Evidence is strong that statins benefit those with known cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, they are frequently prescribed for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in those without CVD but with a high risk for it. European investigators combined results for 65,000 high-risk only patients and found no significant improvement in risk.

PositiveTip: True primary prevention of heart disease should focus on the benefits of lifestyle modification, not a drug-based approach.

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!

A ten-year study of more than 20,000 Dutch men and women has shown that larger waist sizes and higher body mass index (BMI) were strongly associated with 3-4 times the cardiovascular deaths and almost twice the rate of cardiovascular disease than normal weight controls.  Average age was 43 years--an age group not usually very concerned with heart health. Men with a waist circumference greater than 40.1 inches (102 cm) compared to those less than 37 inches (94 cm), and women with waist circumferences greater than 34.5inches (88 cm) compared to those less than 31.5 inches (80 cm) had significantly greater incidence of fatal and non-fatal CVD.

There is significant controversy about the level of fine particulate matter (FPM) that elevates risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Epidemiologists studied prospective data during a follow-up study of more than a million adults and found that CVD mortality risk increased by 64% in those who smoked three or fewer cigarettes per day and doubled in those who smoked a pack or more per day. Even those who were exposed to relatively low levels of FPM from second hand smoke or air pollution had substantially higher CVD mortality risk. Recent estimates in urban areas of China and India show FPM levels in excess of 100 mmg/m3 which is comparable to an active smoker's exposure of FPM (compare this to US urban levels of 10-24 mmg/m3).