 Statins Affect Good Cholesterol as Heart Predictor Source: The Lancet, Posted: 08/25/2010 by VP Staff U.S. researchers say that people with high levels of HDL, or good cholesterol, tend to have fewer heart attacks, but HDL may offer little protective benefits for people who take statins to lower harmful LDL cholesterol. The findings by Paull Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston raise questions about developmental drugs to raise HDL to prevent heart attacks, he said. "HDL is a very powerful predictor of future risk" of heart disease, Ridker said. But "once we get LDL into these very low ranges with very potent statins, HDL no longer predicts future risk of heart disease." Study participants who took Crestor had 54 percent fewer heart attacks and 48 percent fewer strokes after two years compared with others who took a placebo. They found that HDL was still protective in people who got the placebo, but in those whose cholesterol was lowered by the statin, having high HDL made no difference in predicting which patients would have heart problems. Fish Lovers Help Heart Health Source: Newsmax Health, Posted: 08/12/2010 by VP Staff Middle-aged and older men who eat fish daily are less likely than infrequent fish eaters to develop a collection of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, a new Korean study suggests. Researchers say the results are in line with studies showing that omega-3 fatty acids — found most abundantly in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and albacore tuna — may have heart benefits. Omega-3s have been found in clinical trials to lower triglycerides (a type of blood fat), Whether a fishy diet itself is the reason for the benefit is not clear from the findings. The new study of 3,500 Korean adults ages 40 to 69, found that men who had a serving of fish each day were 57 percent less likely than those who dined on fish less than once a week to develop metabolic syndrome over three years. Metabolic syndrome refers to a collection of risk factors for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke — including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol, and high triglycerides. Major studies have found that a person having three or more of the above traits can double the risk of heart attack and stroke. Research has also suggested that fish oil supplements can help lower blood pressure and may reduce the risk of death among people with established heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Fit But Fat Not Good for Blood Pressure Source: American Heart Journal, Posted: 08/12/2010 by VP Staff One in three American adults have high blood pressure (above 140/90) including more than half of those over 55. If you are working to reduce your blood pressure, a new study suggests that your weight is more important than your fitness. As expected, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study found that overweight or obese people were more likely to have a high systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure reading. But for those with a high body mass index (BMI) — a measure of weight versus height — their fitness only had a small impact on their blood pressure. The results suggest that people who are trying to decrease their risk for high blood pressure should focus on losing weight however they can, and that increasing physical fitness should be a secondary goal. At least in terms of lowering your risk for high blood pressure, the report noted, "it's not realistic to be fit and fat." In the study researchers analyzed data from approximately 35,000 patients, mostly white men, collected over the last 20 years at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. The authors compared BMI, fitness levels, and systolic blood pressure of all patients to see if the three measurements were linked. Among all participants, having a higher BMI was associated with having a higher systolic blood pressure, a correlation that has been found many times in the past. But being fit had less of an effect on systolic blood pressure readings than BMI, and when the authors looked at people of the same age and gender, fitness didn't seem to have any effect on blood pressure. The research has shown that people who are obese but fit aren't any more likely to die from heart disease and stroke — or any cause — than people who are thinner and fit. One of the studies authors noted, "It's (blood pressure) an indicator just like a weatherman would use. It's not the disease itself." Is Taste Affected by Heart Surgery? Source: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Posted: 08/11/2010 by VP Staff Nearly 500,000 coronary artery bypass surgeries are performed in the U.S. annually, and following surgery many of those patients taste food differently. However, their detection of salty, sweet, sour and bitter may be enhanced rather than reduced, according to unexpected findings reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Researchers in the study note that the findings may be partially explained by hunger after fasting near the time of surgery. The study participants' average age was 62, and half were current or former smokers. Study participants were tested four times: pre-admission, upon discharge from the hospital, five weeks post-surgery, and again four months after surgery. Each time, patients underwent several rounds of sipping liquids from small cups until they could detect each taste, but only 13 patients completed all four tests. Compared to pre-surgery, patients had significant improvement in their ability to pick out the four tastes during later tests, the researchers noted. According to earlier research, hunger naturally heightens the sense of taste, so the light diet consumed by patients before and after surgery could have influenced this result, they point out. A registered dietician commenting on the study encouraged doctors to work with patients to ensure that foods are palatable and consumed, particularly nutritional supplements because maintaining nutrients during healing and recovery is important. |
