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Condition: Cholesterol
Education: Harvard
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Total 68 results found since Jan 2013.
PCSK9 inhibitors: a major advance in cholesterol-lowering drug therapy
Every so often a medical advance comes along that rewrites the script for treating a disease or condition. After today’s announcements of impressive results of a new type of cholesterol-lowering drug, that scenario just might happen in the next few years.
The new drugs, called PCSK9 inhibitors, are monoclonal antibodies. They target and inactivate a specific protein in the liver. Knocking out this protein, called proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9, dramatically reduces the amount of harmful LDL cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream. Lower LDL translates into healthier arteries and fewer heart attacks, stro...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - March 15, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Gregory Curfman, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Heart Health Medical Research alirocumab cholesterol evolocumab PCSK9 inhibitors Source Type: news
People with gout have lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease
Conclusion
This population-based study has found that people with gout had a 24% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It was a well-designed study, in that there were large numbers of people in each group and multiple potential confounding factors were taken into account. The validation of the study was also valuable in showing the expected lack of a link between osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.
However, there are some limitations with this type of study, with a major one being that it cannot prove cause and effect. While some potential confounding factors were accounted for in the statistical analysi...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 5, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Neurology Older people Source Type: news
Sauna use linked to longer life, fewer fatal heart problems
After shoveling for days, breaking up ice dams, and now shivering in this week’s frigid temperatures, I wouldn’t mind sitting in a sauna for a bit. A new report in JAMA Internal Medicine makes this pastime even more appealing: regularly spending time in a sauna may help keep the heart healthy and extend life.
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland tracked 2,300 middle-aged men for an average of 20 years. They categorized the men into three groups according to how often they used a sauna each week. The men spent an average of 14 minutes per visit baking in 175° F heat. Over the course of the study, ...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - February 25, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Beverly Merz Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Heart Health sauna Source Type: news
Making one change — getting more fiber — can help with weight loss
Getting to a healthy weight and staying there is an important way to prevent heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other serious conditions. Many of us know firsthand just how hard it can be to reach and maintain that healthy weight. And there’s no shortage of ways to try to get there: You can count calories, carbs, or points. You can cut back on fat or sugar. You can try any number of popular diets that forbid certain foods, or focus on just one (the grapefruit diet, anyone?). Any of these approaches might work for you. Or they might not — in large part because they are complicated.
A study published in todayR...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - February 17, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Nancy Ferrari Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Healthy Eating fiber Source Type: news
Millions of adults skip medications due to their high cost
Medications can do wonderful things, from fighting infection to preventing stroke and warding off depression. But medications don’t work if they aren’t taken. Some people don’t take their medications as prescribed because they forget, or are bothered by side effects. A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shines the light on another reason: some people can’t pay for their medications.
The survey, by NCHS researchers Robin A. Cohen and Maria A. Villarroel, found that about 8% of adult Americans don’t take their medicines as prescribed because they can’t afford them. I...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - January 30, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Howard LeWine, M.D. Tags: Drugs and Supplements medication costs Source Type: news
Wholegrains, not just porridge, may increase life
Conclusion
This analysis of two large prospective cohort studies from the US has found an association between higher wholegrain intake and a reduced risk of death during follow-up, particularly from heart disease.
The study benefits from its large size (more than 100,000 participants) and long duration, as well as the thorough collection of information on the participants as the study progressed (prospective data collection).
Our diets and lifestyles are very complex, and it is very difficult to entirely isolate the effect of one dietary component and remove the effect of all other factors.
However, the researchers have ...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 6, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news
Eggs can be part of a healthy diet
For years, men have gotten the message that they should go
easy on the eggs-over-easy. But the evidence doesn't support banning eggs from the
diet. In most studies so far, "an egg a day does not have a negative
impact on health," says Eric Rimm, professor of epidemiology and nutrition
at the Harvard School of Public Health, in the January 2015 issue of the Harvard
Men's Health Watch.
Eggs contain a
number of healthy nutrients, including B vitamins and protein. The main
concern about eating eggs has always been their cholesterol content. The
cholesterol comes from the yolk, so many people choose to eat only the egg
white.
...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - December 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Yoga may help protect against heart disease
ConclusionOverall, this review suggests that yoga may be beneficial in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.While these are encouraging findings, the authors also caution that these are based on trials with some limitations, including: There was a wide variation in the type of yoga practised, the frequency and the length of each session across the studies. This means it is difficult to say what the actual effects of each approach are, as the overall effects are just an average across all of these approaches. Some may have more of an effect and some may have less. The review does not rep...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 16, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Obesity Source Type: news
This year's top 10 advances in cardiovascular disease
Progress in the fight against heart
disease and stroke came on many fronts during 2014, from novel drugs and
procedures to improvements and newfound benefits from existing treatments. In
the December 2014 Harvard Heart Letter, Editor in Chief Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt selected
10 of the most important advances.
New drugs cut cholesterol
levels by half. A new class of drugs, given by injection just once or twice
a month, can slash harmful LDL cholesterol levels by about 50%. Studies are
under way to see if any of these experimental agents, called PCSK9 inhibitors,
prevent heart attacks or improve heart disease survival.
Replacing...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - November 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Biomarkers aim to help predict heart disease risk
Wouldn't it be wonderful if a single blood test could gauge the heart's health? Medicine isn't quite yet at that point. But there are a few indicators that can signal where your cardiovascular health is headed and let you know whether you need to take action now to prevent a heart attack or stroke, according to the August 2014 Harvard Women's Health Watch.
Substances called biomarkers they reflect processes that are going on inside the body. "Biomarkers could be used both for predicting disease risk and for selecting those who would potentially benefit most from therapy," says Dr. Samia Mora, a cardiologist at Brigha...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - July 25, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Stress 'causes damage to the heart,' study finds
Conclusion
This research investigates the widely held perceived wisdom that psychological stress is associated with coronary heart disease.
It found 29 medical residents working in a stressful intensive care unit setting had increased levels of white blood cells, which form part of the immune system. The researchers also found exposing mice to chronic stress similarly increased their levels of certain white blood cells.
When they examined the bone marrow of stressed mice, they found this increase in the number of white blood cells seemed to be mediated by an increase in the activity of hematopoietic stem cells, which prod...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 23, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news
Heart attack survivors 'gain from high-fibre diet'
Conclusion
This was a well-designed study. Although it was a cohort study and so cannot prove causation, attempts were made to analyse the results while taking multiple factors into account.
Its strengths include that it used data from a large number of people and measured dietary habits over the previous year, which may be a more accurate assessment than snap-shot 24-hour food questionnaires. However, there will still be room for bias in people's recall and estimates of portion size.
There were a few limitations to the study:
it was not able to take into account people who suffered from a heart attack and died before ...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news
Today's statin users consume more calories and fat, and weigh more, than their predecessors
People who take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol appear to have developed a false sense of security that could lead to heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses.
A new UCLA-led study suggests that people who took statins in the 2009–10 year were consuming more calories and fat than those who used statins 10 years earlier. There was no similar increase in caloric and fat intake among non–stain users during that decade, researchers said.
In 1999–2000, statin users were consuming fewer calories and less fat than individuals who didn't take these medications, but that is no longer the case. Increase...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - April 25, 2014 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Are there "superfoods" for heart health?
Myth or reality: eating certain superfoods can strengthen the heart and protect against heart attack and stroke? It's mostly just myth and wishful thinking, reports the March 2014 Harvard Heart Letter.
There's no question that some foods are rich in nutrients that may help keep arteries clear and the heartbeat stable. It's great to eat them. But what's really important is eating a variety of fresh, unprocessed foods that deliver all of the nutrients needed to keep the heart healthy, not just those in a few so-called superfoods.
"It's really about the whole package—the combination of nutrients and micronutrients that ...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - February 27, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Lowering 3 risk factors could cut obesity-related risk of heart disease by more than half
(Harvard School of Public Health) Controlling blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and blood glucose may substantially reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke associated with being overweight or obese.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - November 21, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
