Slowing Down Atherosclerosis: A Research Disappointment May 01 06:41am Looking for a way to slow down atherosclerosis, researchers have examined the effects of blocking the action of an enzyme called acyl:cholesterol-acyltransferase (ACAT) that has been identified as a major culprit in the formation of atherosclerotic... Read more

Rosiglitazone Improves Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Apr 27 04:36am Metformin (Glucophage) and the thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone and piaglitazone) are oral medications used to lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Now a clinical trial of 92 people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes has... Read more

Treating High Cholesterol in Children Apr 26 02:02am The evidence is clear that the atherosclerosis that leads to heart disease begins in childhood. Yet, physicians have been uncertain about how to treat high cholesterol levels in children because the guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education... Read more

Can CT Scans Accurately Assess Heart Disease Risk? Apr 22 10:30pm CT (computed tomography) has been used for over 15 years to determine heart attack risk by measuring the amount of calcium in the coronary arteries, an indicator of the presence of atherosclerotic plaques. Coronary calcium is used only as a... Read more

Stop Smoking and Relax Your Arteries Apr 20 10:21pm There are so many convincing reasons to stop smoking that you may not need to hear about this new one: Kicking the smoking habit can reverse the stiffening of your arteries. But perhaps if you're still smoking, this additional reason will finally... Read more

Do Doctors Discriminate Against Older Patients? Apr 17 09:09pm The average age in the United States for having a first heart attack is 65.8 years for men and 70.4 years for women. Thus, a huge percentage of deaths from coronary disease — about 85 percent — occur in people over age 65. Yet, studies continue... Read more

The Rheumatic Fever-Mitral Stenosis Connection Apr 16 05:08am I remember visiting a small pediatric hospital in the late 1950s, where an entire floor was full of children suffering from rheumatic fever. These days, more accurate diagnosis and aggressive treatment of strep throat infections have made rheumatic... Read more

A New, Different Type of Blood Pressure Drug Apr 11 11:42am More than 20 medications from six different classes are currently available to treat high blood pressure. Yet most people with hypertension require two or more drugs from these separate classes to reach their blood pressure goals. But controlling... Read more

Prehypertension Worse Than Smoking for Postmenopausal Women Apr 06 11:09pm Physicians are finally coming to grips with the realization that they can no longer responsibly tell patients not to worry about their blood pressure if it is less than 140/90. More and more studies are demonstrating that every incremental increase... Read more

Angioplasties: Hospital and Cardiologist Are Keys Apr 04 06:00am Hospitals with onsite surgical backup are the preferred site for elective angioplasty procedures, according to guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society for Coronary Angiography and... Read more