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Articles in this issue:
Spotlight on heart tests: C-reactive protein testing comes of age
A high-sensitivity version of the C-reactive protein test can help detect inflammation caused by atherosclerosis in people at moderate risk of heart disease.
Generic heart drugs as good as brand names
Analysis of clinical trials showed that generic versions of cardiovascular medications are as effective as their name-brand counterparts.
Two-way street between depression and heart disease
Heart disease and depression are often closely linked. Depressed people are more likely to develop heart disease, and those living with heart disease are more likely to become depressed. The main avenues of treatment are medication, therapy, and exercise.
Heart beat: Preeclampsia poses later heart risk
Women who experience preeclampsia during a pregnancy may be at higher risk of a heart attack, stroke, or other heart disease later in life.
Heart beat: Statins, aspirin affect prostate cancer test
Two studies found that use of a statin or daily low-dose aspirin may artificially lower the reading of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
Heart beat: Trial gives nod to home warfarin monitoring
Home monitoring devices for use by people taking warfarin compared favorably to regular blood tests done at a medical facility.
Heart beat: When success leads to failure
More people are surviving heart attacks and receiving better care afterward, which has led to an increase in the number of people living with heart failure.
Heart beat: C+E get an F for heart protection
Another large study adds to the evidence that taking vitamin C and vitamin E to protect against heart disease is not effective.
Heart beat: Beware cardiac arrest after heart attack
In the first month after surviving a heart attack, people are four times more likely to have a cardiac arrest than in the following months.
Follow-up
Using a special garment to squeeze the legs in time with the heart can ease chest pain. The inflammation that causes rheumatoid arthritis affects the heart as well as the joints.
Ask the doctor: What does an enlarged heart signify?
My doctor told me I have an enlarged heart. What is this? What causes it and what does it mean for my health?
Ask the doctor: Could my statin or exercise be affecting my kidneys?
Can muscle damage from a statin, or from strenuous exercise, elevate creatinine even after I stopped taking the statin and exercising but continue to take Zetia and Diovan HCT?
Bypass results vary by hospital
Researchers examining deaths during or soon after bypass surgery found that the surgeons and hospitals that did the most surgeries had the lowest death rates.