Heart Health Archive

Research we're watching

Taking good care of your teeth — including twice-daily brushing and at least yearly professional cleanings — seems to be linked to better heart health, according to a study in the April 7 European Heart Journal.

The findings were based on data from nearly 248,000 healthy adults ages 40 and older who were part of a national health screening program in Korea. Researchers tracked study participants for a median of 9.5 years and noted higher rates of heart-related problems among individuals who had periodontal (gum) disease or who had lost teeth.

This noninvasive test can predict plaque in the heart's arteries. But it is useful only in certain situations.

Imagine a 57-year-old man (let's call him Bill) who's in pretty good health — a nonsmoker who eats right and exercises regularly. He takes two drugs to treat high blood pressure. Even though his LDL (bad) cholesterol isn't all that high, his primary care doctor suggests that Bill consider taking a statin to lower his risk of a heart attack.

Bill is a little hesitant to add another drug to his daily regimen, so his doctor tells him about a test that may help with the decision: a coronary artery calcium scan. This noninvasive test, which can reveal dangerous plaque in the heart's arteries, has been available for more than a decade. But calcium scans (as they're often called) are now recognized in official guidelines and are being used far more often than in the past, says Dr. Ron Blankstein, a cardiovascular imaging specialist and preventive cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Ask the doctor

Q. My brother went to the emergency room because he thought he was having a heart attack. Instead, he was diagnosed with costochondritis. What is that?

A. Costochondritis is caused by inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs and the breastbone, called the costosternal joints (see illustration). This uncommon condition can trigger a stabbing, aching pain that's often mistaken for a heart attack.

The DASH diet has already been shown to lower blood pressure, and a new study found that people who followed it closely had a lower risk of heart failure. Try these suggestions to incorporate the DASH diet into your daily eating pattern.

Another study is questioning the healthfulness of eggs, but whether or not you should eat fewer eggs depends on your overall diet and your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Advice about eating eggs has evolved over the years. Should you go easy on this popular protein source?

Over the years, eggs have taken a bit of a beating, starting in the late 1960s. That's when the American Heart Association advised people to cut back on cholesterol in their diets and to eat no more than three whole eggs a week.

Decades later, eggs got a break after studies suggested that for most people, an egg a day was A-OK for heart health. But a recent report cracked down on eggs once again, suggesting that we return to the yolk-rationed days of yore (see "No yolk: Eggs linked to slightly higher risk of heart disease").

Ask the doctor

Q. I'm getting a pacemaker to treat a slow heart rate and am wondering how it might affect my daily life. For instance, can I still exercise? Is it safe to go through airport security scanners and to have medical imaging tests?

A. Pacemakers are small, implanted electronic devices that monitor your heart's rhythm and, when necessary, generate a painless electrical impulse that triggers a heartbeat. The latest models not only help people stay active later in life, they're also more compatible with today's technology.

Mounting evidence suggests that all movement — even low-effort activity — counts for preventing cardiovascular disease as people age.

When exercise experts talk about physical activity, they often focus on moderate and vigorous exercise — the types that get your heart pumping. But there's a growing appreciation that any type of activity that gets you up and off the couch also may benefit your heart.

One recent study found that doing light physical activity (preparing a meal or strolling through a park, for example) may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease among women in their early 60s and older (see "Low-intensity activity and heart disease risk"). The new study directly measured how much time people spent moving, using a device that tracked body movements and could assess light-intensity activity accurately, says study coauthor Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The simple version of cardiopulmonary resuscitation — pushing hard and fast on the chest — can double a person's odds of surviving cardiac arrest.

If someone suddenly collapses and stops breathing, the most likely cause is cardiac arrest. An electrical malfunction causes the heart to beat rapidly and chaotically — or to stop beating altogether. But if a bystander immediately begins chest compressions, which mimic the heart's pumping action, blood keeps flowing to the person's brain.

For more than a decade, guidelines have recommended this simpler version of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which does not involve the mouth-to-mouth breathing used in standard CPR.

A procedure called TAVR has an easier, shorter recovery and is becoming the go-to treatment for aortic stenosis. But surgery may still be a better choice for some people.

Last April, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, 75, underwent a procedure that may soon replace surgery as the best way to treat a failing aortic valve. Called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), the procedure delivers a new valve to the heart through a catheter that's passed through an artery in the upper leg (see illustration).

Most valve replacements are done to treat aortic stenosis, which usually results from an age-related buildup of calcium deposits on the valve. About 3% to 4% of people ages 75 and older have severe aortic stenosis, which can leave them dizzy, breathless, and tired.