Nov

28

Personality traits influence heart disease risk

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

Having a combination of "negative" personality traits or conditions such as depression, hostility and anxiety may put a person at a significantly increased risk for heart disease, according to a recent study.
Heart disease refers to a range of conditions that affect the blood vessels and muscles of the heart. Heart disease includes conditions such as […]

Nov

28

High BP risk independent of alcohol intake

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

Although there is a link between alcohol intake and increased blood pressure (hypertension), the absence or the amount of alcohol that is consumed does not appear to be significantly associated with subsequent hypertension-related events, according to researchers in California.

Nov

28

Quitting Smoking Does not Add Pounds

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

If you’re using fear of weight gain as an excuse to keep lighting up, you’re in for a surprise. Quitting smoking will not affect your weight over the long-term, researchers report.
"If you quit, you may gain an extra 4 to 5 pounds. Or, if you start, you may lose a few pounds. But it’s only […]

Nov

28

Vegetarian Diet Chews Up Excess Flab

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

Researchers have found that people who stuck to a vegetarian diet for at least one year lost more weight than those on a standard low-fat diet. And they shed considerably more excess flab than those who didn’t stick with the meatless plan.

Nov

28

Uric acid tests

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

The uric acid tests are used to evaluate the blood levels of uric acid for gout and to assess uric acid levels in the urine for kidney stone formation. The urine test is used most often to monitor patients already diagnosed with kidney stones, but it can also be used to detect disorders that affect […]

Nov

28

Good doctors note the detail

November 28, 2006 | Comments Off

NOT long ago, doctors practising in London’s famous Harley Street area met to listen to an analysis of patients’ complaints about their consulting room manner. High on the list of irritating doctors’ quirks was the staring at or using of a computer instead of looking the patient in the eye during their consultation.

Nov

25

Coffee May Trigger Heart Attack

November 25, 2006 | Comments Off

That cup of coffee you’re craving might not be such a good idea. Research in the September issue of Epidemiology suggests coffee can trigger a heart attack within an hour in some people. Java junkies can take some comfort from the finding that the risk was highest among light coffee drinkers (those who consumed up […]

Nov

25

Cholesterol/blood pressure combo not being treated

November 25, 2006 | Comments Off

A large number of adults with both high blood pressure and high cholesterol are not receiving treatment, a study shows. High blood pressure, or hypertension, and high cholesterol (a.k.a., hypercholesterolemia), are two important modifiable risk factors for heart and circulatory disease.

Nov

25

Smoking and Drinking

November 25, 2006 | Comments Off

Lighting up a cigarette may dull you to the effects of that last drink, says new research being published in the August issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
A study of rats conducted at Texas A&M University indicates that nicotine levels regularly achieved by human smokers can reduce the amount of alcohol that reaches the […]

Nov

25

Aspirin Therapy: Right for Your Heart?

November 25, 2006 | Comments Off

Sandra Rose, a nurse in Raleigh, NC, started taking a daily aspirin because "it seemed like a wonder drug," preventing heart attacks and strokes. "All the patients seemed to be on a low-dose aspirin," 63-year-old Rose says. She started taking one herself.

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