Category: heart-letter

Angioplasty can open narrowed arteries, but it won’t stop their underlying cause, artherosclerosis. Weighing the benefits of angioplasty and its alternatives.

Most angioplasty procedures are performed through the femoral artery in the groin, but the radial artery in the wrist is also a viable access point, and may be slightly safer for some patients.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm can be dangerous if it grows beyond a certain size. A newer, less invasive procedure can correct the problem with less risk than open surgery.

An increasing waistline in middle age could be an indicator of metabolic syndrome, which is a group of risk factors that often leads to heart disease or diabetes.

Certain inherited genetic conditions increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, so having a genetic test may show whether a person is at risk for heart disease, especially if a family member has one of the conditions.

This special section highlights the relationships between the heart and many other parts of the body.

The medical view of atherosclerosis is changing from the traditional one of arteries blocked by plaque to a more encompassing one, with inflammation as the main cause and an emphasis on stopping it before it even starts.

People who take warfarin to prevent blood clots who need to undergo a surgical procedure generally need to stop taking the drug a few days beforehand, but for those who are at high risk of a clot, taking heparin instead for a few days may be necessary.

Results of a trial showed that exercise and weight loss combined with the DASH diet for blood pressure control achieved a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure than the diet alone.

I have a deep muscle massage every month or so. After my sister had a stroke, I started worrying that my massages could loosen any plaque in my carotid arteries, which could make me have a stroke. Could this happen?