Orlando man celebrates 100 gallons of blood donations
Updated: 2010-11-30 18:55:01
For the past 30 years, Steve Chase has had one life-saving goal; to donate 100 gallons of blood and platelets. On Tuesday, Nov. 30, he will achieve that dream when he donates his 100th gallon at 4 p.m. at Florida’s Blood Centers Michigan Street Branch. Chase began donating blood 30 years ago, but he didn’t truly [...]
Interventional Cardiology Goes Where Men and Women Have Not Gone Before
Updated: 2010-11-30 15:26:46We have to thank those from “down under” the Australians for this one. Simplicity HTN-2 is the brain child of Dr. Murray Esler and his team at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. This study furthers previous work on this technique and now allows even further work as the study showed [...]Sleep apnea and heart disease
Updated: 2010-11-30 13:55:21
People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder linked to obesity, have more non-calcified or "bad" plaque in their coronary arteries, as per a research studypresented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "Our study reveals that individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are prone to developing an aggressive form of atherosclerosis that puts them at risk for impaired blood flow and cardiovascular events," said U. Joseph Schoepf, M.D., professor of radiology and medicine and director of cardiovascular imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C........ Chocolate Linked to Fewer Heart Attacks, Again
Updated: 2010-11-29 07:00:49
A recent huge German study found that chocolate lovers had a 39% lower risk of heart attack and stroke, confirming earlier but smaller research reports.Time to Change Insurance? OK, But How Do You Choose Your Cardiologist?
Updated: 2010-11-24 15:27:59All right, it’s that time of the year again, chestnuts roasting on open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, evenings by the fireplace reassessing your PPO, HMO, and flexible spending accounts. That’s right, people, it’s open enrollment season; that time of year when those annoying announcements from your HR office encourage you to ponder [...]What’s New in Coronary Stents?
Updated: 2010-11-23 14:37:43Coronary stents have saved billions of dollars and prevented untold numbers of patients from needing coronary artery bypass or repeat coronary bypass. They “solved” the Achille’s heel of angioplasty which was restenosis or re-blockage of the angioplasty site after about six months. They are, however, not without problems so the search is on for better [...]Post Traumatic Stress Ups Heart Disease Risk in Vets
Updated: 2010-11-22 14:56:30
It has been almost two years now since I returned home from Tikrit. All told, I was in Iraq for just a few months. But the time I spent there, the men I served with, and the people we saved, these memories will stay with me forever. We took care of our own military personnel [...]The Fountain of Youth
Updated: 2010-11-19 20:14:25Well, we live in South Florida and it is no wonder given the demographics of our area, that we are all still looking for the fountain of youth. It does not matter that Ponce de Leon was looking further north of here (when he was closer to the source of this knowledge and even had [...]Why your “normal” blood sugar isn’t normal (Part 2)
Updated: 2010-11-18 18:37:56The Healthy Skeptic Challenging mainstream myths about nutrition , health and disease Home About Special Reports Resources Consultations Contact Subscribe to feed When your normal” blood sugar isn’t normal Part 1 Why your normal” blood sugar isn’t normal Part 2 November 18, 2010 in Diabesity No comments Share Tweet In the last article I explained the three primary markers we use to track blood sugar : fasting blood glucose FBG oral glucose tolerance test OGTT and hemoglobin A1c A1c We also looked at what the medical establishment considers as normal” for these markers . The table below summarizes those . values Marker Normal Pre-diabetes Diabetes Fasting blood glucose mg dL 100-125 126 OGGT post-meal mg dL after 2 hours 140-199 200 Hemoglobin A1c 6-6.4 6.4 In this article , we’re going toYou Need to Print This Blog
Updated: 2010-11-18 14:50:28One of the things that concern me, and lately there are more and more, is the compelling need to fix what is not broken. Many of my patients have documented atherosclerosis and many others have multiple risk factors. To this end, they are on statins often at the higher doses which it takes to achieve [...]How Do We Proceed to Limit the Plague of Plaque?
Updated: 2010-11-16 18:27:44I have been reviewing the issue of how to find the so called “vulnerable plaque” which causes all the trouble amongst those of us who have no symptoms. How do we treat those who are in need, and how do we do this in a cost effective manner so as not to add one more [...]Salt Restriction Not So Great After All?
Updated: 2010-11-16 13:44:15
The last few years have seen another push for restriction of salt consumption as public health measure. But one large study linked lower salt intake with increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death from ll causes.Cardiology Associates of Fort Lauderdale Joins the Blog
Updated: 2010-11-15 19:58:45Cardiology Associates of Fort Lauderdale is pleased to join this Cardiology Blog. After joining the Holy Cross Medical Group this past October, it was only logical that we would take the opportunity to share our experience and knowledge with over 25 years plus in this community and to participate in this electronic public forum. Through [...]What to Do About Unknown Atherosclerosis
Updated: 2010-11-11 14:37:04
Over my last two blogs I have reviewed the problem with inappropriate stress testing in patients who have coronary artery disease. How are we supposed to find those at risk? An article was recently published by Dr. Prediman K. Shah who is one of our most respected cardiologists. Dr.Shah works at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles [...]We Are Clearly Not Following Directions
Updated: 2010-11-09 14:40:44In my last blog I introduced the issue of excessive stress testing after either angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery. Our guidelines state that all testing in patients who have received these procedures should be because of return of symptoms. However, this study clearly shows that the tests are being ordered for the wrong reasons, [...]Ivabradine—a paradigm SHIFT in heart failure?
Updated: 2010-11-09 11:15:08A raised resting heart rate is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure. In addition, the benefit of many drugs for heart failure appear to be at least in part caused by their ability to lower the heart rate, perhaps thereby attenuating the effect of energy starvation of the [...]Hypertension targets in the elderly
Updated: 2010-11-09 11:14:04
Successful hypertension treatment decreases risk for adverse outcomes among lower-risk and younger patient groups; however, for the very old (>80 years), results have been conflicting. Additionally, for the very old with hypertension and coronary disease, information is very limited.
In the International Verapamil SR Trandolapril Study 22 576 patients with clinically stable hypertensive coronary artery disease were [...]Clinical descriptors identify high risk for cardiovascular events
Updated: 2010-11-09 11:12:02The Reduction of Atherosclerosis for Continued Health registry (REACH) is a contemporary cohort of patients with various stages of atherosclerosis, from asymptomatic patients with risk factors to patients who have had previous ischaemic events. The aim of this 4-year follow-up study was to determine the risk of cardiovascular events in stable outpatients with various initial [...]Fibrosis markers in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
Updated: 2010-11-09 11:11:04Fibrosis markers in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) HCM is the commonest cardiac single-gene disorder, with a prevalence of approximately 1 in 500 in the general population. The diagnosis depends on the identification of unexplained left ventricular hypertrophy, but this finding is present only in people with established disease and is typically absent in childhood. In contrast, genetic [...]No role for routine balloon pump in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)
Updated: 2010-11-09 11:05:59In patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction, PCI is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly if large amounts of viable myocardium are supplied by the diseased coronary arteries. Although observational studies have suggested that intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion may decrease patient risk in this setting, no previous randomised controlled trial has examined this [...]One Less Pill to Take: Folic Acid
Updated: 2010-11-09 07:00:51
In recent years, doctors had hoped that simply taking an inexpensive itamin supplement - folic acid - would prevent heart attacks and strokes. Turns out that's not the case, according to a definitive report in last month's Archives of Internal Medicine (October 11 issue).