Vascular surgeons identify health concerns that result from quarantine

Vascular surgeons from across the USA are reporting health impacts on some patients, particularly elderly ones, in quarantine. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) queried vascular surgeons regarding their concerns for patients’ health during the pandemic, and shared the findings as well as suggested solutions for patients with vascular disease who are confined at home.

 Dark chocolate is now a health food. Here’s how that happened

Among the findings in the Mars-sponsored health studies: Regularly eating cocoa flavanols could boost mood and cognitive performance, dark chocolate improves blood flow, cocoa might be useful for treating immune disorders, and both cocoa powder and dark chocolate can have a “favorable effect” on cardiovascular disease risk.

 Inflammation: Is It the New Cholesterol?

In scientific circles, the hypothesis that reducing inflammation can lower the risk of heart disease has been gaining ground. Last weekend, that hypothesis may have finally become fact, with far-reaching implications.

4 Foods Shown to Reverse Artery Disease

was taught in medical school that coronary artery disease (CAD) progresses from minor “fatty streaks” in youth, to plaques in early adulthood, to complicated plaques causing heart attacks and death later in life. The arrows always pointed to the disease advancing and never reversing. This paradigm was first shown to be incorrect in 1990 by Dr. Dean Ornish, who used a plant-based diet without added fats along with walking, social support and stress management to reverse CAD on follow up angiograms.

Africa's Top Health Challenge: Cardiovascular Disease

High blood pressure affects nearly one in two Africans over the age of 25.

Cardiovascular Problems in Apollo Astronauts Linked to Radiation

Radiation isn't healthy for more reasons than we thought.

Millions With Leg Pain Have Peripheral Artery Disease

It may seem odd that people who have serious difficulty walking normal distances would not know something is wrong and get checked out. Yet, as Dr. Kullo noted, P.A.D. is both underdiagnosed and undertreated. And the number of cases of P.A.D. is only likely to rise as the population ages, he said.

The Heart Disease Conundrum

SOUTH ASIANS today account for more than half of the world’s cardiac patients. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and rates have risen over the past several decades. South Asian immigrants to the United States, like me, develop earlier and more malignant heart disease and have higher death rates than any other major ethnic group in this country.

Vascular Health: Millions at Risk for Peripheral Arterial Disease

PAD is a serious but treatable vascular condition that occurs when sticky plaque that builds up in the arteries hardens and blocks the vessels, limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the limbs.

Your Risk of Heart Disease

Several tools are available that enable doctors and patients to calculate vascular age. These suggest there can be a substantial difference between how old you are and how old your blood vessels are. For instance, the vascular age of a 35-year-old man who smokes and has diabetes, high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol could be as high as 76 years old—more than double his chronological age, according to a recent study.