Recent studies have found the giving people with chronic heart failure injections of their own bone-marrow stem cells appears to improve their heart function and lead to a longer life.

The benefits of the stem cell treatment were apparent within three months and persisted for the five years the patients were followed, says researcher Bodo-Eckehard Strauer, MD, of Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany.

This isn’t the first time doctors have reported that stem cells may help improve the health of people with heart failure or other heart conditions.

This391-patient study is one of the biggest tests to date of stem cell therapy for heart disease — and the first to show that the treatment cuts the risk of death in chronic heart failure.

The treatment has been found to have almost no risks and is effective when used on top of other treatments for chronic heart failure.

If you are interested in learning more information about this contact your doctor today.

A woman’s resting pulse rate is a good predictor of her heart attack risk regardless of other risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, researchers say.

A team of scientists analyzed records of 129,135 postmenopausal women who had no history of heart problems. Their pulse rates were measured at the start of the study. The researchers found that during almost eight years of follow-up, women with the highest heart rates — at or above 76 beats per minute — were much more likely to suffer a heart attack than the women with the lowest resting pulse rates, 62 beats per minute or less.

This association held true regardless of factors such as physical activity levels and did not differ between races or women with or without diabetes, high blood pressure, or cholesterol abnormalities, according to the study authors, led by Judith Hsia, MD, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and senior director of clinical research for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

A new analysis out in the British Medical Journal says calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attack by 30 percent. The study points out that while this number may not be considered a drastic increase, the amount of women taking calcium supplements today is. Patients with the bone-eroding disease of osteoporosis have long been directed by their physicians to supplement
their food intake with calcium in the hope of preventing further damage to their bone structures. The new findings in this study seriously question these directions. If you take a calcium supplement it is important to contact your doctor to learn more information about the effects that a calcium supplement can possibly have on your body.

Understanding different heart attack symptoms or warning signs can help to save your life or the life of someone you love, Below is a list of common list of symptoms that you should be aware of:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.

• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms (this pain may be mild to intense. It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning, or heavy weight)  It may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw, or inside the arms or shoulders.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.
• Paleness
• Increased or irregular heart rate.

  If you experience any of these symptoms it is important to contact your doctor immediately.

A recent study conducted by Japanese researchers found that foods rich in B vitamins such as folate and B-6 may reduce the risk of death from stroke and heart problems. The study looked at the effects of B vitamins on men and women separately, but findings suggest that foods containing the B vitamins might benefit people of both sexes.

Their primary findings are listed below:

• Folate and B-6 may reduce the risk of heart failure in men.
• The same vitamins seem to reduce the risk of death from stroke and heart disease in women.

Sources of folate include vegetables, fruits, whole or enriched grains, fortified cereals, beans, and legumes. B-6 sources include fish, vegetables, liver, meats, whole grains, and fortified cereals.
Vitamin B6, Folate Fight Heart Disease

The researchers examined data from 23,119 men and 35,611 women between ages 40 and 79 who completed questionnaires about dietary habits as part of the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study.

They found that at a median of 14 years follow-up, 986 people had died from stroke, 424 from heart disease, and 2,087 from all diseases related to the cardiovascular system.

According to a recent report, diabetes has the potential to double the risk of developing serious blood vessel diseases and life-threatening conditions such as strokes and heart attacks. If you have a family history of diabetes it is crucial to inform your doctor so they can provide you with regular testing to ensure that the potential of developing diabetes is being properly monitoring.

A recent study has helped prove that individuals who drink tea and coffee in moderation have a lower risk for heart disease than individuals who do not.  The research did however find that even though tea and coffee may help prevent heart disease it had no impact on preventing a stroke. Researchers followed more than 37,000 people in the Netherlands for a span of 13 years to complete this study.  This study is one of the largest and longest studies ever to explore the impact of coffee and tea drinking on heart health.

The study found that:

• People who drank three to six cups of tea per day had a 45% lower risk of death from heart disease than people who drank less than one cup of tea a day.
• Drinking more than six cups of tea a day was associated with a 36% lower risk of heart disease, compared to drinking less than one cup.
• People who drank more than two, but no more than four, cups of coffee a day had about a 20% lower risk of heart disease than people who drank more or less coffee or no coffee at all.
• Moderate coffee consumption was associated with a slight, but not statistically significant, reduction in death from heart disease, but neither coffee nor tea affected stroke risk.

Heart Disease is a one of the leading causes of death in men and women throughout the United States and various parts of the world. If you have a family history of heart disease it is important to contact your doctor to make sure that you are doing everything possible to prevent a heart attack from happening to you. There are numerous ways that you can work towards heart attack prevention. Some common recommendation include diet and exercise. Contact your doctor today to find the best plan for you.

Understanding and being able to properly interpret different heart attack symptoms can help to save your life or the life or someone you care about. If you have a family history of heart disease it is important to consult your doctor to see what you can do to work towards heart attack prevention. Your doctor will be able to provide you with the best plan specific for your body. Below is a list of some common heart attack symptoms that you should be aware of:

• Chest Discomfort
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Lightheadedness
• Breaking out in a cold sweat
• Fast or irregular heart beat

A new study focusing on the health impact of eating processed vs. unprocessed red meat has found that processed red meat including hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and cold cuts is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study did however find that there was no link between these two conditions and unprocessed red meat.
Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, or salting, or any meat containing chemical preservatives such as nitrates. The study is the largest research review ever to attempt to determine the health impact of eating processed vs. unprocessed red meat. Processed and unprocessed meats contained similar amounts of fat and cholesterol, but processed meats contained, on average, about four times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives than unprocessed meats.  Contact your doctor today to make sure you are getting the right amount of red meat in your diet!