People suffering from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at an increased risk of cognitive decline, according to a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Lead author Christina E. Hugenschmidt, Ph.D., an instructor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, said the results from the Diabetes Heart Study-Mind (DHS-Mind) suggest that CVD is playing a role in cognition problems before it is clinically apparent in patients. The research appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications.
“There has been a lot of research looking at the links between type 2 diabetes and increased risk for dementia, but this is the first study to look specifically at subclinical CVD and the role it plays,” Hugenschmidt said. “Our research shows that CVD risk caused by diabetes even before it’s at a clinically treatable level might be bad for your brain.
“The results imply that additional CVD factors, especially calcified plaque and vascular status, and not diabetes status alone, are major contributors to type 2 diabetes related cognitive decline.”
Full story of heart health and your brain at Science Daily
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
Nutritionists have long touted the heart-healthy benefits of extra-virgin olive oil.
Recently, researchers found that consuming a Mediterranean diet heavy in olive oil can help lower some heart risks. Consuming more than four tablespoons a day can significantly lower your risk of having a heart attack, suffering from a stroke or dying of heart disease, according to the recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Olive oil is high in a type of fat known as monounsaturated fat, according to the Mayo Clinic. MUFAs, as they’re commonly called, can help lower your cholesterol and control insulin levels in the body. In addition to olive oil, they can be found in avocados, nuts and fatty fish.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can go overboard. Even though it’s made of "healthy fats," olive oil is still high in calories and should be used in moderation. Here are five things you might not know about this Mediterranean staple:
Full story of olive oil facts at CNN Health
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Beedie Savage – President of Quantum Units Education
PTSD – posttraumatic stress disorder – usually is associated with military personnel traumatized by combat or people who’ve been victimized by violent crime or sexual assaults.
But new study finds that one in eight patients develop PTSD after experiencing a heart attack or other major heart event. The study, published online in PLoS One, also reveals that heart patients who experience PTSD face double the risk for another heart event or dying within one to three years, compared to heart patients who do not experience PTSD.
Scientists from Columbia University Medical Center performed the first metanalysis of studies examining PTSD induced by major heart events. The studies included almost 2,400 patients who experienced acute coronary syndrome or ACS, an umbrella term medical professionals use to describe any condition that reduces blood flow to the heart, including heart attacks and unstable angina.
“Everybody is expected to have some disruption after a life threatening event such as a heart attack,” explained lead study author Donald Edmondson, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, “ but after a month we expect people to mostly get back to normal.” Edmondson said their research focused on studies of patients who experienced symptoms of PTSD more than one months after their heart event.
Full story of PTSD at CNN Health
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By Sarah Klein
Every February, organizations like the American Heart Association, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and the CDC team up for American Heart Month to remind us that heart disease is stillthe number one cause of death in the United States.
If you already exercise regularly, eat a nutritious diet full of heart-healthy foods and keep stress levels in check, you’re on the right path toward a tip-top ticker. But there’s always more research evolving to teach us more details about what keeps a heart healthy for life. Here’s a look at some of the most surprising, uplifting and promising results that surfaced since the last American Heart Month.
Just last week, a large study published in the British Medical Journal found no link between eating fried foods and an increased risk of heart disease. However, (and this is a big however) the study was conducted in Spain, a country that lives and breathes by the Mediterranean diet, and predominantly fries foods in olive or sunflower oil.
Full story at Huffington Post
People suffering from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at an increased risk of cognitive decline, according to a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
