Month: March 2011

Study: statin drugs overprescribed for healthy adults

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

A study from Johns Hopkins Hospital may be very bad news for drug companies that make statin drugs for cholesterol management.(1)  Statins, of course, are considered the darlings of Big Pharma. I’ve heard cardiologists joke (at least, I think they were joking) that statins are so fabulous at lowering our LDL (bad) cholesterol that we should be putting the drugs into our drinking water.

Virtually all heart attack survivors are now routinely prescribed statins (whether they have high cholesterol or not) and there’s a major marketing push for docs to prescribe statins as cardiovascular preventive therapy for virtually all adults, particularly to reduce blood levels of the inflammatory byproducts called C-reactive protein. But the Johns Hopkins study lead investigator Dr. Michael Blaha has this important new warning:   Continue reading “Study: statin drugs overprescribed for healthy adults” →

Too miserable outdoors to walk today? Take a heart-smart mall walk!

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

Every Wednesday morning at 7:30, some friends and I lace up our running shoes and head outdoors to solve the problems of the world during our weekly walk and talk.

Here on the balmy Wet Coast of Canada, we generally walk rain or shine. Winter weather here usually means drizzly rain rather than icy snow, but on those very rare days when the weather is ugly (either too cold in winter or too hot in summer), we are glad to join the Mall Walkers at one of our local indoor shopping centres.  Continue reading “Too miserable outdoors to walk today? Take a heart-smart mall walk!” →

What does a girl have to do to get her heart attack noticed?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters   

Once upon a time, some famous female cardiologists gathered at a New York City heart health media event and wryly suggested it might be helpful if only women in mid-heart attack could clutch their chests, turn pale, and fall to the ground in dramatic defeat, in typical “Hollywood Heart Attack” fashion.

I wish I’d been there in person.

Kentucky cardiologist Dr. Melissa Walton-Shirley was there, though, and wrote about this event, In The Prime Of Her Life.

She described the prestigious health care professionals who gathered to participate in the event’s panel discussions as the “rock stars of cardiology”, each one specializing in the treatment of women’s heart disease.   Continue reading “What does a girl have to do to get her heart attack noticed?” →

Is Daylight Saving Time hurting your heart?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

It’s time once again, heart sisters, for the springtime ritual that welcomes something called Daylight Saving Time. This is not a good time of year if you love to sleep in. When that alarm clock buzzes you wide awake at 6 a.m., your body feels like it’s REALLY only 5 a.m. Ouch! Some studies suggest that the rates of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) are significantly increased immediately after the transition to Daylight Saving Time every spring.

Good luck at successfully getting through that transition this year.

Continue reading “Is Daylight Saving Time hurting your heart?” →