heart-letter
Heart disease and depression are often closely linked. Depressed people are more likely to develop heart disease, and those living with heart disease are more likely to become depressed. The main avenues of treatment are medication, therapy, and exercise.
My doctor put me on a calcium-channel blocker, but after I had angioplasty and got a stent, my doctor switched me to sotalol. Now I feel tired all the time and have gained weight, even though I feel like I’m eating less. Can this be from the sotalol?
People who take a statin may want to watch their intake of green tea, as there is a possibility it may boost the blood concentration of the medication to pain-causing levels.
Aggressive prostate cancer can be treated by using hormone therapy to lower testosterone, but it can result in higher cholesterol, high blood pressure, stiffening arteries, and other heart-unhealthy conditions.
Eating frozen fruits and vegetables is a good way to boost the nutritional value of your diet when fresh local produce is not available.
Monitoring your blood pressure by taking daily readings at home over a period of time can provide a more accurate sense of your true pressure than a reading in the doctor’s office, which may be artificially high or low.
A study from Finland shows an association between binge drinking and an increased risk of having a stroke.
A clinical trial that compared angioplasty with aggressive drug therapy for treatment of angina found both treatments about equally effective.
Treatment for cancer may have unwanted effects on the heart. Depending on the type of cancer and the type of treatment, these can include irregular heart rhythm, inflammation, atherosclerosis, or an increased risk of blood clots.
Long-term research finds that following a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fish, can reduce the risk of heart disease, benefit heart attack survivors, and help with weight loss.