From the monthly archives:
Although at present I can find no research about increased risks from Plavix because of a trauma, this research about Warfarin suggests that it may be a problem. One is told to stop Plavix about ten days before surgery due to increased bleeding; this suggests that one should also stop Plavix ten days before any [...]
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“Heavy” Drinking Increases Risk After Heart Attack Even moderately heavy drinking is bad after myocardial infarction Richard N. Fogoros, M.D., July 04, 2007 Several studies have indicated that light usage of alcohol (one or two drinks per day) may help protect against cardiac disease. However, because alcohol causes so many medical problems, and because for [...]
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“The available evidence has established a link between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease and this may be causal. Without waiting for the resolution of causality arguments, one can start using serum uric acid concentration as an inexpensive cardiovascular risk marker.”
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While (LDL) cholesterol reduction used to be focus of heart disease prevention — and it is still important — it is looking as if inflammation is the critical commonality in disease processes that needs to be addressed. Yesterday’s post mentioned blueberries — particularly Alaska blueberries — as beneficial for heart nutrition. The article below is [...]
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This is interesting research, in that it focuses on factors affecting “healthy” people without known heart problems. Note that this can only be picked up by a Holter monitor, and that only one software program for the Holter monitor can do that. Hmm. Time for clinical practice to catch up with technology. I wonder if [...]
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Although it seems like a reasonable question, it is difficult to find precise information on the correlation between weight loss and heart attack risk reduction. From the previous post, for each point reduction in LDL, there is risk reduction of approximately .5%. From the article below, it appears that for about 1% of weight loss, [...]
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40-Point Cholesterol Drop=20% Lower Heart Risk Heart Disease Protection Tied to Cholesterol Reduction Achieved With Drugs WebMD Health News Sept. 27, 2005 — The heart disease protection offered by popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may be directly related to the degree they actually lower a person’s cholesterol levels. A new review of studies on statins shows [...]
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From the article: Although some statins are stronger than others, there’s no evidence that one is better than another at preventing heart attacks or other cardiovascular outcomes. National guidelines on lowering cholesterol treat the statins as equivalent. A study from the Boston VA Healthcare System supports this approach. Veterans who achieved the greatest reduction in [...]
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This research continues to support the view that it is not the specific diet which is critical to weight loss, but rather it is sticking to the diet which makes the difference. However, this research supports a low carbohydrate diet as better in reducing heart disease risk factors. a Why not have both a low [...]
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Link Between Obesity, High-Fat Meals And Heart Disease Reinforced By Study 19 Feb 2011 The effect of a high-fat meal on blood vessel walls can vary among individuals depending on factors such as their waist size and triglyceride levels, suggests new research at UC Davis. The new research reinforces the link between belly fat, inflammation [...]
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from the article: Part of my own coming around to the low-carb diet was driven by my many hours of study in the anthropological and paleopathological literature. Using technology available today, it’s possible to see what early man ate, and it’s very easy to determine his health. As it turns out, when early man made [...]
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Eating Soup Will Help Cut Calories At Meals ScienceDaily May2, 2007 Eating low-calorie soup before a meal can help cut back on how much food and calories you eat at the meal, a new Penn State study shows. Results show that when participants in the study ate a first course of soup before a lunch [...]
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Phytosterols Nathan Gray February 15, 2011 Numerous clinical trials in controlled settings have reported that daily consumption of 1.5 to 3 grams of phytosterols/-stanols from foods can reduce total cholesterol levels by between eight and 17 per cent, representing a significant reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. A review of 84 clinical trials in [...]
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High-fiber diet tied to lower odds of early death Reuters Health February 15, 2011 People who eat a lot of fiber every day might be less likely to die prematurely from a range of illnesses — including heart disease, cancer, and infection — a new study suggests. The benefits of fiber in promoting weight loss, [...]
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In study that has been making the news recently is research that found a correlation between drinking diet soda and heart attack risk. Some headlines have reported or implied that diet soda causes the increased risk factor. As has been a theme on this blog, correlation is not cause and effect. It may be, for [...]
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When the Framingham study found a correlation between heart disease and cholesterol levels, the assumption became that eating eggs was bad, since eggs include high level of cholesterol. Whoops. Faulty thinking. Millions of us have been deprived of eating eggs because of this faulty assumption. Check out these findings: A Review of Scientific Research and [...]
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“Evidence based medicine”seeks “to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making.” The same strategy should be applied to dieting, i.e, “Evidence based weight loss strategies.” The article below is good medical writing — it both cites and summarizes relevant research. Looks like it is time to eat slowly. [...]
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Although keeping a food journal is most likely an effective strategy to lose weight, the problem with the research cited below is that there is no control or differentiation over who keeps a food diary and who doesn’t. Of course anyone who has the focus and discipline to keep a food diary is going to [...]
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Relying on will-power for long term change. (Remember: The world is full of kryptonite.) Attempting big leaps rather than baby-steps. (Seek tiny successes – one after another) Ignoring how environment shapes behavior. (Change your context and change your life.) Trying to stop old behaviors rather than creating new ones. (Focus on action, not avoidance) Blaming [...]
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“The media have had a field day with this article published just before the Superbowl. A quick search of Google at the time of this posting has identified 12,641 articles that have been written regarding this publication (excluding my current post). Without exception (at least as far as I could discern), all articles have assumed [...]
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These findings are not surprising, except how low they are. Why are 31% of Americans trusting Big Pharma? “ More than two thirds, or 69 percent, of consumers surveyed said they think drugmakers have too much influence on doctors’ decisions about which drug to prescribe. “ Health Blog August 4, 2010 Consumers say big pharma [...]
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American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal DALLAS, Feb. 1, 2011 — If you’re a woman and your mother had a stroke, you may have a risk of heart attack in addition to a higher risk of stroke, according to new research on family history and heart disease published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: [...]
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Common Painkillers Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Problems ScienceDaily Jan. 12, 2011 The drugs include traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) as well as new generation anti-inflammatory drugs, known as COX-2 inhibitors. The researchers say that doctors and patients need to be aware that prescription of any anti-inflammatory drug needs to take cardiovascular risk into [...]
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