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Antioxidants, such as beta-carotene and vitamin E, deactivate free radicals which are known to cause cell damage. Free radicals are also known to oxidize LDL cholesterol leading to the build-up of fat in arteries. Theoretically, preventing this oxidation should reduce the risk of heart disease. New evidence suggests that antioxidants [...]
Obesity is undoubtedly one of the major risk factors for heart disease. Scientists recently identified a DNA variation near the INSIG2 (insulin-induced-gene 2) gene that is more common in obese people. Learn more at Genetics and Health.
Tags: cardiovascular-disease, cvd, disease, fat, genes, health, heart-disease, obese, obesity
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Eli Lilly osteoporosis drug, Evista aka raloxifene, appears to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer but does not have any protective effects on the heart. There were some signs in previous clinical trials that Evista was capable of reducing LDL cholesterol, but a recent study of 10,000 women did not show the same [...]
Stroke caused by disease of the small blood vessels are more difficult to treat and diagnose than those caused by problems in the large arteries that supply the brain with blood. Visit my other blog, Genetics and Health, to learn more about how the collagen IV α1 gene may be involved.
Tags: cardiovascular-disease, collagen, cvd, [...]
High cholesterol is responsible not just for clogging arteries, but it probably plays a role in damaging heart valves as well by reprogramming cells in the aortic and mitral valves into bone and cartilage cells, respectively. Knowing this, it may be possible to prevent heart valve disease by controlling cholesterol levels rather than treating [...]
Caltech researchers have been studying the way blood fills the left ventricle of the heart. Using ultrasound with an echocardiograph, they’ve determined that blood passes through the heart valve in a vortex. Studying the size and shape of the vortices could lead to a new non-invasive way of detecting problems with the [...]
This week’s Harvard Medical School Advisor Q&A column taught me about plant sterols and stanols which keep the body from absorbing cholesterol from food and as a result, lower blood levels of cholesterol as well.
Eating 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10 percent.
That may not sound [...]
Over at The Medical Blog Network, Dr. Rob Lamberts gives an overview of risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Diabetes - especially Type 2 (Adult onset) diabetes
High blood pressure
Family history of heart disease (Father under age 55, mother under age 65 or siblings with heart disease are considered strong risk factors)
Smoking - the more the merrier [...]
Forty cardiovascular disease patients at Bart’s and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry may be treated with dark chocolate which has a high level of flavonoids. Flavonoids are anti-oxidants which may reduce LDL-cholesterol levels and reduce the hardening of arteries, blockages, and clotting.
Some tips for using dark chocolate to improve heart [...]
This past week, FatBlogger told us about his mother who is back home after havin two stents* put in. He wrote a great post last week about heart disease in women.
Having a heart attack was a shock for my mom, as well as the rest of the family. To look at her, and her [...]
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