Category: heart-letter

People with heart disease will soon be able to transmit information about their heart rhythm to their doctor’s office using an iPhone app.

Fatty deposits in the aorta can cause this blood vessel to bulge outward, causing an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which can weaken and burst, usually without warning.

When lowering traditional risk factors fails to prevent a heart attack or stroke, targeting inflammation may help. Two clinical trials are beginning to test whether anti-inflammatory drugs can provide additional protection.

Blood clots in the legs are treated with several months of warfarin (Coumadin). After this period, low-dose aspirin may be a reasonable alternative to long-term use of warfarin for preventing another blood clot.

For people with stents who need elective surgery, it’s safest to take antiplatelet therapy for six to 12 months before stopping it in order to have an operation.

More than one-third of heart attacks produce no symptoms, yet these so-called silent heart attacks are as dangerous as heart attacks that do cause symptoms.

In people at risk for heart disease, the stress of losing a loved one greatly increases the risk of suffering a fatal or nonfatal heart attack. In healthy people, the stress can cause a serious but reversible condition that imitates a heart attack.

Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, past or current smoking, and high cholesterol are the four factors most closely associated with the development of peripheral artery disease-blockages in the arteries of the legs or arms.

In the sleep disorder called sleep apnea, sleep is interrupted many times a night. Sleep apnea appears to increase the risk of developing or dying from heart disease. Several treatments are available to halt sleep apnea and restore better sleep.

Cataract surgery puts very little strain on the heart. In the absence of symptoms of heart disease, the cardiovascular risks of cataract surgery are low.