American Heart Association

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Half of US Has Major Heart Disease Risk

High cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes common

(Newser) - Nearly 50% of Americans have either high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, putting them at significant risk of heart disease, and many don't even know it, according to a new CDC report. Among those with only one risk factor, 15% are undiagnosed. “That's a huge wake-up call,”...

Eat Way Less Added Sugar: Heart Docs

(Newser) - Americans eat more than twice as much added sugar as doctors recommend, and they should cut back to battle obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, researchers say. Added calories from processed sugar should total no more than 150 for men and 100 for women, the American Heart Association said today....

Heart Attack Deaths Plummet 30%

Drop hailed as modern medical miracle, but disease still daunting

(Newser) - In what is being hailed as a medical miracle, deaths from heart attack and stroke have dropped nearly a third between 1999 and 2006, according to the latest statistics from the American Heart Association. Yet despite gains from better preventive medicine and more effective hospital treatment, one person still dies...

Obese Kids Have Middle-Aged Arteries

Scientists warn childhood obesity epidemic may lead to much shorter lifespans

(Newser) - Arteries of seriously overweight teenagers are as clogged as those of middle-aged people, according to US News & World Report. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the neck arteries of chubby kids at risk of heart trouble and were alarmed to find that their "vascular age" was an average of...

Drug May Cut Heart Attack Risk in Half

'Blockbuster' study could transform preventative care

(Newser) - A simple test and drug prescription can prevent hundreds of thousands of heart attacks and strokes, researchers say. Announced today at an American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans, the study of almost 18,000 volunteers in 26 nations confirmed that inflammation leads to heart disease—and can be counteracted...

Palin Charged Alaska $21K for Children's Travel

Uninvited children were said to be on 'official business'

(Newser) - Sarah Palin billed the state of Alaska repeatedly for costs incurred by her children accompanying her on trips, sometimes altering expense reports to indicate that they were on official business even though they were not invited, an investigation by the AP finds. Palin charged the state a total of $21,...

House Votes to Let FDA Regulate Tobacco

Cigarettes would be controlled by FDA

(Newser) - The House passed landmark legislation yesterday to bring the tobacco industry under the regulatory control of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA wouldn't have the power to ban cigarettes under the bill, but it could order nicotine levels in cigarettes reduced and restrict other harmful ingredients, reports the New ...

Turnaround King Sees Gold in Margarine

Marketing guru aims to make Smart Balance a billion-dollar brand

(Newser) - Hailed as a marketing magician for successes with Healthy Choice and Tropicana, billion-dollar brand legend Steve Hughes is at it again, Fortune reports. Turning Smart Balance’s “good” cholesterol into an industry-leading line of spreads is the goal, though stiff competition, rocketing commodity prices, and strapped shoppers could work...

Beta Blockers 'Killing Patients'

Research uncovers dire effects of pre-surgery drug

(Newser) - Beta blockers routinely given to patients before surgery do far more harm than good, with patients 35% more likely to die within a month than those given a dummy pill, according to a study reported in the Lancet.  While the blood pressure drugs did cut the number of heart...

Hypertension Linked to Fewer Migraines

High blood pressure may interfere with pain signals

(Newser) - Beta blockers and other medications that lower blood pressure are routinely prescribed for migraines, but now a new study has discovered that people with high blood pressure had 40% fewer headaches. "This is a paradox," the lead researcher told WebMD. One possibility is that high blood pressure interferes...

Skip Liplock, 'Go for the Heart' to Save a Life

Chest compressions key in heart attack CPR, says health group

(Newser) - Reluctant bystanders can skip mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if they witness someone collapse from a heart attack, but should attempt "hands-only" CPR to save a life, the American Heart Association has recommended.  With less than a third of cardiac arrest victims receiving any form of CPR before it's too late,...

Coke Can Mimic Heart Attack Symptoms

Docs must ask ER patients if they use cocaine, AHA says

(Newser) - Doctors should ask younger patients if their heart attack symptoms are really due to cocaine use, the American Heart Association said today. Coke can cause chest pain similar to a heart attack, it said, but heart medication can be fatal to cocaine users. "Not knowing what you are dealing...

Heart &amp; Stroke Deaths Plummet
Heart & Stroke Deaths Plummet

Heart & Stroke Deaths Plummet

Doctors say improvement is dramatic, but could be short-lived

(Newser) - Deaths from heart disease and strokes have dropped by a quarter since 1999—the biggest decrease on record, reports ABC News. An estimated 160,000 lives have been saved.  "This is the fastest rate of decrease we've seen. It's very meaningful," said a doctor. The American Heart...

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits
Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits

Strength training provides health benefits that aerobic workouts can't

(Newser) - Pumping iron has long been known to improve strength and prevent injury, but evidence increasingly points to a wide range of other benefits, writes Judy Foreman in the Boston Globe. The findings—decreased heart disease and neck pain, improved metabolism and balance—are driving groups such as the American Heart...

Heart Assn. Wants You to Learn CPR
Heart Assn. Wants You to Learn CPR

Heart Assn. Wants You to Learn CPR

Just 15-30% of cardiac arrest victims get lifesaving treatment

(Newser) - Spurred by the "woefully inadequate" number of cardiac arrest victims who receive CPR from a bystander—only 15% to 30%—the American Heart Association is calling for a push to increase and improve CPR training in the US, Reuters reports. The low CPR rate is an “enormous missed...

3 Stars Means It's Healthy, Right?
3 Stars Means It's Healthy, Right?

3 Stars Means It's Healthy, Right?

Experts fear that new health ratings systems may befuddle shoppers

(Newser) - Stars, numbers, and letter grades are coming to grocery stores near you, the New York Times reports—but experts fear that these health ratings may befuddle shoppers with conflicting information. Consumer advocates are studying three new food ranking systems, while the FDA, approached by a nutrition group, is soliciting ideas...

Pill Linked to Heart Attack Risk
Pill Linked to Heart Attack Risk

Pill Linked to Heart Attack Risk

Study reveals 'startling' increase in artery plaque

(Newser) - New research suggesting a link between birth control pills and heart attacks has reignited a furious debate among scientists about the risks of oral contraceptives. Researchers in Europe found women had a 20-30% increase in artery-clogging plaque for every 10 years on oral contraceptives, CBS News reports. Nearly 12 million...

As Temperature Drops, Blood Pressure Rises

Hypertension harder to control in chillier season, study finds

(Newser) - Hypertension is significantly harder to control in the winter, researchers said yesterday, and the link between season and blood pressure isn't related to climate. Sixty percent of 443,632 veterans in a VA study showed significant changes in winter blood pressure control. The likely reason? People tend to stay inside...

Cancer Society Takes on Health Care Policy

Ads will focus on inadequate insurance, effect on prevention

(Newser) - The American Cancer Society’s next ad campaign won’t tackle the tobacco wars or advocate mammograms, the Times reports. Instead, the group will devote its entire $15 million ad budget to the nation’s health care crisis. The move follows recent research linking detection delays with lack of coverage,...

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