american heart association

Eating breakfast may reduce risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease

People who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese and diabetic than those who usually don’t, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. In their study, researchers found that obesity and insulin resistance syndrome rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day compared to those who frequently skipped it. “Our results suggest that breakfast may really be the most important meal of the day,” says Mark A. Pereira, Ph.D., a research associate at Children’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “It appears that breakfast may play an important role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Short thighs linked to greater likelihood of diabetes

People with short upper legs are more likely to have glucose intolerance or diabetes, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. The study seems to support the hypothesis that factors influencing growth in the womb and during childhood may contribute to the development of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, says Keiko Asao, M.D., M.P.H., and a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Impaired glucose tolerance is also called insulin resistance. It’s a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot efficiently turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy.

Fast food and 'the tube': a combo for heart disease risk

Eating fast food and watching TV add up to a high risk for obesity and diabetes, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. “Fast food consumption in this country has increased dramatically,” says Mark Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston. “The association between eating fast food and the incidence of obesity and abnormal glucose control has not been thoroughly examined before.”

Less fit teens more likely to have precursor to diabetes

A child who is overweight and unfit may already be on the road to developing insulin resistance, an early sign of diabetes, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. Insulin sensitivity is a measure of how well the body responds to insulin, a hormone that transports carbohydrates from the blood into cells where they are turned into energy. High insulin sensitivity means the body is responding well to insulin. Low insulin sensitivity ? also called insulin resistance ? is often a precursor to diabetes.

Cigarettes send male sex life up in smoke

Cigarette smoking significantly increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. Men who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily had 60 percent higher risk of erectile dysfunction, compared to men who never smoked. The data showed a dose-related impact of smoking: the risk of erectile dysfunction was lower in men who smoked fewer cigarettes, but still increased compared to non-smokers.

Morning surge in blood pressure linked to strokes in elderly

In older people with high blood pressure, a sharp increase in blood pressure in the morning increases the risk of stroke and is linked to brain lesions known as “silent” strokes, according to a study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “This study is the first to show that an excessive morning blood pressure surge is a predictor of stroke in elderly people with high blood pressure,” says lead author Kazuomi Kario, M.D., from the department of cardiology at Jichi Medical School in Tochigi, Japan.

ACE inhibitor drug reduces heart failure in high-risk patients

The drug ramipril significantly reduced the onset of debilitating and often-fatal heart failure in a large group of high-risk patients, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Ramipril, trade-named Altace, is one of a family of high blood pressure medications known as ACE inhibitors. The drugs reduce the risk of death from heart failure ? the inability of a weakened or damaged heart to pump enough blood through the body ? in people who suffer heart attacks. The American Heart Association estimates that nearly 5 million people in the United States have congestive heart failure.

Critical shortage of physician-scientists

America is facing a major roadblock to medical progress. For the speedy translation of promising scientific discoveries into patient treatment, we need a special breed of medical researchers who are trained to ask clinically relevant questions in a health research environment. It’s these individuals who transform clinical observations into research studies and eventual medical advances.

Brain angioplasty in awake patients may reduce complications

Performing intracranial angioplasty on an awake patient allows patients to report unusual symptoms, which lets physicians immediately alter their work to minimize the risk of major complications, according to a preliminary study. In the study, the procedure ? called intracranial (within the skull) angioplasty ? was safely performed on 10 patients who were given local anesthesia with mild sedation, rather than the general anesthesia that is traditionally administered. Local anesthesia is injected near the access area to block pain impulses; general anesthesia induces a complete loss of consciousness.

Combination hormone therapy raises women's stroke risk

Combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increased the risk of stroke for postmenopausal women of all ages, whether or not they had hypertension. Researchers reported these findings, which are based on women studied in the Women’s Health Initiative, today at the American Stroke Association’s 28th International Stroke Conference. Information on subgroup analysis by age, race, hypertension status and baseline risk were not detailed when this major hormone study was halted last summer. “Estrogen plus progestin increased the risk of stroke in older and younger postmenopausal women, in those with and without high blood pressure and in those with no prior history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our finding is that this is absolutely not a strategy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.”

Ginseng may improve memory in stroke dementia patients

A small study showed that a ginseng compound improved memory scores of people suffering from stroke-induced dementia, Chinese researchers reported today at the American Stroke Association’s 28th International Stroke Conference. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. Researchers caution that larger clinical trials are needed to establish the efficacy and safety of the compound. Memory loss, or dementia, may occur after stroke and is a growing problem in China, says lead researcher Jinzhou Tian, M.D., a professor in the Department of Care of the Elderly at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Dongzhimen Hospital in Beijing, China.