Heart of Fashion contest

"Do you want to achieve a lifestyle that protects your heart and boosts your overall health? Heartbeats makes it easy. Heartbeats is helping Canadian women of all ages and ethnicities to make small lifestyle changes that add up to big gains in their heart health. Here's how it works: Heartbeats gives you a whole year of simple lifestyle changes, delivered once a week and designed to boost your heart health. Each change is achievable for women of all health and fitness levels, and if you incorporate each one into your lifestyle, you'll see your health and energy levels improve over the weeks and months. Even better, when you sign up for Heartbeats before March 2, 2009, you'll be automatically entered into the Heart of Fashion contest. The contest winner will receive a return flight for two to Toronto, two nights at a luxury hotel, spending money and two VIP tickets to The Heart Truth Fashion Show" - The Heart and Stroke Foundation

Stabenow, Murkowski, Capps and Bono Mack reintroduce HEART for Women Act (USA)

"In a struggling economy that could force some women to make tough choices on healthcare, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Congresswomen Lois Capps (D-CA) and Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) have reintroduced legislation that would expand access to screening and lifestyle counseling for low-income and uninsured women, including those who may have recently lost their jobs and health benefits. The Heart disease Education, Research and Analysis, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act would expand eligibility for funding to all 50 states for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WISEWOMAN screening program for low-income, underinsured uninsured women. Currently the program is available in only 20 states. The legislation would educate both women and health care providers about the prevention and diagnosis of heart disease in women and the most effective treatments. It would also tighten Food and Drug Administration requirements for reporting sex and race-based data about new medicines and devices" - AHA

Doctor's Diary (UK)

"Health is constantly in the news, but what do doctors on the frontline actually think? This video diary will be a weekly insight into the local and national issues affecting a busy GP practice" - BBC

Secondhand smoke bad for brain?

"People who are exposed to secondhand smoke may be more likely than their peers to have cognitive impairment, a new study shows. The study, published in the advance online edition of BMJ, doesn't prove that secondhand smoke exposure causes cognitive impairment. But it does show that cognitive impairment was more common among nonsmokers and former smokers with high levels of cotinine, a nicotine-related chemical, in their saliva samples. The study included 4,809 adults 50 and older in England. They provided saliva samples and took various tests of mental skills, including memory and attention, between 1998 and 2002. Participants were considered cognitively impaired if their overall test score was in the bottom 10% of the group" - webMD

Great-grandfather, 73, dies of heart attack after chasing teenage gang who threw snowballs at him (UK)

"A great-grandfather died from a heart attack after chasing a group of teenagers who threw a snowball at him. George Mayes, 73, who kept fit with regular work-outs, ran after the youths after being struck in the shoulder while out shopping. He did not catch them and moments later went into a Co-op store where he collapsed. His distraught partner Joan Bromley spoke of her devastation at the loss - but refused to blame the teenagers who threw the snowball. She said: 'He had only gone out for a paper and some bread. 'George was such a fit man. He worked out with weights and did press ups. 'He had suffered a stroke six years ago but had been given the all clear at a check-up before Christmas'" - Mail

Motown's Funk Brothers drummer recovering from heart attack

"Uriel Jones, drummer in Motown's studio band, the Funk Brothers, suffered a heart attack this week while at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn getting a blood transfusion. According to his wife, June, Jones is doing better, but he won't be out of the hospital for some time. Jones, 74, was the hard-rocking, funky drummer on such Motown hits as Marvin Gaye's and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." He started on the road playing drums behind Gaye and other artists, and moved into a role playing drums on Motown studio sessions in 1964. Fans who want to wish him well may send cards to Jones at: Oakwood Hospital, attn: Uriel Jones, CCU #4, P.O. Box 2500, Dearborn, MI 48123-2500.

British woman sues Disney for 'Tower of Terror' ride; heart attack, stroke noted

"A British woman is suing Walt Disney World, claiming a ride caused her to suffer a disabling heart attack and stroke in 2005. Leanne Deacon and her mother, both of Kibworth, England, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Orlando circuit court. They are seeking at least $15,000. Leanne Deacon was 16 when she rode the Disney World-MGM Studios' 'The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror' ride several times. Shortly after one ride, Deacon's heart stopped and she had a brain hemorrhage. The Deacons accuse Disney of negligence in the ride's design and operation. They say Disney failed to adequately warn of the risks or provide adequate safety restraints. Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty said the company hadn't seen the lawsuit. Prunty said the ride was working properly when Deacon rode it." - AP

"I'm afraid not to exercise" - Karen Hinerman

"Karen Hinerman had just finished exercising on an elliptical machine in her home nearly 11 years ago when she felt pressure on her back and a burning sensation in her throat. 'I felt like I ran 10 miles with my mouth open,' the Fairmont, West Virginia, resident said. She did not know it at the time - nor did doctors at first when she went to the hospital after her husband found her passed out - but Hinerman had suffered a heart attack at the age of 53. The condition came as somewhat of a surprise to Hinerman, who tried to take good care of herself by eating right and exercising." - timeswv.com

Fructose-sweetened drinks increase nonfasting triglycerides in obese adults

"Obese people who drink fructose-sweetened beverages with their meals have an increased rise of triglycerides following the meal, according to new research from the Monell Center. 'Increased triglycerides after a meal are known predictors of cardiovascular disease,' says Monell Member and study lead author Karen L. Teff, PhD, a metabolic physiologist. 'Our findings show that fructose-sweetened beverages raise triglyceride levels in obese people, who already are at risk for metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

World's first cardiac adult stem cell trial to take place in Louisville

"The world's first phase one FDA-approved clinical trial using adult cardiac stem cells to treat heart disease will be conducted by a team of doctors at Jewish Hospital. For the first time, patients with advanced heart disease who already are undergoing bypass surgery will be recruited for participation in the clinical trial, which uses adult stem cells taken from the patient's own cardiac tissue. During surgery, a small piece of tissue that is routinely removed during the bypass procedure will be frozen and sent to colleagues at so that the adult cardiac stem cells can be extracted and removed. After the patient has recovered for three to four months, the cells will be directly injected into cardiac scar tissue using a minimally-invasive cardiac catheterization procedure, which reaches the heart through a large artery in the patient's leg" - Pharmalive.com

Transoma gets FDA approval for cardiac device

"Transoma Medical Inc. has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its Sleuth AT implantable cardiac-monitoring system, the follow-up to its original Sleuth product that launched in 2007. The Sleuth products help physicians diagnose patients with recurrent, unexplained fainting and abnormal heart rhythms more quickly, while also minimizing paperwork and practice workload, Transoma said in a press release Wednesday. Sleuth AT allows physicians to use the program with electrocardiogram (ECG) data to help monitor the efficacy of prescribed therapies. The products can be used to detect cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, bradycardia and supraventricular tachycardia. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia, affecting approximately 2.2 million Americans." - American City Business Journals,

EMS improvements boost cardiac arrest survival

Early advanced life support measures and improved procedures have boosted survival following "out-of-hospital" cardiac arrest, according to a study conducted in Japan and reported Tuesday in the medical journal Circulation. "This study is important," lead investigator Dr. Taku Iwami told Reuters Health "because it demonstrates that improvements of the 'chain of survival' really increase survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest." - Reuters

Why exercise is good for your heart

"You haven't been taking good care of yourself. Your cholesterol's too high and so is your blood pressure. You're at risk of a heart attack. Or maybe you've already had a heart attack. You know you need to change your diet, stop smoking and start exercising. But what exactly is it that exercise can do for your heart and how should you begin? Whether you've had a heart attack or are headed for one, exercise can prevent the progression of heart disease and lower your risk of a first or second heart attack, say experts. If you already have suffered a heart attack, no amount of exercise will bring back your damaged heart muscle. But exercising can strengthen the remaining heart muscle, or myocardium, and help the rest of your body function more efficiently, thereby reducing stress on your heart. "The key really is secondary prevention after a heart attack. You are making sure the rest of your myocardium is viable and working well. You want to focus on risk-factor reduction," said Vickie Asaro, manager of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation for Borgess Medical Center." - mlive.com

Huey "Piano" Smith - High Blood Pressure

Huey "Piano" Smith (born 26 January 1934 in New Orleans) is an American rhythm and blues pianist whose sound was influential in rock 'n' roll. This is from 1958:

This Is Why You're Fat: where dreams become heart attacks

The internet's latest sensation should come with a health warning. This Is Why You're Fat collects examples of gut-busting food from around the world, like the Corndog Pizza pictured here