Heart Disease Health Center

News and Features Related to Heart Disease

CRP Test May Not Predict Heart Disease

June 30, 2009 -- CRP, once blamed as being one of the body's bad guys, doesn't cause heart disease -- and CRP tests aren't much help in predicting heart disease, new studies show. Blood levels of CRP -- C-reactive protein -- rise when there is inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation plays a m
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Michael Jackson Dies of Reported Cardiac Arrest

June 25, 2009 -- Pop star Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to media reports. Los Angeles TV station KTLA reports that Los Angeles fire officials said they responded to a 911 call at Jackson's home and that Jackson wasn't breathing when they arrived; para
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Help for High-Risk Heart Attacks

June 24, 2009 -- Patients who have a heart attack and receive clot-busting drugs do better if they are transferred as soon as possible to a hospital that can perform angioplasty, a procedure to open blocked arteries, according to a new study. That treatment approach works better than giving clot-bus
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Lipoprotein(a) Linked to Heart Attacks

June 9, 2009 -- Genetic testing confirms that high levels of a type of cholesterol known as lipoprotein(a) are associated with an increased risk for heart attacks, but the clinical implications of the finding are unclear. Lipoprotein(a) has long been suspected of contributing to cardiovascular risk.
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4 Factors That Increase Odds of Heart Failure

June 9, 2009 -- Smoking, high blood pressure, excess weight, and diabetes are major risk factors for increasing the size of the heart's left ventricle (the main pumping chamber) a new study shows. An increase in the size and thickness, or "mass," of the left ventricle is a worrisome condition that c
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Diabetes, Heart Disease: Drugs vs. Surgery

June 8, 2009 -- For people with diabetes and stable heart disease, drug therapy works just as well as immediate bypass surgery or angioplasty to open clogged arteries, a study suggests. The results show that such patients were no more likely to die or to have a heart attack or stroke over a five-yea
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High-Protein Diet Goes Vegetarian

June 8, 2009 -- Among vegetarian diets, a high-protein, low-carbohydrate plan may improve cholesterol levels more than a high-carbohydrate diet. That news comes from a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study included 47 overweight men and women with high total and LDL ("b
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Debate Grows on Aspirin for Heart Risk

May 28, 2009 -- Daily aspirin therapy is often recommended for otherwise healthy people who are at risk for heart attack or stroke, but a new analysis suggests that aspirin's risks may outweigh it benefits in this population. It is clear that aspirin therapy is indicated in patients who have had a h
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Obese, Diabetic Youths Have Artery Plaque

May 26, 2009 -- Teens and young adults who are obese or have type 2 diabetes show early warning signs of heart disease, a new study shows. Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital used ultrasound imaging to confirm the presence of fatty plaque buildup in the carotid arteries of young people w
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NFL Players Face Blood Pressure Hurdles

May 26, 2009 -- They pump iron and work out often to stay in top shape, yet professional football players are more likely to have high blood pressure than are average healthy young men, a new study indicates. “This unexpected prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension has led to plans for an NF
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