Opposing studies sound a note of caution on too much calcium.

Your body needs calcium to build bones, contract muscles, send nerve signals, help enzymes and genes do their jobs, and much more — including making your heart beat. How much calcium you need to take in each day to fulfill these tasks, and in what form, are two controversial questions.

The average adult carries around two pounds or so of calcium. About 99% of it resides in bone. But calcium is a restless mineral. Some time in middle age, it seems to start moving from bones to the cardiovascular ...

 

Light smoking isn't as bad as heavy smoking, but it still harms the heart and body.

I'm not really a smoker. I only smoke a few cigarettes a day, or when I go out on the weekend."

If you think you are doing your heart and lungs a favor by smoking only "a little," think again. Light or intermittent smoking may be safer for you than heavy smoking, but they still cause plenty of harm.

Public health campaigns have reduced the number of American adults who smoke from 42% in 1965 to about 21% today. Along with that decline ...

The cardiovascular promise of this red wine compound has not been confirmed in humans.

Oh, the hype one molecule can generate. That has been the fate of resveratrol, a substance found in red wine that some research suggests accounts for the cardiovascular benefits of red wine.

Experiments in the early 2000s showed that resveratrol extended the life spans of yeast and other relatively simple organisms. Since then, media reports have extolled its virtues with headlines like "Fountain of youth in the bottom of a wine bottle" and "Want to slow down aging? Pop some red wine pills." Supplement makers have ...

 

Simultaneous focus on body, breathing, and mind may be just what the doctor ordered.

Yoga, once a mystical practice performed mainly by spiritual seekers striving for inner peace, has become as American an activity as jogging and aerobics. Its newfound popularity could be a boon for people with high blood pressure, heart failure, and other forms of cardiovascular disease.

"Yoga is an excellent activity for people who haven't exercised in years or those who aren't very strong," says Dr. Suzie Bertisch, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School who has studied the benefits of yoga and other mind-body ...

The Food and Drug Administration has established a toll-free number that consumers can use to report adverse side effects from medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) and medical devices.

A trial of the antidepressant sertraline in people living with heart failure did not ease their depression.

Researchers have concluded that caffeine does not affect the development of atrial fibrillation.

I avoid grapefruit juice because my doctor says it affects how my body handles the Lipitor I take for my cholesterol. Should I also stay away from pomelo?

I am an 84-year-old man with atrial fibrillation, mild heart failure, and high blood pressure. My doctor had me wear a Holter monitor and get a SPECT scan. Now he wants me to have a cardiac MRI. What info would this test give that he doesn't already have?

I'm a 79-year-old man with atrial fibrillation on Pacerone. I also take warfarin and aspirin. I plan to have a tooth pulled next month and wonder if it is safe to go off the blood thinners. How are these medications handled when serious surgery is needed?

Many people in my neighborhood heat their homes with wood stoves. The smoke really bothers me. Does what's coming out of their chimneys affect my heart?