Harvard Health Content API

People with heart disease may benefit from daily aspirin therapy to help reduce the risks for blood clots that cause heart attacks. A 2023 study suggests that neither the aspirin dose (81 mg vs. 325 mg) nor whether it is enteric-coated or uncoated affects the benefits or risks of daily aspirin therapy. However, aspirin carries the risk of brain and stomach bleeding. Some doctors maintain that people with heart disease are better off taking one low-dose, enteric-coated aspirin pill a day.

It’s a good idea to eat a certain diet before and after a colonoscopy. Eating a low-fiber diet a few days before the procedure helps move foods through the colon quickly, which can make colon prep easier. On the day before the procedure, it’s important to consume only clear liquids (such as broth or bouillon, black coffee, plain tea, clear juices, clear soft drinks or sports drinks, Jell-O, and popsicles). After the procedure, it’s safe to resume a normal diet. But eating too much fiber too quickly might cause gas, bloating, and discomfort. It might be wisest to restart a normal fiber-rich diet gradually.

Treatments for angina include medications to lower LDL cholesterol to very low levels to help reduce artery-narrowing plaque. Drugs that slow the heart rate and widen arteries can improve symptoms.

Replacing just five minutes of sitting with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may lead to tangible improvements in cardiovascular health. Adding longer, more intense bouts of exercise can reap greater rewards. But even modest changes such as replacing sitting with standing may lead to positive changes in health parameters, including improvements in body mass index, waist circumference, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels.

Aortic stenosis occurs when the heart’s aortic valve becomes stiff and calcified, narrowing its opening so blood cannot flow normally. This can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, lightheadedness, fainting, and chest tightness. Neither lifestyle nor medications can slow or reverse aortic stenosis. People born with a bicuspid aortic valve are at high risk, but most people with aortic stenosis have a normal appearing valve. The only treatment is to replace the damaged valve using open heart surgery or a less invasive, nonsurgical approach called transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Strength training and protein are two ways to combat age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia. Muscles need protein to help fuel new growth and maintain mass. However, many aging men don’t consume enough protein and may need more than the usual recommended daily intake. To get more protein, men can start by tracking their daily protein consumption and then making dietary adjustments, such as choosing high-quality protein foods, spreading protein across daily meals, and using protein powders as needed.

Calcium deposits in the coronary arteries surrounding the heart may be a sign of fatty plaque buildup in arteries. Dietary calcium is not a cause of these calcium deposits. While people can’t reverse the effect of calcium deposits, they can slow the process by managing blood pressure and “bad” LDL cholesterol.

Common activity guidelines recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two muscle-strengthening workouts per week. However, these targets are meant for a broad population, and for many older adults, hitting just the 150 minutes per week poses a challenge. Experts suggest breaking down the 150 minutes into manageable segments, like doing 30 minutes of activity five days a week, and even dividing those 30 minutes into 10 minutes of exercise three times a day.

A long-term study published in 2023 found that watching lots of television during young adulthood was linked to increased rates of obesity and other factors that raise heart disease risk in midlife.

People whose spouses have high blood pressure may be more likely to have high blood pressure themselves than people whose spouses do not have the condition, according to a 2023 study.