Olive Garden, other restaurants set to offer healthier meals (USA)

Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other sister restaurants are set to offer healthier meals by 2016. According to the Associated Press, Darden Restaurants Inc. pledged to cut 10 percent of both calories and sodium content from all restaurant meals over the next five years. The restaurant chains are expected to reduce these levels further by up to 20 percent within the next 10 years. Aside from sodium and calorie changes in all menu items, the restaurants are expected to make significant changes in their meals for children. According to the AP, children’s meals will no longer have side orders of french fries; kids will have a choice of fruits or vegetables instead. One percent milk will be served with all of the children’s items, unless otherwise requested - ThirdAge

Whitehall targets threaten the Great British Breakfast (UK)

For many, a plate of bacon, sausage and eggs makes the perfect start to a lazy Sunday. But Government targets are about to put the great British breakfast under threat. Butchers and other food retailers say health diktats to reduce salt levels could ruin the taste of some of our favourite dishes, with producers of bacon and sausages facing the greatest difficulties. More than 60 food firms and supermarkets have pledged to meet salt reduction targets agreed by the Coalition. But as the deadline grows closer, they fear compromising the familiar tastes valued by customers unless extra additives are introduced. They also fear risking safety, because of the role of salt as a preservative - Telegraph

Eyelid marks warn of heart attack (Denmark)

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

Elizabeth Banks has heart attack for a cause (USA)

Elizabeth Banks has teamed up with the American Heart Association to put out a funny little public service announcement in support of heart wellness issues. In the video, part of the association's Go Red for Women campaign, Banks plays an over-stressed mom busy taking care of everything around her house while neglecting her own heart. Humor is a good way of broaching difficult subjects and the video combines serious facts along with a touch of Banks' Emmy-nominated flair. Heart disease is the number one killer of American women, according to the American Heart Association. It's also a personal issue for Banks. Her mother, father and sisters all suffer from heart disease. As a new mother, Banks says it's important for her to stay healthy for her son

Apple a day 'keeps strokes away'

It is a well known saying that 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. But now nutritionists say there is some truth in the assertion - and believe that eating just one apple or pear daily could half the risk of having a stroke. Both are examples of white-fleshed fruit, which is important because that means they contain large amounts of a plant compound called quercetin. This biochemical has been shown to reduce inflammation, which is relevant because inflammation is linked to hardening of the arteries: cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands who studied 20,000 adults, found those who ate more white-fleshed fruit and vegetables were less likely to suffer a stroke over 10 years. They calculated that stroke risk decreased by nine per cent for every 25g (just under one ounce) of apple or pear eaten each day

Million Hearts (USA)

Million Hearts is a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years. Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Million Hearts brings together communities, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners from across the country to fight heart disease and stroke

New IDF data reveals diabetes epidemic continues to escalate

New Diabetes Atlas figures released by the International Diabetes Federation confirm that the diabetes epidemic continues to worsen. Data from global studies demonstrates that the number of people with diabetes in 2011 has reached a staggering 366 million, 4.6 million deaths are due to diabetes and health care spending on diabetes has reached 465 billion USD

Smoking in Canada hits all-time low in 2010

According to new statistics the smoking rate in Canada has dropped to 17% in 2010. This is the lowest level ever recorded, according to annual results of the 2010 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey. "The numbers announced today are encouraging, as they show more Canadians are making the healthy choice when it comes to smoking," said the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health. "I am particularly encouraged by the numbers when it comes to youth." According to the 2010 survey, smoking rates have significantly declined for key age groups. For example, in 2010 smoking among teens aged 15 to 17 fell to 9% - the lowest recorded rate in an age group often seen as key in the fight against smoking. CTUMS, a national survey conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada since 1999, provides essential input to the development of sound and effective tobacco control policies and programs, as well as their evaluation

Heart scan could replace angiogram for some patients

A team of researchers, with funding from the British Heart Foundation, have shown that a heart test using a magnetic scanner could help some patients living with heart failure. Some patients with heart failure have an enlarged heart, a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. For these patients, it can be difficult to work out if their symptoms are caused by coronary artery disease, or a number of other conditions that can make the heart pump less effectively

Mesoblast receives clearance to begin first European trial of allogeneic or 'off-the-shelf' stem cell treatment for heart attacks

Global regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited has announced that it had received clearance from the European Medicines Agency to begin a 225-patient multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe for its lead cardiovascular product Revascor(TM) in conjunction with angioplasty and stent procedures to prevent heart failure after a major heart attack. Revascor(TM) is an allogeneic, or "off-the-shelf", adult stem cell product derived from Mesoblast's proprietary Mesenchymal Precursor Cell platform technology which is being developed for use in a range of cardiovascular diseases including congestive heart failure, chronic angina, and heart attacks (acute myocardial infarction)

Scripps Research scientists establish new class of anti-diabetic compound

In a joint study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Harvard University's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have established a new class of anti-diabetic compound that targets a unique molecular switch. The finding paves the way for the development of anti-diabetic therapeutics with minimal adverse side effects plaguing currently available drugs such as Avandia (rosiglitazone), scheduled to be removed from pharmacy shelves this fall due to concerns about increased risk of heart attack. The new study, led by Patrick R. Griffin, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at Scripps Florida, Bruce Spiegelman, professor of cell biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Theodore Kamenecka, associate scientific director of medicinal chemistry at Scripps Florida, was published September 4, 2011, in the journal Nature. The study describes a new compound known as SR1664

Longer CPR not necessarily beneficial: study (Canada)

A huge Canadian-led study of cardiac arrest patients may lead to changes in international guidelines on how long CPR should be performed before paramedics or other emergency personnel check whether a defibrillator can restart the heart. The study of almost 10,000 cardiac arrest patients across North American has shown that extending the period of initial cardiopulmonary resuscitation from one minute to roughly three minutes provides no benefit. Principal investigator Ian Stiell, chairman of emergency medicine at Ottawa Hospital, said the finding resolves a worldwide controversy about how cardiac arrest should be dealt with in those first crucial minutes after a patient collapses.

Opticians 'should offer blood sugar checks' (UK)

Opticians should offer blood sugar checks alongside eye tests to help spot patients with undiagnosed diabetes, experts propose. A simple finger prick blood test in this setting could identify hundreds of thousands of people with type 2 diabetes, according to researchers. A pilot study in northern England found the targeted screening picked up one case for every 100 people tested. This would capture people who do not routinely visit their GP, experts say. The Department of Health said people in England aged 40 to 72 were offered a check for diabetes alongside other vascular diseases as part of the NHS Health Check programme

US stroke rates 'rising in young'

More children and young adults in the US are having strokes - with unhealthy lifestyles being a likely cause, scientists have said. Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysed hospital data on up to eight million patients a year between 1995 and 2008. In Annals of Neurology, they say stroke rates in five to 44-year-olds rose by about a third in under 10 years. Higher blood pressure, diabetes and obesity were common in stroke patients

UK stem cell stroke trial passes first safety test

The world's first clinical trial of brain stem cells to treat strokes is set to move to its next phase. An independent assessment of the first three patients to have had stem cells injected into their brain at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital has concluded it has had no adverse effect. The assessment paves the way for the therapy to be tested on more patients to find a new treatment for stroke. The hope is that the stem cells will help to repair damaged brain tissue. The trial is being led by Prof Keith Muir of Glasgow University. He told BBC News that he was pleased with the results so far