Sex poses surprisingly low risk to heart patients

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This Jan. 13, 2012 photo shows heart patient Tammy Collins who credits her recovery and confidence with her cardio rehabiltaion workouts at The Ohio State University CarePoint East facility in Columbus, Ohio. After suffering a heart attack and then healing she was apprehensive about how to safely return to her sex life. The American Heart Association says having sex only slightly increase the chance for having a heart attack. And that's true for patients with and without heart disease. (AP Photo/Mike Munden) This Jan. 13, 2012 photo shows heart patient Tammy Collins who credits her recovery and confidence with her cardio rehabiltaion workouts at The Ohio State University CarePoint East facility in Columbus, Ohio. After suffering a heart attack and then healing she was apprehensive about how to safely return to her sex life. The American Heart Association says having sex only slightly increase the chance for having a heart attack. And that's true for patients with and without heart disease. (AP Photo/Mike Munden) In this Jan. 13, 2012 photo, heart patient Tammy Collins, right, goes through her cardio rehabiltaion workout while being monitored by nurse Julie Walsh at The Ohio State University CarePoint East facility in Columbus, Ohio. After suffering a heart attack and then healing she was apprehensive about how to safely return to her sex life. The American Heart Association says having sex only slightly increase the chance for having a heart attack. And that's true for patients with and without heart disease. (AP Photo/Mike Munden) This Jan. 13, 2012 photo shows heart patient Tammy Collins who credits her recovery and confidence with her cardio rehabiltaion workouts at The Ohio State University CarePoint East facility in Columbus, Ohio. After suffering a heart attack and then healing she was apprehensive about how to safely return to her sex life. The American Heart Association says having sex only slightly increase the chance for having a heart attack. And that's true for patients with and without heart disease. (AP Photo/Mike Munden) This Jan. 13, 2012 photo shows heart patient Tammy Collins who credits her recovery and confidence with her cardio rehabiltaion workouts at The Ohio State University CarePoint East facility in Columbus, Ohio. After suffering a heart attack and then healing she was apprehensive about how to safely return to her sex life. The American Heart Association says having sex only slightly increase the chance for having a heart attack. And that's true for patients with and without heart disease. (AP Photo/Mike Munden)eval("var currentItemd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 1;");eval("var nextd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;");eval("var previousd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;"); CHICAGO (AP) — Good news: Sex is safe for most heart patients. If you're healthy enough to walk up two flights of stairs without chest pain or gasping for breath, you can have a love life.

That advice from a leading doctors' group on Thursday addresses one of the most pressing, least discussed issues facing survivors of heart attacks and other heart patients.

In its first science-based recommendations on the subject, the American Heart Association says having sex only slightly raises the chance for a heart attack. And that's true for people with and without heart disease.

Surprisingly, despite the higher risk for a heart patient to have a second attack, there's no evidence that they have more sex-related heart attacks than people without cardiac disease.

Many heart patients don't think twice about climbing stairs, yet many worry that sexual activity will cause another heart attack, or even sudden death, said Dr. Glenn Levine, lead author of a report detailing the recommendations and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The report says sex is something doctors should bring up with all heart patients. Yet few do because they're uncomfortable talking about it or they lack information, Levine said. The new guidance is designed to fill that gap.

Heart patients should get a doctor's OK before engaging in sexual activity. Many may be advised first to do cardiac rehab — exercise while being monitored for heart symptoms, to improve heart strength and increase physical fitness. But the heart association says most eventually will be cleared to resume sexual activity.

The doctors' group offers advice for heart patients based on scientific research involving sometimes provocative sex-related topics:

—Who's most at risk for sudden death related to sex? Married men having affairs, often with younger women in unfamiliar settings. Those circumstances can add to stress that may increase the risks, evidence from a handful of studies suggests.

—Sex may be OK as soon as one week after a relatively mild heart attack, if patients can walk up a few flights of stairs without discomfort.

—Viagra and other drugs for erectile dysfunction are generally safe for men with stable heart disease.

"The risk of having a heart attack during sexual activity is two to three times higher than when not having sexual activity. However, this increased risk of heart attack during sexual activity represents only a very small part of a person's overall risk of having a heart attack, and sexual activity is the cause of less than 1 percent of all heart attacks," Levine said.

Among heart attack survivors, average risks for another heart attack or sudden death are about 10 in 1 million per hour; having sex increases that to about 20 to 30 in 1 million per hour of sexual activity, the new report says. People without heart disease face lower overall risks for a heart attack, but similar risks for a sex-related attack.

The updated advice was released online Thursday in the heart association journal, Circulation.

Dr. Keith Churchwell, chief medical officer of Vanderbilt University's Heart and Vascular Institute, said the guidance is important for patients, and that questions about sex are the most common ones he hears from heart patients.

Ohio State University heart specialist Martha Gulati praised the recommendations for emphasizing that sexual counseling is important not just for patients but also their partners, who she says are often just as nervous about resuming sexual activity.

Day-care operator Tammy Collins of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, one of Gulati's patients, says the advice is reassuring.

She had a heart attack last year on Sept. 11, during a trip to Cincinnati to celebrate her wedding anniversary.

Collins' mother died of a heart attack at the same age, on her 51st birthday. With high blood pressure and high cholesterol, Collins knew she was at risk. She developed symptoms a few hours after having sex. She dismissed it at first, until she felt a sharp pain in her upper back and had trouble breathing. She was rushed to the hospital and doctors used stents to open blocked arteries.

Collins said she wasn't embarrassed to ask Gulati about sex, who told her it was unlikely that her night of romance had caused the heart attack. After several weeks of cardiac rehab, she was cleared to resume sexual activity — advice that surprised her friends. But Collins said the exercise sessions have made her feel fitter than ever.

"A heart attack does not have to be the end of living," Collins said.

Chicago cardiologist Dan Fintel, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University, said he routinely gives heart patients a sex talk on their last day in the hospital, knowing that it's likely on their minds.

"Resuming sexual activity is safe and emotionally part of the healing process, with a few caveats," he tells patients.

Those caveats elicit nervous chuckles when he explains that includes no philandering, given evidence about that causing extra stress.

___

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Circulation: http://bit.ly/1mt2UY

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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'Food FRY in olive oil' heart tip

25. January 2012 stand at 00: 04 GMT by Michelle Roberts Health Reporter, BBC News fried foods food may be not bad for the heart, as long as you olive oil or sunflower to use oil, say experts.

They found no increased risk of heart disease or premature death associated with food that has been cooked in this way.

But the investigators stress that results from the study of the typical Spanish food in which these "healthy" oils in abundance, be found cooking are not for lard or other oils.

So traditional roast ups not on the agenda, reported bmj.com.

If food is fried it becomes more calorific value, because the food absorbs the fat of the oils.

And experts know that eat much food grease-laden blood pressure increase and can high cholesterol, which are risk factors for heart disease.

For the study, researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid explored 40.757 adults about their diet.

Participants were asked about what types of food that they ate in a typical week, and how, that food was prepared and cooked.

None of the adults had been signs of heart disease at the beginning of 11-year study, but the end of the year 606 events in heart disease and 1,134 deaths.

When the researchers saw this heart events in detail she could find no connection with fried foods in the diet.

This, do you think is the kind of oil which is cooked in the food.

"The MED diet the main story of

before we all read further for the frying pan to reach you, it is important, remember that this is a study of a Mediterranean diet rather than British fish and chips"

End quote Victoria Taylor British Heart Foundation in an accompanying editorial, Professor Michael Leitzmann said of the University of Regensburg, in Germany: "together, the myth that roasts typically poorly not supported food for the heart of available evidence."

", This does not that frequent meals of fish and chips will have no effects on human health."

"The study suggests that certain aspects of the roast are relevant, used food such as such as the oil along with other aspects of nutrition."

Fresh fruit and vegetables, and fresh fish have celebrated long as is healthy, packed with low-fat, high fibre Mediterranean diet.

And many studies have shown a balanced diet, as this can cut the risk of diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Victoria Taylor, a senior heart health nutrition consultant for the British Heart Foundation, said: "before we get to all of the frying pan, it is to think that this was a study of a Mediterranean diet rather than British fish & chips important." Our diet in the United Kingdom is different from Spain so that we do not say that this result for us would be.

"Participants in this study to the unsaturated fats such as olive and sunflower roast, their food." We currently recommend swapping saturated fats as lard or butter keep palm oil for unsaturated fats as a way to your cholesterol and this study on cause for this switch.

"Regardless of the cooking methods used, means foods with high fat content a high caloric intake consumed." This can lead to weight gain and obesity, it is a risk factor for heart disease do. "A balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and only a small amount of high fat foods, is best for a healthy heart."

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A link between HPV and heart attack in women

An intriguing new study finds a link between the human papillomavirus, or HPV, the common sexually transmitted infection is the cause of cervical cancer cervical most and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in women.

Led by Dr. Kenichi Fujise the medical branch of the University of Texas at Galveston Texas, the study found that women who is controlled positive for any strain of HPV were 2.3 times more likely to have had a heart attack or a stroke than women which proved negative. The positive controlled women at high risk HPV strains, those known to cause cancer, had a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, 2.86 times higher than uninfected women.

The study includes 2 450 women, aged 20 to 59, who had attended the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2006. The participants were tested for the HPV — 44,6% tested positive for any strain of HPV and 23.2% tested positive for a strain to high risk - and reported their status as heart disease. In total, 1 141 women had HPV. Sixty years said they had had a heart attack or stroke, and 39 of these women against HPV.

More: HPV-related oral cancer more than tobacco

Researchers have focused on HPV in the hope of finding a clue of why some people develop heart disease, even if they are pas of cardiovascular risk factors traditional such as hypertension, obesity or a history of smoking - about 20% of patients with heart disease. HPV appeared to be a plausible candidate as the virus interferes with the function of a gene called p53. The inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene contributes to various cancers, but previous research has shown that p53 regulates also the atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries; Disabling may also lead to inflammation and exacerbate the health of the artery.

Inactive HPV an another tumor suppressor gene called retinoblastoma protein, which regulates the growth of smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels, so interfering with its function could also affect blood flow and, therefore, risk of heart attack.

While the new findings are interesting, they show an association. They prove that HPV causes heart disease. It is possible, for example, that women with heart disease are prone to HPV infection, rather than vice versa, or that other underlying factors makes women vulnerable to both.

A study much more is required to make a link between HPV and cardiovascular risk can be definitively established. As the New York Times reported:

"We need to be careful," said Dr. [Lori] Mosca, Director of preventive cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, who did not participate in the study]. "We have to go and make more stringent types of research that could answer the question more definitely".

She said that many researchers are investigating possible links between cancer, infections and diseases of the heart, but that so far no infections had been established to cause diseases of the arteries.

Work of Dr. Fujise, said, "has the possibility, if it pan, also inform the public about the potential benefits of vaccination for HPV. But she added that the results were too preliminary to be used as evidence for immunization.

More: Government recommends Vaccination against HPV for boys

HPV is sexually more common transmissible infection in the United States, affecting at least half of all sexually active men and women at some point. In 50 years, 80% of sexually active women had HPV. Most people clear the infection on their own, but in a small minority of cases, the infection may persist and lead to cancer. The HPV vaccine, which protects against genital warts and cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus and throat, is recommended for both boys and girls aged 11 and 12.

If further study confirms the association between HPV and heart disease, it could help to shed valuable light on why people without the usual cardiac risk factors have heart attack anyway. Each year, 510,000 women have heart attacks in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. If the HPV is confirmed to play a role in heart risk, MSNBC reported, Fujise calculates that 4 321 women could have heart attacks each year due to HPV than other risk factors and that 1,618 women die each year from heart attack HPV.

The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

More: A surprising link between bacteria and cancer of the colon

Meredith Melnick is a journalist in time. Find him on Twitter at @ MeredithCM. You can also continue the discussion on the time Facebook page and Twitter time @.

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Alcohol linked to better survival after heart attack

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n">(Reuters) - Women who drank anywhere from a few alcoholic drinks a month to more than three a week in the year leading up to a heart attack ended up living longer than women who never drank alcohol, according to a U.S. study.

The findings, which focused on more than 1,000 women and were published in the American Journal of Cardiology, add to mounting evidence that alcohol, regardless of the type of drink, can be good for the heart.

"One thing that was interesting was that we didn't see differences among different beverage types," said Joshua Rosenbloom, a student at Harvard Medical School who led the study.

"The most recent evidence suggests that it's the alcohol itself that's beneficial."

There was a similarly reduced risk of dying within the follow up period whether the women drank wine, beer or hard liquor, Rosenbloom and his colleagues found.

"One drink a day is a really good target, assuming that a person can be disciplined about that," said James O'Keefe, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Missouri, who was not involved in the study.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,200 women hospitalized for a heart attack. They asked questions about how many alcoholic drinks the women usually consumed, along with other health and lifestyle questions.

After at least 10 years of follow up, the team found that 44 out of every 100 women who had abstained from alcohol had died, while 25 out of every 100 light drinkers and 18 out of every 100 heavy drinkers had died.

This translated to about a 35 percent lower chance of dying during the follow up period for women who drank, compared to those who didn't.

In an earlier study including men and women, O'Keefe found that people who continued to drink moderately after having a heart attack had better health than those who abstained.

"You don't need to assume that people need to stop drinking once they develop heart disease," he said.

"The problem is that alcohol is a slippery slope, and while we know that a little bit is good for us, a lot of it is really bad." SOURCE: bit.ly/uU3Eor

(Reporting from New York by Kerry Grens at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

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Why Lovin' the McRib Isn't Heart Smart

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Blink and it's gone. The ephemeral McRib sandwich appears at McDonald's infrequently and only for a limited time. If you haven't indulged in one yet, here's what you're missing: azodicarbonamide, ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80 — those are just three of the 70 ingredients (34 in the bun alone) that go into the BBQ pork sandwich, according to the restaurant's website.

These components are in small enough quantities to be innocuous. But it's still a little disconcerting to know that, for example, azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching agent that is most commonly used in the manufacture of foamed plastics like in gym mats and the soles of shoes, is found in the McRib bun. The compound is banned in Europe and Australia as a food additive. (England's Health and Safety Executive classified it as a "respiratory sensitizer" that potentially contributes to asthma through occupational exposure.) The U.S. limits azodicarbonamide to 45 parts per million in commercial flour products, based on analysis of lab testing.

LIST: Health-Washing: Is 'Healthy' Fast Food for Real?

The McRib enjoys a bizarre cult following, in part because of its impermanence. Reports Brad Tuttle over at Moneyland:

First introduced in 1982, the sandwich first disappeared in 1985, but then has periodically resurfaced in McDonald's in the U.S. and abroad. The McRib's cult-like following has generated not only Facebook pages, but McRib Locator websites and a Twitter account.

This fall, the McRib made news as McDonald's re-introduced it once again — this time, making it available in all U.S. locations through Nov. 14. The obvious question is: if the McRib is so popular, why doesn't McDonald's sell it year-in, year-out, at all locations?

The answer is that, sort of in the same way that some people are attracted to bad boys (or girls) who won't commit, the elusiveness of the McRib is part of its appeal.

If the chemistry-lab ingredient list isn't enough to put you off the McRib's saucy allure, perhaps the nutrition information will: with 980 mg of sodium (more than half your recommended daily intake) and 10 g of saturated fat, the sandwich is, quite literally, not for the faint of heart.

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Orders Fast-Food Salads, But That's Not the Real Problem" href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/04/fat-nation-fast-food-salads-arent-selling-but-thats-not-the-problem/">Nobody Orders Fast-Food Salads, But That's Not the Real Problem

Meredith Melnick is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeredithCM. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Insomnia May Boost Heart Attack Risk

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People who struggle with insomnia appear to be more prone to heart attacks than those who typically get a good night's sleep, a large Norwegian study has found.

In the study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers conducted a comprehensive health survey of more than 52,000 adults, which included questions about sleep quality. Over the next 11 years, roughly 5% of the participants had a heart attack for the first time.

Compared to solid sleepers, those who had trouble falling or staying asleep nearly every night were 45% and 30% more likely to have a heart attack, respectively, even after the researchers took into account age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other factors that can contribute to heart disease. People who reported feeling tired or unrefreshed after waking up at least two mornings per week were also at greater risk.

LIST: The Worst Habits for Your Heart

"Cardiologists do not talk regularly about sleep issues with their patients," says lead researcher Dr. Lars Erik Laugsand, an internist in the public health department of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in Trondheim. Although he and his coauthors suggest that these conversations may be helpful for assessing heart disease risk, Dr. Laugsand says that further research will be needed to determine how insomnia might affect heart health, and whether treating sleep problems can actually prevent heart attacks.

Cardiologist Suzanne Steinbaum, who directs the Women and Heart Disease program at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City, agrees that more research in this area is needed, but she says she already discusses sleep issues with her patients. Stress reduction is a key to preventing heart attacks, she says, and lowering stress is all but impossible if you're not getting enough sleep.

"We don't know how significant the sleep disturbance must be, or how long it must persist for it to become significant for heart disease," Steinbaum says. "But it is safe to say that there is some correlation."

LIST: Surprising Heart Attack Risks

Stress, depression and other psychological problems often overlap with sleep difficulties. Dr. Laugsand and his colleagues did factor depression and anxiety symptoms into their analysis, but neither condition had a substantial impact on the results. Other factors involving metabolism or blood-vessel health — such as inflammation — may be involved in the apparent link between insomnia and heart disease, the study notes.

Insomnia is the most common sleep problem in the United States. Roughly one-third of Americans experience occasional symptoms, and nearly 10% say they have chronic insomnia, according to the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research. Insomnia tends to occur more frequently with age, and some studies suggest it may be more prevalent in women.

Although insomnia is common, adequate and lasting treatment for it is not, says Susan Zafarlotfi, clinical director of the Institute for Sleep-Wake Disorders at Hackensack University, in Hackensack, N.J. "Clinicians often simply medicate their patients, but that is not the way to do it," she says. "Pharmacology is only for the short term. They need to get at the depth of the problem."

LIST: 7 Tips for the Best Sleep Ever

Previous research has reported a higher risk of heart attack among people with insomnia, but the new study is among the largest of its kind. It should be an eye-opener for cardiologists as well as for neurologists and doctors of all kinds, Zafarlotfi says, adding that future research is likely to strengthen the link between insomnia, heart disease, and related conditions such as stroke. "They have to ask their patients about sleep," she says. "Sleep has to be a big part of working with patients."

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CDC: U.S. Heart Disease Rates on the Decline

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Percentage of adults with heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the U.S., in 2010 — down from 6.7% in 2006. Experts credit the improvement to better treatments for high blood pressure and cholesterol and declines in smoking. According to the data, heart disease is more common in men (7.8%) than women (4.6%), in those with less than a high school education (9.2%) than college grads (4.6%), and in people 65 or older (19.8%) than those aged 45 to 64 (7.1%). Looked at by race, rates of heart disease were highest in American Indians/Alaska Natives (11.6%) and lowest in Asians of Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (3.9%). Despite the overall decline, high rates of heart disease remain clustered in the southeastern part of the country — particularly in Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia — roughly where rates of obesity, diabetes and stroke are also high. [via CDC]

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Veg 'lowers genetic heart risk'

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11 October 2011 Last updated at 23:09 GMT By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News Experts already recommend eating at least five portions of fruit and veg a day for good health People who are genetically susceptible to heart disease can lower their risk by eating plenty of fruit and raw vegetables, a study suggests.

It says five or more daily portions should be enough to counteract culprit versions of a gene on chromosome 9, thought to be possessed by a fifth of people of European ancestry.

Healthy diets appeared to weaken its effect.

The US researchers investigated more than 27,000 people for their work.

The findings were published in Plos Medicine journal.

These participants came from from around the globe, including Europe, China and Latin America.

The results suggest that individuals with high risk 9p21 gene versions who consumed a diet packed with raw vegetables, fruits and berries had a similar risk of heart attack as those with a low-risk variant of the same gene.

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Foods that count:

Fresh fruit and vegetablesFrozen fruit and vegetablesDried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figsTinned or canned fruit and vegetablesFruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta dishesA glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juiceSmoothiesBeans and pulses; these only count as one portion a day, no matter how many you eatResearcher Prof Sonia Anand, of McMaster University, said: "Our results support the public health recommendation to consume more than five servings of fruits or vegetables as a way to promote good health."

The scientists, who also included staff from McGill University, say they now need to do more work to establish how diet might have this effect on genes.

Judy O'Sullivan of the British Heart Foundation said the findings should serve as a reminder that while lifestyle and genes could increase heart risk, the way the two interacted with each other was also very important.

"The relationship between the two is often very complicated and we don't yet have all the answers, but the message appears to be very simple - eating lots of fruit and vegetables is great news for our heart health."

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Can Eating Fruits and Veggies Outwit Bad Heart Genes?

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We know that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for the heart, but can a healthy diet really overcome the effect of genes that boost your risk for heart problems?

Yes, it can, according to researchers in Canada who studied data on more than 27,000 people to figure out which contributes more to the risk of heart disease: environment or genes. The researchers focused on a group of people with specific genetic variants that are known to increase the risk of heart disease. They found that people who had the variants but ate lots raw fruits and vegetable showed no increased heart risk, compared with those who had a less healthy diet, who were twice as likely to have a heart attack.

"We found that among those with the high-risk genotype, if they consumed a diet high in vegetables and fruits, their risk for heart attack did not increase despite their having the high-risk gene profile," says Dr. Sonia Anand, a professor of medicine at epidemiology at McMaster University and one of the co-authors of the study published in PLoS Medicine.

The scientists relied on two large sets of data, one that involved more than 8,100 people in 52 different countries, comparing those who had had heart attacks with similar people who had not, and another set from Finland including more than 19,000 participants who were surveyed every five years for heart-related deaths, heart attacks, angina, stroke or bypass and angioplasty procedures. Both groups also answered detailed questionnaires about what they ate.

The research team divided the enrollees in the first study into three diet groups based on their answers on 19 food-related questions. People were classified as eating primarily "western," "oriental," or "prudent" diets. Western diets included eggs, meats, fried and salty food, sugar and desserts; the oriental diet included more tofu, pickled foods, green leafy vegetables, soy sauce and less sugar. Finally, the prudent diet eaters followed what most of us would recognize as a heart-healthy menu: raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and some dairy products. Participants in the larger Finnish study were also placed in the prudent group, based on their intake of fruits, vegetables and berries.

MORE: To Help Erectile Dysfunction, Treat the Heart

The scientists further separated the participants within the various dietary groups by their genetic profiles. Specifically, the authors looked for four variants on a region of DNA on chromosome 9 that is known to boost heart attack risk by up to 20% in carriers, compared with those without the variants. People in the current study who had the high-risk genes — in this case, two versions of them, one from their mother and one from their father — were two times more likely to have a heart attack if their diet was lacking in fruits and veggies, compared with the "prudent" eaters.

That suggests that diet can make a real difference in heart disease risk, even when that risk is genetically based. "It means that perhaps our family history, or genetic risk, is modifiable," says Anand. "Despite not being able to change our genetics, if we are able to modify the effect or expression of our genes. That's exciting."

The scientists were encouraged to study this effect after animal studies showed that heart muscle in mice bred without the high-risk genes had different responses to different diets. That served as hint that perhaps what we eat could alter the way the heart functions. How that happens isn't clear yet, but it's possible that eating lots of fruits and vegetables somehow change the way the genes in this region make their proteins or enzymes, prompting them to produce factors that may counteract the effects of heart risk factors like atherosclerosis.

MORE: Environmental Toxins Linked to Atherosclerosis, Heart Risk

However it works, the fact that something within our control can combat the effects of disease-causing genes should be good news, especially for those of us who try valiantly to resist meats and processed foods and to stick with a more raw foods-focused diet. So, when it comes to heart health, it looks like Mother knew best: Eat your vegetables.

Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @aliceparkny. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Fear in Colo. town at heart of Listeria outbreak

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Eric Jensen walks a field with rotting cantaloupes on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. Eric and his brother Ryan own Jensen Farms that has been identified as the source of the national listeria outbreak that has killed more than a dozen people so far. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) Eric Jensen walks a field with rotting cantaloupes on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. Eric and his brother Ryan own Jensen Farms that has been identified as the source of the national listeria outbreak that has killed more than a dozen people so far. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) A field with rotting cantaloupes is pictured on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. Jensen Farms cantaloupe has been identified as the source of the national listeria outbreak that has killed more than a dozen people so far. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) Chart shows the number of cases of listeria by stateeval("var currentItemd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 1;");eval("var nextd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;");eval("var previousd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;"); HOLLY, Colo. (AP) — Eric Jensen surveys his dusty cantaloupe field and seems equally stunned and puzzled at the fate that has befallen his crop: row upon row of melons rotting on the vine.

Jensen is the co-owner of the Colorado farm where health officials say a national listeria outbreak originated, making his withering fields the epicenter of a food scare that has sickened dozens of people from Wyoming to Maryland and caused as many as 17 deaths.

The farm has recalled more than 300,000 cases of cantaloupes and on Thursday three states — Indiana, Louisiana and Wisconsin — were added to the recall list. Spokeswoman Amy Philpott said that trucking records show that cantaloupes originally intended for other locations ended up in those states but that the buyers were notified as part of the original Sept. 14 recall.

Jensen has no idea how his cantaloupes became infected, and neither do the Food and Drug Administration investigators who have intermittently been in this town of 800 people near the Kansas border since the outbreak started earlier this month.

Regardless of how it happened, the situation has left the town and farm reeling and in fear. Jensen had to quit growing and shipping cantaloupes after the outbreak was discovered — a staggering blow to a region where cantaloupe has always been a proud local tradition.

Until the listeria infections started showing up, Holly's field workers would bring melons into town to share, just as they have for generations. And it wasn't uncommon for Holly residents to stop by Jensen Farms to buy freshly picked cantaloupe. Now, not even the local grocery store has any of the fruit.

No one in Holly has been sickened, but people are frightened by the prospect of contracting listeria. The bacteria can have an incubation period of a month or more, and it principally affects the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

"I ate that cantaloupe, and I gave some of it to my 97-year-old mother,'" said Wanda Watson, co-owner of the Tasty House Cafe. "I'm watching her real close. It's scary because it could be up to two months before you get sick."

Sherri McGarry, a senior adviser in the FDA's Office of Foods, said the agency is looking at the farm's water supply and the possibility that animals wandered into Jensen Farms' fields, among other things, in trying to figure out how the cantaloupes became contaminated. Listeria bacteria grow in moist, muddy conditions and are often carried by animals.

The water supply for farms in the Holly area comes from wells and irrigation ditches that tap the nearby Arkansas River. There's no shortage of thoughts around town about the potential causes.

"Well water? I doubt it. Ditch water? Well, there's some probability, but it's low," said Jim Cline, a retired construction worker. "Animal intrusion? Well, OK, what kind of animal? Deer? Coons? Coyotes? What kind of animal wants to get into a melon field?"

At Jensen Farms, workers have stopped picking cantaloupes because of a recall of its product. There's no need to irrigate the crop anymore, and the melons are drying up in the rock-hard fields. As Eric Jensen surveyed his lost crop, workers ripped up plastic that's laid down in rows to help the cantaloupe grow.

He could not discuss the outbreak, citing a likely raft of pending litigation.

"There are a lot of things I'd like to say right now, but now is not the time," Jensen said.

It's the latest blow to Holly, a town that has seen its share of hard times.

In late 2006, Holly was pummeled by a blizzard that cut off the town from the outside world so badly that helicopters had to drop feed to stranded cattle. Just as people were digging out of the blizzard, a tornado blasted through Holly, killing three people and destroying and damaging dozens of homes.

The Sept. 10 recall of Jensen Farms' cantaloupes came toward the end of a harvesting season made difficult by a severe drought that has rendered swaths of southeast Colorado, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma federal disaster areas.

Residents talk about conditions so dry that some corn stalks have no ears of corn on them. Yields in wheat fields — usually between 40 to 50 bushels an acre — have dropped to about 20.

"We just haven't had any luck around here," said Watson.

Holly is about a 90-minute drive from the town of Rocky Ford, home to Colorado's revered cantaloupe growing region. Cantaloupes from the Arkansas River Valley are prized for their sweetness and are such a big deal that farms like Jensen's — 70 miles away — carry the brand name "Rocky Ford Cantaloupe."

The listeria scare has some residents wondering about the future for their Rocky Ford brand of cantaloupe — and cantaloupe farming in Colorado for that matter. They're hopeful this outbreak eventually will fade from the public's memory, like others involving spinach or ground meat contaminated by E. coli bacteria or salmonella.

"You think beef recalls, you think spinach in California," said Michael Daskam, who works in the local soil conservation office. "But heck, I was eating spinach and beef right after."

The same goes for locally grown cantaloupe.

"I'm not afraid of eating cantaloupe. I'd eat one right now," Holly Mayor Viola Welcher said. "We've all eaten it and no one in our area has gotten sick."

___

Online:

http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/index.html

http://1.usa.gov/rr2j1d

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Warning over heart patient drugs

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 13:44 GMT The report reviewed cardiology services across Scotland More than half of heart patients in Scotland at high risk of stroke are not receiving the most appropriate treatment, according to a new report.

Scrutiny body Healthcare Improvement Scotland has published the "most comprehensive picture yet" of cardiology services across the country.

It found 53% of patients who should be getting a blood thinning drug were not.

Meanwhile low-risk patients are being given more powerful medication when they should just be taking aspirin.

The report paints an in-depth picture of the strengths and weaknesses of heart disease services in Scotland, and includes detailed plans for how improvements to services can be made.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the UK and coronary heart disease results in nearly 10,000 deaths every year in Scotland.

The report raised concerns about treatments prescribed to people with atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder with a high risk of stroke.

While nearly 80% of people with this diagnosis receive some form of blood-thinning drug, less than half (47%) of higher risk patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment, Warfarin.

At the same time 31% of low-risk patients, who should be treated with aspirin alone, are receiving a blood-thinning drug which exposes them unnecessarily to a higher risk of bleeding complications.

Vital services

Dr Martin Denvir, clinical lead for the heart disease improvement programme, said: "Within three years of starting this improvement programme we are now publishing a groundbreaking report which sets out in detail just what has been achieved in Scotland - and what is still to be done.

"This is the most comprehensive picture yet of heart disease services in Scotland.

Continue reading the main story

There is some way to go until every patient has the correct treatment every time”

End Quote David Clark Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland "The journey towards perfect care for all patients is by no means over, but our findings clearly identify what is already being done well, what needs improvement and how we can measure our improvement and progress towards best quality of care."

The report also found that although all health boards have risk assessment programmes in place to identify people at high risk of heart disease and stroke, these programmes are not provided comprehensively for all high-risk groups in the general population.

It also said the Scottish Ambulance Service provides a well-trained and rapid response to emergency calls and reaches 71% of patients with suspected heart disease within eight minutes.

The report makes a number of key recommendations to improve patient care, including a review of the prescribing of blood-thinning drugs.

It said patients at low risk of stroke should not routinely be prescribed Warfarin.

Andy Carver from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) welcomed the report and said: "It is an important step in improving the accountability of NHS boards for the delivery of vital services for heart patients.

"We will continue to watch closely and help ensure that these standards are implemented to help people prevent heart disease and make sure services for heart patients are the best possible in all parts of the country."

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland's chief executive David Clark said "We recognise that there has been real progress as a result of the Heart Disease Improvement Programme and that Scotland has some world-class centres for the treatment of heart disease.

"However, we also have to recognise that there is some way to go until every patient has the correct treatment every time."

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Analysis: The debate over closing child heart surgery units

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 11:17 GMT By Jane Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News Nicolas Tompkins had surgery at 2.5 weeks Nicolas Tompkins' parents believe he wouldn't be with them if it wasn't for the doctors and nurses at the Royal Brompton Hospital in central London.

At just four weeks old, he's recovering from a 15-hour operation to correct a complicated and rare defect in his heart.

Surgeons effectively had to re-wire it, after discovering that his lungs weren't properly connected, and he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

He was lucky to be treated by a world expert in his condition.

His parents are incredulous at the thought that the team which saved his life could be about to be broken up.

"Everybody we meet here, every doctor, every nurse, is clearly at the top of their game," said his father, Andrew Tompkins. "There's nowhere like this in the world. How could they want to close it?"

Continue reading the main story

If we get centres of excellence, we can save money and still get better care”

End Quote Mike Farrar NHS Confederation Chief Executive The reason is that children's heart surgery across England is being reorganised. And, as one of three hospitals in London carrying out this kind of specialised paediatric treatment, the Royal Brompton was told it would have to scale down its children's heart unit and stop doing all operations.

Other units in Leeds, Southampton, Newcastle and Leicester are still waiting for a decision as to whether they will also stop doing operations. Ultimately, at least four will close across England.

The review does not affect patients in Scotland, who are all treated in Glasgow. Welsh patients are treated in England, while patients in Northern Ireland travel to Dublin for treatment.

Bristol scandal

The review of children's heart surgery came about as a result of the inquiry into the Bristol heart babies scandal in the 1990s, when a number of babies died needlessly during operations by surgeons with insufficient experience. It concluded that children would get better, safer care if there were fewer, larger, more specialised units.

"We know the best results can only be achieved by surgeons and units treating a lot of patients," said Professor Norman Williams, President of the Royal College of Surgeons. "And we also know that patients benefit from units with enough surgeons to give a round-the-clock service."

Yet, as the Royal Brompton's experience shows, reorganising services is not straightforward.

Without cardiac patients, it says its paediatric intensive care unit would no longer be viable. And without intensive care, it would no longer be able to offer its specialist children's lung services - treating children with cystic fibrosis and other conditions. It says its respiratory unit is second to none in the country, and many, many patients will lose out.

And so one part of the NHS is going head-to-head against another in the High Court. Watching around the country are not just the other units under threat, but NHS hospital trusts which know they must reorganise other hospital services to remain viable and provide the best possible patient care.

Tough challenge

The NHS Confederation has said the reconfiguration process will become increasingly necessary; not just because of a tougher financial climate, but also to improve care.

"At the moment, we're not getting the best outcomes we can because some services are distributed across too many sites," said NHS Confederation Chief Executive, Mike Farrar. "If we get centres of excellence, we can save money and still get better care."

Reorganising services is one of the hardest things the health service has to do, said Chris Ham, head of the health thinktank, the Kings Fund.

"But it is absolutely necessary at the present time," he said. "Not first and foremost because of the financial pressures but because we will only deliver world class standards of care if we grasp this nettle and take decisions that are long overdue by concentrating some of those services in fewer hospitals."

The fight over the future of the Royal Brompton may well be one of many more to come.

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VIDEO: Heart unit closure is 'vandalism'

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 19:32 GMT Help

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Better heart, better sex

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Nearly 1 in 5 men in the U.S. has difficulty achieving or maintaining an erectionErectile dysfunction is also a known harbinger of heart diseaseDoctors should inform the public of this connection, researchers sayExercise is key for heart health and blood vessel function

(Health.com) -- Middle-aged men who take steps to improve their heart health by eating better, getting more exercise, or taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may end up improving their sex lives as well, according to a new analysis of existing research.

Nearly 1 in 5 men in the U.S. has difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection, a condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED). The new study, which appears this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, suggests that ED drugs such as Viagra aren't the only solution and aren't always enough to address the problem, says coauthor Dr. Stephen Kopecky, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

"If you do take care of your lifestyle—eating right, exercising, losing weight—you respond much better to the Viagra, the Levitra, the Cialis," Kopecky says. By the same token, he adds, if these drugs become less effective "that should be a sign that...you need to take care of your lifestyle.'"

Health.com: 7 ways to treat erectile dysfunction

ED is troubling enough by itself, but to make matters worse it's also a known harbinger of heart disease. The arteries in the penis that expand during an erection can become weakened and clogged with cholesterol in the same way as the arteries that surround the heart. This is why ED often shows up three to five years ahead of life-threatening cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke, especially in younger men, Kopecky says.

"The common denominator is blood flow," he explains. "If you look at a guy in his 40s who has erectile dysfunction and then you compare [him] to another guy in his 40s who doesn't have erectile dysfunction, the guy with ED is about 50 times more likely to have heart disease."

Despite this well-established link, there has been little research into whether addressing risk factors for heart disease (such as unhealthy cholesterol numbers) can also reverse ED. The studies that have been conducted have been relatively small and have looked at a single location, which means they may not apply to the population as a whole, Kopecky and his colleagues say.

Health.com: 10 heart-healthy rules to live by

To clarify the effect of heart-healthy lifestyle changes on ED, the researchers combed through the medical literature for placebo-controlled clinical trials in which men with ED modified their lifestyles or began taking cholesterol-lowering statin medications. The analysis was funded entirely by the Mayo Clinic.

In the end they focused on six studies that included a total of 740 men and were conducted in the U.S., Italy, Nigeria, and Iran. In all of the studies, which ranged in length from two months to two years, heart healthy regimens and better cholesterol numbers were associated with modest but measurable improvements on a survey that rates erectile function on a scale from 5 to 25.

The average improvement in sexual function seen in the pooled studies was three points, one point shy of the threshold experts consider "clinically important." For some men, especially those with more persistent cases of ED, a change of that magnitude would be negligible. For those with mild or occasional ED, however, it would translate into noticeable improvements in sexual function, the researchers say.

Health.com: Erectile dysfunction? Try losing weight

Dr. Kevin Billups, M.D., an associate professor of urology at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, says that the close relationship between heart health and sexual function "hasn't become the public health message that it should be."

Doctors and other experts need to do a better of job of informing the public that a healthier heart often means better erections, adds Billups, who studies the link between heart health and erectile function but did not participate in the new research.

"That's the first thing I talk about with all the guys that come in now," he says, referring to the ED patients he sees in his urology practice. "'Are you watching your diet? What kind of exercise program are you on?' Just putting these men on the ED medications...probably isn't enough to get optimal results."

Health.com: The best foods for your heart

Even if they're told that it may improve their ED, getting men to change their lifestyle and lose weight is no easy task, Kopecky says. He stresses, however, that even small and simple lifestyle changes—such as eating at least five servings of fruits and veggies daily—can make a big difference.

But the "real key" is exercise, Kopecky says. Just 10 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week "does a whole lot to improve your heart function [and] blood vessel function," he says.

Copyright Health Magazine 2010

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Childless men more likely to die of heart disease: study

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By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO | Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:08pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A decade-long study of 135,000 men found that those who did not have children had a higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who did, raising new questions over the links between fertility and overall health, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

While the findings do not show that not having children causes heart problems in men, they do suggest that infertility may be a potential early warning sign of future heart trouble, the team reported in the journal Human Reproduction.

"There is emerging evidence to suggest that infertility may be a window into a man's later health," said Dr. Michael Eisenberg of Stanford University in California.

He said men who are infertile have a higher risk of certain cancers, and his team wanted to look for other signs that infertility might be playing a role later in a man's life.

The researchers used a large study of men over 50 who were members of AARP. The team did not know whether men in the study wanted to be fathers or not, so they specifically looked only at men who were married.

And they used childlessness as a surrogate for male infertility, Eisenberg said.

"In general, most married men will have the opportunity to reproduce. Whether they and their partner chose not to have children or whether there were some biological problems, we can't determine," Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg and colleagues focused on 135,000 married or formerly married men who were 50 or older at the start of the study in 1996. Almost all, or 92 percent, had fathered at least one child and 50 percent had three or more offspring.

Nearly all of the men -- 95 percent -- were white.

The researchers then tracked death rates from some 70 causes using Social Security and other databases and questionnaires sent to surviving family members.

Over the course of the 10-year follow up period, some 10 percent of the men died, and one out of every five of these deaths was from heart disease.

When looking at the parental status of these men, childless participants in the study had about a 17 percent higher risk of heart disease than those who were fathers.

Eisenberg said it was not possible to determine whether men in the study simply chose not to have children or whether the men's partners were infertile.

But excluding unmarried men offered an approximation of male infertility, and the link to heart disease raises important questions that merit further research.

"My belief it there is a biologic reason," Eisenberg said.

The researchers stress that the study does not suggest being childless causes heart problems, but since infertility affects a man's health at a much younger age, understanding this link could help doctors identify heart problems earlier, when there is more time to intervene.

(Editing by Jackie Frank)

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Court hears child heart unit row

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 09:49 GMT The hospital has described the consultation as unlawful The Royal Brompton Hospital is starting a legal challenge over what it says was "deeply flawed" consultation which it claims has led to its children's heart surgery unit facing closure.

It says the shutting down of the unit would put the viability of the whole hospital at risk.

The hospital in Chelsea, west London, has the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK.

A judicial review over the consultation begins later at the High Court.

Its challenge, which is expected to be heard over three days, is against the consultation process launched by the Joint Committee of the Primary Care Trusts of England as part of a national review aimed at streamlining paediatric congenital cardiac surgery services (PCCS) around the country.

It is believed this is the first legal challenge of its kind to be brought by one NHS body against another.

Continue reading the main story

Our decision to take legal action has been taken with deep regret”

End Quote Bob Bell Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust Bob Bell, the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust's chief executive, said: "Our decision to take legal action has been taken with deep regret.

"But the gravity of the consequences for patients of this deeply flawed consultation process left us no other option."

The decision to grant a judicial review was made following a hearing in July.

At that hearing, Alan Maclean QC, for the trust, said the joint committee was proposing under the "Safe and Sustainable" consultation on the future of children's heart surgery in England to reduce the number of centres in London from three to two.

Robust review

He said it was now clear that the Royal Brompton centre was going to be "ditched" following an "unfair and unlawful" consultation exercise "shot through with legal error".

But Neil Garnham QC, for the joint committee, said there had not yet been a final decision that the number of PCCS centres in London would be reduced from three to two.

The three-centre solution "has plainly not been excluded and the joint committee is proceeding with an open mind", said Mr Garnham.

Views in favour of retaining the Royal Brompton's services would be properly considered.

Teresa Moss, director of the NHS' Specialised Commissioning team, said: "Safe and Sustainable do not accept the allegations made today by the Royal Brompton.

"We will present our own case later this week when we provide evidence in court demonstrating that the principles and processes of the review are robust."

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Study: Dads less likely to die of heart problems

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FILE - In this April 3, 2011 file photo, a father and son head for their fishing hole at Muddy Run Recreation Park in southern Lancaster County, Pa. New research suggests that dads are less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are. The study by AARP, the government and several universities is the largest ever look at men, fertility and mortality. (AP Photo/Intelligencer Journal, Marty Heisey) FILE - In this April 3, 2011 file photo, a father and son head for their fishing hole at Muddy Run Recreation Park in southern Lancaster County, Pa. New research suggests that dads are less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are. The study by AARP, the government and several universities is the largest ever look at men, fertility and mortality. (AP Photo/Intelligencer Journal, Marty Heisey) In this Jan. 29, 2004 file photo, a father and son play basketball at Independence Park near uptown Charlotte, N.C. New research suggests that dads are less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are. The study by AARP, the government and several universities is the largest ever look at men, fertility and mortality. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, Gary O'Brien, File)eval("var currentItemd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 1;");eval("var nextd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;");eval("var previousd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;"); Fatherhood may be a kick in the old testosterone, but it may also help keep a man alive. New research suggests that dads are a little less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are.

The study — by the AARP, the government and several universities — is the largest ever on male fertility and mortality, involving nearly 138,000 men. Although a study like this can't prove that fatherhood and mortality are related, there are plenty of reasons to think they might be, several heart disease experts said.

Marriage, having lots of friends and even having a dog can lower the chance of heart problems and cardiac-related deaths, previous research suggests. Similarly, kids might help take care of you or give you a reason to take better care of yourself.

Also, it takes reasonably good genes to father a child. An inability to do so might mean a genetic weakness that can spell heart trouble down the road.

"There is emerging evidence that male infertility is a window into a man's later health," said Dr. Michael Eisenberg, a Stanford University urologist and fertility specialist who led the study. "Maybe it's telling us that something else is involved in their inability to have kids."

The study was published online Monday by the journal Human Reproduction.

Last week, a study by other researchers of 600 men in the Philippines found that testosterone, the main male hormone, drops after a man becomes a dad. Men who started out with higher levels of it were more likely to become fathers, suggesting that low levels might reflect an underlying health issue that prevents reproduction, Eisenberg said.

In general, higher levels of testosterone are better, but too much or too little can cause HDL, or "good cholesterol," to fall — a key heart disease risk factor, said Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver.

"This is a hot topic," Eckel said. "I like this study because I have five children," he joked, but he said many factors such as job stress affect heart risks and the decision to have children.

Researchers admit they couldn't measure factors like stress, but they said they did their best to account for the ones they could. They started with more than 500,000 AARP members age 50 and over who filled out periodic surveys starting in the 1990s for a long-running research project sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

For this study, researchers excluded men who had never been married so they could focus on those most likely to have the intent and opportunity to father a child. Men with cancer or heart disease also were excluded to compare just men who were healthy when the study began.

Of the remaining 137,903 men, 92 percent were fathers and half had three or more children. After an average of 10 years of follow-up, about 10 percent had died. Researchers calculated death rates according to the number of children, and adjusted for differences in smoking, weight, age, household income and other factors.

They saw no difference in death rates between childless men and fathers. However, dads were 17 percent less likely to have died of cardiovascular causes than childless men were.

Now for all the caveats.

Researchers don't know how many men were childless by choice and not because of a fertility problem.

They don't know what fertility problems the men's partners may have had that could have left them childless.

They didn't have cholesterol or blood pressure information on the men — key heart risk factors.

Less than 5 percent of participants were blacks or other minorities, so the results may not apply to them.

All those questions aside, however, some prominent heart experts were reassured by the study's large size and the steps researchers took to adjust for heart disease risk factors.

"I think there's something there," and social science supports the idea that children can lower heart risks, said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and genetics expert at Scripps Health in La Jolla, Calif. "Whether it's with a pet, a spouse or social interaction ... all those things are associated with better outcomes."

Dr. Daniel Rader, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania, said: "It's biologically plausible that there's a connection," but the reduced risk attributed to having children "is pretty modest."

Men often ask him what they can do to keep from dying of a heart attack, he said.

"I'm not really prepared to, on the basis of this, tell them to start having a few kids," Rader said.

___

Online:

Medical journal: http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/recent

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Associated Press

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Better heart, better sex

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Nearly 1 in 5 men in the U.S. has difficulty achieving or maintaining an erectionErectile dysfunction is also a known harbinger of heart diseaseDoctors should inform the public of this connection, researchers sayExercise is key for heart health and blood vessel function

(Health.com) -- Middle-aged men who take steps to improve their heart health by eating better, getting more exercise, or taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may end up improving their sex lives as well, according to a new analysis of existing research.

Nearly 1 in 5 men in the U.S. has difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection, a condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED). The new study, which appears this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, suggests that ED drugs such as Viagra aren't the only solution and aren't always enough to address the problem, says coauthor Dr. Stephen Kopecky, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

"If you do take care of your lifestyle—eating right, exercising, losing weight—you respond much better to the Viagra, the Levitra, the Cialis," Kopecky says. By the same token, he adds, if these drugs become less effective "that should be a sign that...you need to take care of your lifestyle.'"

Health.com: 7 ways to treat erectile dysfunction

ED is troubling enough by itself, but to make matters worse it's also a known harbinger of heart disease. The arteries in the penis that expand during an erection can become weakened and clogged with cholesterol in the same way as the arteries that surround the heart. This is why ED often shows up three to five years ahead of life-threatening cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke, especially in younger men, Kopecky says.

"The common denominator is blood flow," he explains. "If you look at a guy in his 40s who has erectile dysfunction and then you compare [him] to another guy in his 40s who doesn't have erectile dysfunction, the guy with ED is about 50 times more likely to have heart disease."

Despite this well-established link, there has been little research into whether addressing risk factors for heart disease (such as unhealthy cholesterol numbers) can also reverse ED. The studies that have been conducted have been relatively small and have looked at a single location, which means they may not apply to the population as a whole, Kopecky and his colleagues say.

Health.com: 10 heart-healthy rules to live by

To clarify the effect of heart-healthy lifestyle changes on ED, the researchers combed through the medical literature for placebo-controlled clinical trials in which men with ED modified their lifestyles or began taking cholesterol-lowering statin medications. The analysis was funded entirely by the Mayo Clinic.

In the end they focused on six studies that included a total of 740 men and were conducted in the U.S., Italy, Nigeria, and Iran. In all of the studies, which ranged in length from two months to two years, heart healthy regimens and better cholesterol numbers were associated with modest but measurable improvements on a survey that rates erectile function on a scale from 5 to 25.

The average improvement in sexual function seen in the pooled studies was three points, one point shy of the threshold experts consider "clinically important." For some men, especially those with more persistent cases of ED, a change of that magnitude would be negligible. For those with mild or occasional ED, however, it would translate into noticeable improvements in sexual function, the researchers say.

Health.com: Erectile dysfunction? Try losing weight

Dr. Kevin Billups, M.D., an associate professor of urology at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, says that the close relationship between heart health and sexual function "hasn't become the public health message that it should be."

Doctors and other experts need to do a better of job of informing the public that a healthier heart often means better erections, adds Billups, who studies the link between heart health and erectile function but did not participate in the new research.

"That's the first thing I talk about with all the guys that come in now," he says, referring to the ED patients he sees in his urology practice. "'Are you watching your diet? What kind of exercise program are you on?' Just putting these men on the ED medications...probably isn't enough to get optimal results."

Health.com: The best foods for your heart

Even if they're told that it may improve their ED, getting men to change their lifestyle and lose weight is no easy task, Kopecky says. He stresses, however, that even small and simple lifestyle changes—such as eating at least five servings of fruits and veggies daily—can make a big difference.

But the "real key" is exercise, Kopecky says. Just 10 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week "does a whole lot to improve your heart function [and] blood vessel function," he says.

Copyright Health Magazine 2010

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Study: Traffic Pollution May Boost Your Risk of Heart Attack

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Exposure to high levels of traffic pollution may boost your risk of heart attack, according to a new study published on BMJ.com.

But the study found that the risk was transient, lasting one to six hours, and that rather than increasing overall risk of heart attack, exposure to pollution appeared to precipitate cardiac events in people who were already at higher-than-average risk.

Researchers in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analyzed data on 79,288 patients who had a heart attack between 2003 and 2006 in 15 urban areas of England and Wales. To determine patients' exposure to ambient air pollution, the team compared the recorded hour of each heart attack with regional air pollution information from the U.K. National Air Quality Archive. That data offered information about pollutant particles, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide levels.

After controlling for environmental factors like air temperature, humidity and viral infection rates, along with social factors like holidays and day of the week, the researchers found that exposure to high levels of certain components of air pollution — pollutant particles and nitrogen dioxide, which are a byproduct of car traffic — was associated with a greater risk of heart attack. The heavier the traffic pollution, the higher the risk of heart attack.

The researchers looked at heart attack risk for 72 hours after exposure to pollution, but found that the risk remained elevated for only six hours. The findings are in line with previous research that has also found air pollution to have an immediate, negative impact on heart health.

Although the overall heart risk of air pollution is short-lived and likely most dangerous to those who are already at risk of heart attack, there's still good reason to reduce traffic pollution as much as possible. "Given other evidence that exposure to air pollution increases overall mortality and morbidity, the case for stringent controls on pollutant levels remains strong," wrote epidemiologists Prof. Richard Edwards and Dr. Simon Hales from the University of Otago in New Zealand in an editorial accompanying the study.

Meredith Melnick is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeredithCM. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Eyelid marks warn of heart attack

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AppId is over the quota
16 September 2011 Last updated at 00:18 GMT By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News Xanthelasmata are mostly made up of cholesterol Yellow markings on the eyelids are a sign of increased risk of heart attack and other illnesses, say researchers in Denmark.

A study published on the BMJ website showed patients with xanthelasmata were 48% more likely to have a heart attack.

Xanthelasmata, which are mostly made up of cholesterol, could be a sign of other fatty build-ups in the body.

Cardiologists said the findings could be used by doctors to help diagnose at-risk patients.

The research team at the Herlev Hospital in Denmark started following 12,745 people in the 1970s.

At the start of the study, 4.4% of patients had xanthelasmata.

Yellow alert

Thirty three years later, 1,872 had had a heart attack, 3,699 had developed heart disease and 8,507 had died - and the data showed that those with the yellow markings around the eyes were at greatest risk.

Those with the markings were 48% more likely to have a heart attack, 39% more likely to have developed heart disease and 14% more likely to have died during the study.

The authors believe patients with xanthelasmata may be more likely to deposit cholesterol around the body.

A build up of fatty material in the walls of arteries - known as atherosclerosis - leads to stroke and heart attack.

For both men and women in several age groups, the data said there was a one in five chance of developing heart disease in the next decade if the patient had xanthelasmata.

The authors said such patients were "generally considered to be at high risk" and should have "lifestyle changes and treatment to reduce [bad] cholesterol."

However they warned that: "Today, most people with xanthelasmata are seen by dermatologists, when they want their xanthelasmata removed for cosmetic reasons.

"Some of these people may not have been managed according to their increased risk of cardiovascular disease."

A review of the study, by US cardiologists Antonio Fernandez and Paul Thompson, concluded that: "Xanthelasmata could be used by general clinicians to help identify people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease."

Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "There are many different techniques to predict someone's risk of developing heart disease in the future, none of which are perfect. The most important thing is that any one of these techniques is used in the first place."

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