WHILE REGULAR PARISHIONERS SMOKE LESS, 2,400 MEN AND WOMEN OVER 18 YEARS WERE 50% MORE LIKELY TO BE OBESE BY MIDDLE AGE.  LAST YEAR 5400 REGULAR WORSHIPERS (ONCE A WEEK) HAD NO CARDIAC BENEFIT FROM THIS PRACTICE, AND WERE MORE OVERWEIGHT OVER 4 YEARS. WORST PART? THERE IS NO REAL EXPLANATION WHY!

WOMEN, DIABETICS AND AS WE GET OLDER, NEVER SEEM TO GET THE “FRED SANFORD” TV HEART ATTACK.  FOR DETAILS, CATCH OUR “BETTER DIAGNOSIS OF A HEART ATTACK” SHOW

THE LATEST SHIFT IN THINKING IS BARIATRIC SURGERY(GASTRIC BYPASS, ADJUSTABLE GASTRIC BAND etc): NO LONGER TO LOSE WEIGHT BUT TO IMPACT THESE KILLERS

“HEART RACING OR POUNDING WHEN LYING DOWN AT NIGHT” AND “SHORTNESS OF BREATH WHEN CLIMBING THE STAIRS” GENERALLY YIELD NEGATIVE (NORMAL) WORK UPS. WHY?

IN PATIENTS THAT HAVE STATIN INDUCED MYALGIAS (MUSCULAR ACHES AND PAINS, OCCURS IN AVERAGE 10% PATIENTS) CORRECTING LOW VITAMIN D3 LEVELS MAY DECREASE OR ABATE THESE SYMPTOMS! FURTHER STUDIES OF COURSE ARE NEEDED

OUT OF 21 BIOLOGIC MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH HEART DISEASE, 44 STUDIES ON 13 OF THESE MARKERS FROM 1950-2009 WERE REVIEWED. RESULTS: 1 DRINK/DAY FOR WOMEN, 1-2 DRINKS/DAY FOR MEN CONSISTENTLY RAISED HDL (GOOD) CHOLESTEROL AND ITS ASSOCIATED PROTEIN APO-A LEVELS, RAISED ADIPONECTIN (ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROTECTIVE COMPOUND LOST AS WE GAIN WEIGHT), AND LOWERED THE INFLAMMATORY MARKER FIBRINOGEN. “BOTTLE OF RED, BOTTLE OF WHITE-WHATEVER KIND OF MOOD YOUR HEART’S IN TONIGHT”? (CHECK OUT “I LEFT MY HEART IN NAPA VALLEY” SHOW FOR MORE INFO ON YOUR SMARTERHEARTUNIVERSITY.COM TODAY!)

388 PATIENTS FOLLOWED FOR UP TO 20 YEARS AFTER A TIA(TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACK) AKA MINI-STROKE. 44 HAD A HEART ATTACK AN AVERAGE 5 YRS LATER. THIS OCCURRED DESPITE CONTINUED ADVANCED IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL MANAGEMENT AND DESPITE TWO “SEPARATE” AREAS OF THE BODY! AS DR SCOTT SAYS: “PLAQUE IS A HEAD TO TOE PHENOMENON”

THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY STATES KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE CORONARY PLAQUE OR BLOCKAGES FROM A CAT SCAN CALCIUM SCORE MAY LEAD YOU TO TAKE NECESSARY STEPS (LIFESTYLE CHANGES AND COMPLIANCE WITH MEDICATIONS) AND CONTROL YOUR RISK FACTORS. FOR A GREAT REVIEW, LISTEN TO OUR “NUKES VS. CATS” SHOW ON SMARTERHEARTUNIVERSITY.COM!

EVIDENCE CONTINUES TO MOUNT FOR THE ASSOCIATION OF PERIODONTAL INFECTIONS, CORONARY PLAQUE AND CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS. FIRST, A JOINT STATEMENT WAS MADE FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY AND AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PERIODONTOLOGY, AND LAST MONTH A STUDY OF 6 ORAL BACTERIA REVEALED A CORRELATION OF 3 BUGS DOUBLING THE INCIDENCE OF HEART ATTACK IF THEY WERE IN YOUR MOUTH! (WE ARE LOOKING FOR A KNOWLEDGEABLE DENTIST/PERIODONTIST TO DISCUSS THIS ON A FUTURE RADIO SHOW)

IN A META-ANALYSIS (REGULAR SHU FOLLOWERS KNOW WE FROWN ON THESE) OF 10 STUDIES, THOSE WHO NEVER EXERICSE AND THEN HIT THE GYM OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER HAVE AROUND 3 TIMES LIKELIHOOD TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK OR DIE SUDDENLY. CONVERSELY, THOSE THAT JUST EXERCISED REGULARLY EVEN A LITTLE BIT HAVE A 30-45% LESS CHANCE OF BUYING THE FARM. SOLUTION? REGULAR TREADMILL OR NOOKIE, YOUR CHOICE!