Category: heart-letter

Brief updates on a possible link between too little sleep and heart disease, higher blood pressure in winter, and the danger of fat around the heart.

A resting heart rate above 100 beats per minute may be an indicator of more serious conditions such as atherosclerosis. Making an effort to exercise and reduce stress can help slow the heart to a healthier rate.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has released guidelines to assist physicians in identifying patients with von Willebrand disease, a blood disorder that prevents clotting.

Stress, anxiety, and negative emotions can bring on or worsen heart disease, and cardiovascular problems can contribute to dementia.

People who receive a clot-destroying drug after a heart attack may also benefit from a subsequent angioplasty.

Doctors used to worry that the potential harm of blood pressure medication outweighed any benefit to elderly patients, but a study found that the medication did reduce the incidence of heart disease, stroke, and premature death in older patients.

The American Heart Association has revised its guidelines for administering CPR to a victim of cardiac arrest, and now recommends using only firm, quick chest compressions.

Eating soy nuts may lower blood pressure slightly. Allegedly natural male enhancement products were found to contain substances almost identical to ED medications, which could be dangerous to men taking a nitrate medication for chest pain.

Tilapia has been criticized because it is lower in omega-3 fats and higher in omega-6 fats than other kinds of fish, but it is still a good source of protein and has other nutritional value.

Many nights I wake up once, twice, or several times with leg cramps. The only medications I take are a statin, niacin, Plavix, and baby aspirin. Are any of them causing these aggravating cramps?