http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease The latest news and information about heart disease, the biggest cause of death in the western world. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:08:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Foods rich in cocoa, such as chocolate, may lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease according to a study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006. The study, conducted by Dutch researchers, used data from the Zutphen study to assess whether cocoa could reduce ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/cocoa-lowers-blood-pressure-improves-cardiovascular-health/ Middle aged people who have a history of coronary heart disease perform worse on cognitive tests than healthy individuals according to a new study published on July 22 in the European Heart Journal (EHJ). The research backs up a number of recent studies that have suggests a link between dementia ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/coronary-heart-disease-may-up-dementia-risk-in-later-life/ A study published this month in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine has found that high doses of vitamin C can reduce an individuals LDL cholesterol levels and subsequently lower their risk of heart disease. The research, conducted by Marc McRae of the National University of Health Sciences in Illinois, involved the ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/vitamin-c-may-reduce-ldl-cholesterol-risk-of-heart-disease/ Women with an under-active thyroid, a condition known as hypothyroidism, are at a greater risk of heart disease according to a recent study published in the April 28 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The results of the study indicated that even women with low, but clinically normal ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/underactive-thyroid-raises-heart-disease-risk-in-women/ Several studies indicate that brisk walking may be just as good for your heart as more vigorous exercise such as jogging, running, or swimming. One of the largest studies on the effects of exercise on heart disease prevention was published in The New England Journal of Medicine in August of 1999. ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/walking-as-good-as-vigorous-exercise-for-heart-disease-prevention/ Scientific studies suggest that taller people are at a lower risk of coronary heart disease, even after adjusting for other heart disease risk factors. Studies have found that on average a 1cm (0.4 inch) increase in height is associated with around a 2% decrease in the risk of coronary ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/tall-people-less-likely-to-develop-coronary-heart-disease/ Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in cardiovascular health. The chemical is produced in the inner lining of the blood vessels (the endothelium). Numerous enzymes in the endothelium play a role in converting the amino acid arginine and oxygen into nitric oxide through a series of intermediate steps. Nitric oxide ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/the-relationship-between-nitric-oxide-heart-disease-and-arginine/ Individuals who consume high fiber diets are as much as 30% less likely to develop heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases such as strokes according to recent evidence. One study, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine in February 2004, looked at data from 10 previous studies in order to ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/high-fiber-diets-lower-heart-disease-risk/ Women with a normal body mass index (BMI) but a waist size greater than 88 cm (35 inches) have three times the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than women with a waist size less than 88 cm according to a recent study published online in the journal Circulation in ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/large-waist-size-increases-cardiovascular-disease-in-women/ Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with more than a two-fold increase in coronary heart disease risk according to a recent study funded by the American Heart Association. The researchers looked at data from 1,739 offspring of the Framingham Heart Study with an average age of 59 years. The participants had ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-increased-cardiovascular-disease/ While most people know that cigarette smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer cancer, what many people don't know is that most premature deaths due to smoking are actually due to coronary heart disease rather than lung cancer. It is estimated that 20% of all deaths from heart disease ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/smoking-raises-heart-disease-cardiovascular-risks/ A new study, conducted by researchers at the University of Northern Carolina and published in the journal Dynamic Medicine, has found that young adults with metabolic syndrome are much more likely to have had been physically inactive and had poor aerobic fitness levels as children. The data from the study came ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/lack-of-exercise-in-childhood-years-leads-to-heart-disease-in-later-life/ High levels of LDL cholesterol and a high ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol are both considered to be strong risk factors for heart disease. Several studies have found that pectin, a complex carbohydrate found in many fruits, can lower LDL cholesterol levels and therefore improve heart health. In 1987, a ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/pectin-reduces-cholesterol-levels-heart-disease-risk/ According to several recent studies, both waist size and the waist to hip ratio may be better indicators of heart disease risk than the traditional Body Mass Index (BMI). The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that people aim for a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 however most Americans have a ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/waist-size-predicts-heart-disease-risk-better-than-bmi/ Recent scientific evidence has shown that a person's emotional state can have a significant effect on their likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. Emotions such as anger, hostility, stress, and happiness all play a role in either reducing or increasing heart disease risk. Researchers believe that in individuals that have none ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/how-your-emotions-can-affect-your-heart/ Several studies have shown an association between baldness and an increased risk of heart disease. Furthermore, known heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure appear to interact strongly with the presence of baldness in men, further raising the probability of heart problems. One of these studies, ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/the-link-between-heart-disease-and-baldness/ Homocysteine is an amino acid that is becoming an increasingly important risk factor for coronary heart disease and strokes. Homocysteine is believed to degrade and inhibit the formation of the major components of arteries - collagen, elastin & proteoglycans leading to increased rates of arterial decline and conditions such as ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/homocysteine-b-vitamins-and-heart-disease/ Cholesterol is a lipid that can be both manufactured by the body and ingested in food. It should be noted that dietary cholesterol is not the same as cholesterol found in the blood (serum cholesterol) and that dietary cholesterol often has little impact on the levels of cholesterol in the ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/cholesterol-and-coronary-heart-disease-the-facts/ A British study has found that stressed workers are significantly more likely to develop coronary heart disease. The research, conducted at the University College London (UCL), was published in January in the European Heart Journal. The study suggested that stressed workers may be up to 68 percent more likely to suffer ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/stress-at-work-linked-to-coronary-heart-disease/ People with higher blood sugar levels , particularly women, run a greater risk of developing heart disease according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study, which included over 4,000 men and women from the Framingham Heart Study, found that women with high ... http://healthhubs.net/heartdisease/high-blood-sugar-levels-raise-heart-disease-risk/