heart-letter
Insights into the structural and biochemical abnormalities that contribute to poor heart muscle function lends new complexity to the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure when ejection fraction appears normal.
A phone-based counseling program to treat depression, anxiety, and panic disorder in people hospitalized for heart disease led to improvements in mental health and fewer, less severe symptoms of heart disease.
Statins may raise blood sugar levels in a small number of people, possibly triggering a diagnosis of diabetes. But the overall benefit of statins in treating heart disease outweighs any slight increase in the risk of diabetes.
The popular painkillers known as NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and the prescription drug celecoxib. All except aspirin may slightly increase the risk of a heart attack, but naproxen appears to be the least risky.
Atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation are heart-rhythm disorders that trigger palpitations and lightheadedness. While atrial flutter causes a rapid but regular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation is marked by a rapid but chaotic, unpredictable heartbeat.
People who take cholesterol-lowering statins appear to eat slightly more calories and fat than people who don’t take statins.
When a person having a stroke arrives at the hospital, the faster he or she is treated, the better.
Eating less fat has caused people to eat more processed foods, especially refined carbohydrates. People should to worry less about limiting saturated fat in their diets and focus more on eating a variety of whole or minimally processed foods.
New guidelines for treating atrial fibrillation include a recommendation to consider newer oral anticoagulant drugs. Compared with warfarin, they are just as effective for preventing a stroke but are less likely to cause dangerous bleeds in the brain.
A coronary artery calcium scan can reveal specks of calcium in the walls of the heart’s arteries, an early sign of cardiovascular disease. For people with a modest risk of heart disease, the test may help with decisions about treatment.