heart-letter
People with artery disease may have a choice between bypass surgery and angioplasty, depending on the circumstances of one’s condition and other factors such as whether or not a person can take the medication clopidogrel.
Sleep apnea causes increased production of stress hormones, faster heart rate, increased blood pressure, and inflammation. Research has found that people with the condition are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
The exercise stress test is used to identify potential problems with heart rate, rhythm, or blood pressure. It is used when there is cause to suspect a person has heart disease, but it does not make sense for healthy people to have the test.
Coffee lovers should be reassured by a study showing that death rates among coffee drinkers were no higher than for people who did not drink coffee.
I saw a newspaper column that said red yeast rice is a safer, more effective way to treat high cholesterol than statin drugs. Is that true?
A form of high cholesterol that is inherited, called familial hypercholesterolemia, can cause LDL levels of 200 or higher. Those who have it are at high risk for heart disease.
Rapid cooling of cardiac arrest victims increases their chances of eventual survival by reducing the extent of damage caused by lack of oxygen to the brain when the heart stops.
While the DASH diet helps people lower their blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, fewer people are following it.
A study found that women who had off-pump bypass surgery had much lower rates of heart attack, stroke, or death during the operation or shortly after, more so than for men.
Keeping blood pressure low is important to overall health, but for people with coronary artery disease, lowering diastolic blood pressure too much could increase the risk of a heart attack.