News Related to Heart Health

1. Statins: No Cancer Risk
   

   Aug. 20, 2008 -- Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs do not increase cancer risk, says Tufts University's Richard Karas, MD, who last year warned of a possible risk. The earlier warning was based on data suggesting that people achieved the lowest "bad" LDL cholesterol levels while taking statin drugs

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2. Gene Behind Serious Statin Risk
   

   Aug. 20, 2008 -- A variant gene causes more than 60% of cases of a serious side effect of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs -- muscle pain and weakness. Statin drugs -- Lipitor, Pravachol, Crestor, Lescol, Mevacor, and Zocor -- are considered remarkably safe. But one in every 10,000 patients per yea

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3. Repeat Ultrasounds Predict Heart Risk
   

   Aug. 19, 2008 -- Repeat examinations using ultrasound could help identify patients at high risk of having strokes or heart attacks, according to a new study. Researchers from Austria performed ultrasound exams of the carotid arteries, the vessels in the neck that supply the brain with blood, and the

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4. B Vitamins Don't Help in Heart Disease
   

   Aug. 19, 2008 -- If you have heart disease, don't count on folic acid pills, with or without vitamin B6 and B12 supplements, to help you cut your cardiovascular risk. That's according to a new study from Norway published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The study shows that corona

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5. Air Pollution May Hurt the Heart
   

   Aug. 13, 2008 -- Researchers say breathing in polluted air does more than damage the lungs; it harms the heart, too. Air pollution levels do not need to be very high to cause harm, researchers report in the Aug. 25 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  Air pollution -- even at

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6. Low Level of Vitamin D Ups Death Risk
   

   Aug. 11, 2008 -- Very low levels of vitamin D are linked to increased risk of death, according to a new study. Michal Melamed, MD, MHS, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and colleagues report their study in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The research team analyzed a div

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7. Soy May Not Cut LDL ('Bad') Cholesterol
   

   Aug. 8, 2008 -- Soy foods may not do as much to cut your LDL ("bad") cholesterol as you might hope. A new study shows that eating soy protein didn't cut LDL cholesterol levels in adults with mildly high cholesterol levels. The findings appear in the August edition of the American Journal of Clinical

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8. Kids & Cholesterol: Call for Early Action
   

   Aug. 5, 2008 -- The growing recognition that the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries that can increase risk of heart attacks and strokes begins as early as childhood has experts calling for earlier and more aggressive treatment to reduce this risk. Lifestyle and drug interventions aimed at lower

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9. Patch May Help After Heart Attack
   

   Aug. 1, 2008 -- An experimental patch may help prevent heart failure after heart attack, preliminary research shows. The patch, called Anginera, is worn directly on the heart. It's laced with cells and growth factors to spur the heart to grow new cells and blood vessels to prevent heart failure afte

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10. Women’s Migraines Multiply Heart Risk
    

    July 30, 2008 -- Women who suffer from migraine headaches with aura may be up to three times more likely to develop heart disease than other women, and part of the reason may be in their genes. A new study suggests a genetic link between women's heart disease risk, migraine with aura, and a genetic

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