cardiovascular disease
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High Blood Pressure in College Freshmen Predicts Later Risk
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Harvard freshman with pre-hypertension had higher risk in later life.
Men enrolling at Harvard between 1914 and 1952 who reported elevated systolic blood pressure their freshman year experienced a 20% greater risk for coronary heart disease later in life. Those diagnosed with hypertension in middle age had twice the risk of coronary deaths and stroke compared to those with normal blood pressures.
PositiveTip: Have you had your blood pressure checked recently? Get it taken even if you are young!
Diet Controls Genes for Heart Attacks
Posted by Elvin Adams on
Heart disease kills more people than any other disease. Major causes of heart attacks include cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. You can also inherit defective genes from your father or mother that will increase your risk of having a heart attack.
You can control what you eat but your genetic make up is beyond your control. This turns out NOT to be true.
A large study screened a population of 8000 Europeans, Chinese, South Asians, Arabs, and Latin Americans for genetic defects on chromosome 9 in the p21 region. They looked for four specific defects in a single DNA building block (single nucleotide polymorphisms).
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Childhood Obesity Increases Risk for Early Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
Posted by Galen Bosley on
Childhood obesity is a good environment for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Researchers examined the physiological changes in extremely obese children compared to normal weight. Those overweight and obese had higher levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol (the damaging kind) and inflammatory markers which help predict the early onset of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The most important finding was that these predictors of early disease increased steadily with increasing weight gain in children.
PositiveTip: Low fat diets with more wholesome foods tend to help prevent weight gain along with active family activities to reduce sedentary hours.
You Have Only One Heart
Posted by Dominique Wakefield on
Our bodies are designed to have a lot of things in twos: two eyes, two ears, two hands, two legs, two feet, two kidneys, two lungs and so on. For many of these body parts, we can live without having both - just one ear or even just one lung.
But we only have one heart.
The heart is the one organ that has to keep on beating every second of the day to keep us alive. We do not have the luxury of letting the doctor cut half of it off if it is diseased and keep breathing with half a heart.
Vitamins Don't Prevent a Second Heart Attack
Posted by Elvin Adams on
One risk factor for first-time heart attacks is an elevated blood level of homocysteine. High homocysteine levels can be lowered by administering vitamin B12 and folic acid. The question has been whether or not this treatment would result in reduced disease and death from heart attacks.
Brushing Your Teeth Prevents Heart Attacks
Posted by Elvin Adams on
Brushing your teeth prevents more than just cavities. It can also prevent heart attacks. This news was confirmed by a recently published article in the British Medical Journal.
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Brushing Your Teeth May Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
People who brush their teeth less than once a day have significantly higher risk of heart disease.
In Scotland, researchers followed almost 12,000 adults for 8 years in a study linking good oral health with a lower risk of heart disease. After adjusting for confounding factors, people who brushed their teeth less than once a day were 70% more likely to suffer heart disease compared to those who brushed twice a day.
The researchers suggest that poor oral hygiene may contribute to "systemic inflammation."
PositiveTip: Strange as it may seem, brushing your teeth regularly does more than just keep your teeth and gums healthy!
Bran, Brain and Diabetics
Posted by Elvin Adams on
Whole grains for the brain win again!
The online edition of the journal Circulation just published a study following 7822 women with type 2 diabetes for 26 years. The study gathered details on their diet every four years.
Bran intake was divided into five different levels, from low to high. The higher the bran in the women's diets, the fewer heart attacks and strokes they had.
Sugar Lowers Good Cholesterol Levels
Posted by Elvin Adams on
A diet high in fats, particularly saturated fat, raises cholesterol levels and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. In addition, a recent nationwide survey of 6000 adults, who were not diabetic, found that eating more foods sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or table sugar causes negative effects on lipids in ways not clearly understood before.
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Cut the Salt for Better Health
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Large meta-analysis fingers salt intake and risk of stroke and heart disease.
Almost all adult populations around the world consume at least 6 grams of salt per day. A wealth of evidence points to significant health risks associated with excess salt consumption. International recommendations for salt intake is less than 1 teaspoon (5-6 grams) daily. A recent meta-anhalysis of the results of 19 independent cohort samples with 177, 025 participants followed for up to 19 years has shown high salt intake is strongly associated with stroke and cardiovascular disease.
PositiveTip: Going easy on the salt will lower your risk for hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Putting the salt shaker away may extend your life!