Women's Health Archive

A panel discussion at Harvard School of Public Health called “Boosting Vitamin D: Not Enough or Too Much?” highlights the current controversy over the once-overlooked sunshine vitamin. A panel of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine recommends a daily dose of 600 IU per day for everyone from ages 1 to 70 and 800 IU for those over 70. Other experts think the IOM recommendation is too low. One way to get vitamin D is to spend a few minutes a day outside in the sun, but that’s a hot-button issue because sun exposure is a cause of skin cancer.

Heart failure, the condition that took Elizabeth Taylor’s life, affects millions of Americans. The term “heart failure” is a scary one, conjuring up images of a heart that is suddenly unable to work. In truth, it represents a gradual decline in the heart’s ability to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. As the heart weakens, all parts of the body suffer the consequences. Harvard Heart Letter editor PJ Skerrett explains what heart failure is, how it affects the body, and what can be done to treat it.

Having sex (or performing any kind of physical activity) triples the risk of having a heart attack, according to a new study. But there’s more to the story. The odds of having a heart attack during sex are about 1 in one million; tripling the risk boosts it to 3 in one million. In other words, sex can cause a heart attack, but usually doesn’t. And the more a person exercises, or has sex, the lower the chances of having a heart attack during the activity.

Is it time to rewrite the book on postmenopausal hormone use?

What a difference a decade makes! When the new millennium dawned, hormone therapy (HT) was a mainstay of postmenopausal health care. Besides relieving hot flashes and other troublesome symptoms, it was thought to offer protection against a host of degenerative disorders. In 2001, perimenopausal women were commonly urged to consider HT, not just for symptom relief but also for benefits that included protection against osteoporosis and possibly heart disease, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Its risks were thought to be limited — mainly increased susceptibility to breast cancer and gallbladder disease. Today, however, HT is linked not only to these conditions but also to an increased risk for stroke, blood clots, and Alzheimer's disease. Amid the growing evidence of harmful effects, many women are loath to consider HT even for short-term symptom relief.

High-quality chocolate may lower the risk of heart failure in middle-aged and older women when eaten once or twice a week — but not when eaten more than that. That's the conclusion of a study published online, Aug. 16, 2010, in Circulation: Heart Failure. Cocoa beans are rich in flavonoids — plant chemicals known to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels and coronary artery function. Cocoa and dark chocolate are already associated with a reduced risk for heart attacks, strokes, and death from heart disease.

The study. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Sweden's Karolinska Institute followed 31,823 Swedish women ages 48 to 83 for nine years, tracking their chocolate intake with food questionnaires completed as part of the Swedish Mammography Cohort study. At the start of the study, none of the women had a history of diabetes, heart failure, or heart attack. According to the authors, most chocolate then consumed in Sweden had 30% cocoa solids — more than is typically found in chocolate in the United States. The average serving size ranged from 20 to 30 grams (about three-quarters to one full ounce).

Cereal fiber–from whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, barley and other whole grains–seems to offer more protection against heart disease and other chronic conditions than fiber from fruits and vegetables. The benefit isn’t necessarily from the fiber alone, but the natural package of nutrients that comes with the fiber. Processed foods, which are often stripped of their fiber and nutrients and then “fortified” in the manufacturing process, don’t measure up.

Women under 40 are at much greater risk of developing gallstones than men, due to the actions of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

The American Heart Association is predicting a big increase in cardiovascular disease over the next 20 years, fueled largely by the aging of baby boomers. Greater attention to heart-healthy living among boomers, their children, and grandchildren, could prove the AHA wrong.

The latest iteration of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans focuses on weight and lowers the recommended salt intake for African Americans, people with diabetes, and others. Beyond that, the guidelines don’t offer much that is new. And what’s in there is often spoiled by vague language.

Work-related stress may be a risk factor for heart problems. So what do we do about it?

Harvard researchers have uncovered strong links between women's job stress and cardiovascular disease. Findings from the Women's Health Study (WHS) — a landmark inquiry into disease prevention involving more than 17,000 female health professionals — show that women whose work is highly stressful have a 40% increased risk of heart disease (including heart attacks and the need for coronary artery surgery), compared with their less stressed colleagues. The results, which were presented at an American Heart Association meeting in 2010, also showed that women who worry about losing their jobs are more likely to have high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels and to be obese. These findings are especially distressing in the current economic climate.