Tag Archives: cardiovascular disease
Y Chromosome Loss and Heart Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th July 2022Below is a release from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It summarizes a study published in the AAAS’s journal Science. It deals with the previous observation that loss the the Y chromosome in white blood cells with an increase in cardiovascular disease and death. Whether this loss of the male sex chromosome…
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Salt and Cardiovascular Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th September 2021We’ve known for a long time that some people are salt sensitive – ie, when salt is ingested in amounts greater than required to maintain homeostasis blood pressure rises as does the likelihood of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. The remainder of humanity can safely ingest large amounts of salt without hypertension and its associated…
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Anginal Anarchy
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th October 2019An article in a medical newsletter I regularly receive Not so Fast: How to Avoid Bias Toward Stents in Managing SIHD describes the unnecessary revascularization of coronary arteries in patients with many patients with SIHD (stable ischemic heart disease). The author of the piece is, of all things, an interventional cardiologist. She quotes several studies….
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Prophylactic Aspirin in Healthy Elderly Adults
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd September 2018Three studies, published online on Sept 16, 2018 by the New England Journal of Medicine, examine the effect of prophylactic aspirin in healthy elderly patients. The subjects received 100 mg of aspirin daily or a placebo for five years. Trial participants were community-dwelling men and women from Australia and the United States who were 70 years of…
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World Health Organization to Issue New Dietary Recommendations
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th May 2018The WHO has issued draft recommendations that advise less consumption of saturated fats and trans fats. “Dietary saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids are of particular concern because high levels of intake are correlated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, told reporters….
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The Salinity Obsession
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th March 2018Many physicians and those charged with regulating the nation’s health have been obsessed with salt since Lot’s wife was transformed into a pillar of the stuff. On March 7, 2018 the JAMA published online a well performed study of sodium intake, the investigators used 24 hour urinary sodium excretion as a marker of intake, which documents…
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New Blood Pressure Guidelines – Think First
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th November 2017The press with an assist from the American College of Cardiology is trying to drive the American public crazier than it usually is. Here’s a quotation typical of those floating around the media: “Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure under the new guidelines issued Monday by heart organizations and the medical community. The…
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More Uncertainty about Cholesterol and Cardiovascular Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th May 2017Cholesterol and lipid metabolism used to simple. There was good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol. Eat a diet low in cholesterol and fat and your blood vessels will be as open as a new straw. On the basis of very little solid scientific information a litany of assumptions was issued by both the medical…
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Statins For the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th November 2016The use of statins (drugs which lower blood cholesterol) for the primary prevention of CV disease has been controversial since the drugs became available almost 30 years ago. Primary prevention is the prevention of a disease which the patient does not have, eg a stroke or a heart attack. Secondary prevention is the prevention of…
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In Outer Space
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th July 2016The popular press has picked up on a story about cosmic rays and cardiovascular disease in astronauts who landed on the moon. The Voice of America has a particularly breathless account of a study, Apollo Lunar Astronauts Show Higher Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Possible Deep Space Radiation Effects on the Vascular Endothelium, published in the online…
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