Category Archives: Heart Disease

Dangerous heart rhythm disturbance caused by cesium

TorsadesEKGCesium (or ceasium) chloride is promoted as a CAM cancer treatment based on the hypothesis referred to as “high pH cancer therapy.”

Researchers from Surrey Memorial Hospital, in British Columbia, reviewed the risk of developing a heart arrhythmia called torsades de pointes and cardiac arrest in people using this chemical as CAM treatment. Continue reading Dangerous heart rhythm disturbance caused by cesium

Risk of death due to sugar-sweetened drinks

imagesDuring EPI/NPAM 2013 — Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions — researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, reported that drinking large amounts of sugary beverages was associated with an increase in body-mass index (BMI), which in turn was linked with BMI-related deaths from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Continue reading Risk of death due to sugar-sweetened drinks

Risks due to energy drinks

In 2009, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that more than 13,000 emergency room visits were associated with energy drinks.

Now, The New York Times tells us, FDA reports the caffeine drink, 5-hour Energy, may have been involved in 13 deaths over the past four years.

There’s no absolute proof that these drinks were the sole cause of these events. And the makers of 5-Hour Energy and Monster Energy insist their products are safe and unrelated to the problems reported to the FDA.

Regardless. Continue reading Risks due to energy drinks

Risks of chewing khat in people with acute coronary syndrome

Khat (Catha edulis) is a shrub from northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with stimulant effects similar to but less intense than cocaine or methamphetamine.

Researchers at Hamad General Hospital, in Doha, Qatar, studied its effects in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) — a condition associated with insufficient blood flow to the heart.

As you read this summary it might be useful to consider that addicts can detox from drugs in New York.

Continue reading Risks of chewing khat in people with acute coronary syndrome

Fruit, veggies, and the risk of death from ischemic heart disease

A higher intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease (reduced blood supply to the heart muscle).

Researchers at the University of Oxford, in the UK, assessed the relation between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of death from ischemic heart disease in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart study. Continue reading Fruit, veggies, and the risk of death from ischemic heart disease

Benefits in type 2 diabetes of eating fatty fish

Dietary advice is the basis of treatment of diabetes, but there’s uncertainty about the effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Researchers at Uppsala University, in Sweden, compared the effects of diets rich in omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids on glucose and lipoprotein metabolism in these patients. Continue reading Benefits in type 2 diabetes of eating fatty fish

Berberine to treat acute coronary syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome refers to any condition brought on by sudden, reduced blood flow to the heart causing chest pain during a heart attack or chest pain at rest or doing light physical activity (unstable angina).

Researchers at Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, in China, tested berberine’s effects on ACS patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (aka angioplasty or stent placement). Continue reading Berberine to treat acute coronary syndrome