusions for heart surgery are less common than in the past, in part due to a better understanding of the risks and benefits of transfusions. People slated for open-heart surgery should ask about how to avoid a transfusion.
Cardiac rehabilitation-a customized exercise and lifestyle education program that helps people recover after a heart attack-may lower your odds of needing a long-term hospital stay and might also extend your life.
Meditation involves quiet, focused attention on breathing, an object, or a word or phase known as a mantra. It can modestly lower blood pressure and may offer other cardiovascular benefits, some of which may work by dampening the body’s stress response.
A vaccine appears to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV) for 8 years, a new study finds. Human papillomavirus causes most cases of cervical cancer. This was a long-term follow-up to an earlier study. In the original study, more than 1,700 boys and girls were randomly assigned to receive the vaccine or placebo shots. Those who received the placebo were given the actual vaccine 2½ years later. Researchers called this the catch-up group. In the first group, the average child was 12 when vaccinated. In the catch-up group, the average age was 15. Each person received 3 doses. Researchers were able to keep track of more than 1,600 of the original study group. This included 1,100 from the first vaccination group. After up to 8 years (average 6.8), the vast majority of this group had blood antibodies against HPV.