heart health

Despite Progress, Heart Disease Remains the #1 Killer of Women

Posted on 10/12/2012 by Ian Cunningham | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthThe following is a guest post from The Heart Truth®, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A decade ago, research revealed a fatal misconception: American women believed that heart disease was a man’s disease. At that time, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the United States, causing 1 in 3 deaths in women. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute launched The Heart Truth® campaign in September …

New Tools to Help You Get Blood Pressure under Control

Posted on 09/13/2012 by Ian Cunningham | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthThe following is a guest post by Janet Wright, MD, FACC, Executive Director of Million Hearts™, a national initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly one-third of all American adults have high blood pressure and more than half of them don’t have it under control, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have high blood pressure (also called hypertension) you are at risk for a heart …

Do Fish Oil Pills Protect Your Heart? Big Study Says No

Posted on 09/13/2012 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthFor the millions who hoped that popping one of those amber omega-3 fish oil pills every day might protect against heart disease, a major study has disappointing news. The analysis of nearly 70,000 heart patients in 20 studies dating back to 1989 finds that omega-3 doesn’t lower users’ risks of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease. The study is the latest in a long-running controversy over whether omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, trout …

Two Outstanding Doctors: Your Right and Left Legs

Posted on 07/13/2012 by Carole Carson | Fat to Fit | Comments

Personal HealthI first met Dr. David Sabgir, a board-certified cardiologist in Ohio, a few years ago. A small reference in Cooking Light magazine to his upstart walking program in Lewis Center, Ohio, piqued my interest. When I contacted Dr. Sabgir, I learned that every Saturday at 8:30 a.m., rain or shine, he heads out on a walk at Highbanks Metropolitan Park in Lewis Center, Ohio, with 175 to 200 patients, neighbors, friends and family members. Frustration triggered the start of Dr. …

Prevent a Heart Attack or Stroke by Controlling Your Blood Pressure

Posted on 05/1/2012 by Ian Cunningham | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthThe following is a guest post by Janet Wright, MD, FACC, Executive Direction of Million Hearts™, a national initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a practicing cardiologist for almost 25 years, I often met men and women for the first time when they suffered a serious and life-threatening event—a heart attack or stroke. I enjoyed being part of a team that used its skills to minimize damage and offer hope for a healthier future, and …

Wine. Beer. Spirits. Yeah!

Posted on 04/3/2012 by Ian Cunningham | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthBooze. One of humanity’s earliest culinary inventions and possibly one of the things that started agricultural civilization in the first place, alcohol has been with us for a long time. But we are still learning much about how it affects the body and about our consumption habits. In other words, there’s good points and there’s bad points. A recent study suggests that moderate and constant consumption (two beers a day) gave men a 42% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The …