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Education: Harvard
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Total 178 results found since Jan 2013.
The many ways volunteering is good for your heart
If you do volunteer work, whether it’s at a school, soup kitchen, or senior center, perhaps you’ve experienced the emotional rewards of donating your time. What you might not realize, however, is that volunteering may offer some added advantages for your heart.
“There’s a growing body of research showing that volunteering is associated with better physical and mental health outcomes,” says Eric S. Kim, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. A study he co-authored, published in Social Science and Medicine earlier this year, found that volunteers were more likely to use preventive healt...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - June 3, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Behavioral Health Healthy Aging Heart Health Prevention Source Type: news
Some types of vegetarian diet can raise heart disease risk
Conclusion
This large pooled cohort study seems to demonstrate an association between a healthy plant-based diet and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and an increased risk of heart disease with an unhealthy plant-based diet.
This adds to the evidence base supporting the possible benefits of healthy plant-based diets in protecting against certain illnesses. However there are some limitations to the research:
The cohort included only health professionals from the US so might not be representative of wider populations in the UK or elsewhere.
The study can't provide information on the benefits or otherwise of this d...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
Study: Fish Oil Doesn ’ t Seem To Prevent Heart Problems
This study is consistent with earlier trials.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the fish oil-based drug Vascepa for heart attack and stroke prevention in 2019.
Nissen hopes the FDA will take a look at these studies and reconsider that decision.
“But it’s hard to get something undone once the genie gets out of the bottle,” he said.
An editorial in the journal that accompanies the study written by Dr. Gregory Curfman, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, also suggested the FDA should require a postmarketing clinical trial of a high-dose of fish oil, such as Vascepa, vs. corn...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - November 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Syndicated CBSN Boston CNN fish oil Source Type: news
How Menopause Affects Cholesterol —And How to Manage It
Kelly Officer, 49, eats a vegan diet and shuns most processed foods. So, after a recent routine blood test revealed that she had high cholesterol, “I was shocked and upset,” she says, “since it never has been [high] in the past.”
Officer is not alone. As women enter menopause, cholestrol levels jump—by an average of 10-15%, or about 10 to 20 milligrams per deciliter. (A healthy adult cholesterol range is 125-200 milligrams per deciliter, according to the National Library of Medicine.)
This change often goes unnoticed amidst physical symptoms and the general busyness of those years. But, says D...
Source: TIME: Health - September 21, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katherine Harmon Courage Tags: Uncategorized freelance healthscienceclimate heart health Source Type: news
Eating your 5 A DAY 'could make you more optimistic'
Conclusion
This is well-conducted research which has used a validated measure to assess the optimism of a sample of middle-aged American citizens and measure their blood antioxidant levels.
The researchers found a link between higher carotenoid levels and higher optimism, but as the researchers rightly conclude, their findings do not prove cause and effect and it isn’t possible to say in which direction the relationship is going.
It is possible that having higher levels of antioxidants in the body leads to better physical health and this in turn enhances optimism, but then it is equally possible that people who are in be...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Mental health Source Type: news
Advantages and disadvantages of off-pump bypass surgery
When surgeons devised ways to operate on a beating heart, many believed this approach would phase out the use of the heart-lung machine, the device that paved the way for life-saving open heart surgery. Not so, reports the March 2013 Harvard Heart Letter.
The heart-lung machine, first used in 1953, adds oxygen to blood and circulates it around the body. This lets doctors stop the heart, making it safer and easier to bypass cholesterol-clogged coronary arteries or fix other cardiac problems. While the machine helped save and improve countless lives, some experts blamed the heart-lung machine (also known as the pump) for the...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - March 1, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
High blood pressure is a silent danger in older women
Millions of American women harbor a secret even they don't know they carry. It's high blood pressure, an often silent, symptomless condition that can damage blood vessels and overwork the heart, leaving women prey to heart disease, stroke, and premature death. The April 2013 Harvard Women's Health Watch looks at the reasons why so many women don't know their blood pressure and explains how the treatment of high blood pressure has changed.
A woman's risk of developing high blood pressure is extremely high if she lives long enough, says Dr. Deepak Bhatt, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Int...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - April 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Heart disease risk 'higher in men who skip breakfast'
Conclusion
This large cohort study of middle-aged and older male American health professionals has found that eating breakfast and not eating after going to bed are associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease.
As this was a cohort study, it cannot prove cause and effect, as it is not possible to exclude the possibility that there are other factors responsible for any of the associations seen.
The results remained the same when researchers adjusted for diet, demographic factors and activity level, but were no longer significant if the researchers adjusted for obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news
Cocoa may improve blood flow to the brain in elderly
Conclusion
This study suggests that cocoa consumption may be associated with the manner in which blood flow and brain function interact among elderly people with vascular conditions.
A major limitation of this study is the method of analysis. While randomised controlled trials are considered to be the best method to determine the effect of a treatment or intervention (in this case, consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa) on a health outcome (neurovascular coupling), this strength depends on the ability to analyse outcomes in the intervention compared with the control group. In this study, the analysis of the intervention group...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Older people Source Type: news
Taking over the counter pain relievers safely
For aching joints or a throbbing head, millions of Americans turn to aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) every day. They are generally safe, but if not used carefully NSAIDs can have a dark side, according to the September 2013 Harvard Women's Health Watch.
NSAIDs are widely used because they perform double duty. “They not only relieve pain, but they reduce inflammation too,” says Dr. Lucy Chen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and attending physician in the anesthesia, critical care, and pain medicine department at Massachusetts General Hos...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - August 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Having "the talk" when heart disease runs in the family
When heart disease or stroke runs in a family, it's important to talk about it with children and other close family members. The conversation may be hard, but the payoff—better health for all—can be huge, according to the September 2013 Harvard Heart Letter.
"Knowing your family history is one of most powerful tools we have to guide how we take care of ourselves from a health perspective," says Dr. Paula A. Johnson, professor of cardiology at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This is a chance for your children to make changes that will have both...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - August 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Teen drinking linked to raised breast cancer risk
Conclusion
Alcohol consumption is already recognised as a risk factor for breast cancer. And this large, well-conducted study seems to confirm that young women between their first period and first pregnancy are particularly susceptible.
One limitation of the study is that the women were asked to recall their drinking habits when they were far younger, which could mean the results are less reliable. Also, other factors called confounders might have affected women’s risk of breast cancer, although researchers did adjust their findings for a range of other risk factors.
As the authors point out, it is crucial that youn...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 29, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news
Better food choices for better heart health: simple substitutions improve the diet
It's easier to follow a heart-healthy diet than you think. All it takes are some simple changes in food choices, reports the October 2013 Harvard Heart Letter.
Wholesale changes aren't necessarily needed. Instead, small changes can make a big difference, says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the department of nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.
"The typical American diet contains a large proportion of unhealthy fats, too few fruits and vegetables, too much sugar and sodium, and too little fiber," she says. "This contributes to risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity."
The Harva...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - September 27, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Not taking necessary medications can sabotage health
Up to 80% of people—including more than half of those who've recently had a heart attack—don't take their medications as prescribed, reports the November 2013 Harvard Heart Letter.
There are many different ways people fail to take their medications. Some take their pills erratically, forgetting to take the proper dosages or deliberately taking their pills every other day. Some take their medications like clockwork for a while, and then stop. Others never even get their prescriptions filled.
Cost is a big part of the problem. "Affordability—what people pay out of pocket—is a big barrier," says Dr. Ni...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - November 3, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Sugar intake linked to heart disease deaths
Conclusion
This study used dietary information from a large group of US adults to show that greater added sugar intake was linked to a higher risk of death from CVD.
The study has many strengths including recruiting a large number of people and obtaining information spanning a relatively long time – average 15 years.
The cohort in question was representative of US adults. Despite some ethnicity differences between the US and UK population that may influence the results, the main link between sugar and CVD death is likely to apply to UK adults.
It wasn’t possible to estimate the absolute risk differences of dying from ...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 4, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
