cardiovascular diseases
CVD and diabetes linked
What is the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD)? We know that CVD is a major complication and a leading cause of premature death among people with diabetes. Here are some facts that emphasize the link between diabetes and CVD. ...read more
CVD: how and what
The term cardiovascular disease refers to diseases of the heart and blood vessels and includes angina, heart attack, diseases of the heart valves or heart muscle, heart failure, stroke and pain from poor blood flow to the legs. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the nation&rsqu...read more
Dairy foods and heart disease
A challenge to the dairy industry It is widely accepted that saturated fats raise cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease. Official dietary guidelines across the world recommend that no more than 10% of calories should come fromread more
Damage to the brain
A stroke causes damage to the brain, which affects how the body worksBecause stroke is a brain injury, the effects, or symptoms, will depend on the part of the brain that is affected.Every stroke is different and people who have a stroke are affected in diff...read more
Diabetes and stroke
Diabetes is extremely common, and it is on the increase. This factsheet describes the main symptoms of diabetes and explains why being diabetic increases your risk of stroke. If you are diabetic, you can reduce the likelihood of having a stroke by keeping control of your di...read more
Diabetes drug and exercise help reduce heart disease risk and improve body shape in HAART patients
A programme of cardiovascular and resistance exercise and use of the anti-diabetes drug metaformin resulted in significantly greater reductions in risk factors for cardiovascular disease in HAART-treated HIV-positive patients than treatment with metaformin a...read more
Diet and stroke
The food you eat can help reduce the risk of having a stroke. This factsheet describes different food groups, such as cereals, oils and fats, fruits and vegetables and explains why and how they can protect against stroke. It also suggests ways you can change your own diet in...read more
Drugs used to treat patients with Congenital Heart Conditions
Not all patients with cardiac problems will require the use of medication. If the patient does need it, the drugs prescribed will depend on the nature of the heart condition, and the degree of symptoms they are showing. All of the drugs have a chemical or ge...read more
Eisenmenger complex
Eisenmenger Complex is the term used to describe the resultant effects of prolonged pulmonary hypertension in patients with uncorrected congenital heart defects, which eventually results in a reversal of the shunting of blood within the heart , so that it go...read more
Erectile problems may be early warning of cardiovascular disease
Men with erectile problems may have more serious and unrecognised cardiovascular health issues, according to researchers writing in the October 18th edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Erectile dysfunction can be a symptom of more advanced c...read more
Functional electrical stimulation
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) can be used to help people who have had a stroke to lift their foot when walking. This was first done in 1960 by an American bioengineer called Liberson. For some time after this the idea was not developed, mainly because the technolog...read more
Grapes & health: how grapes could help stroke patients recover
If you eat grapes, you may be able to minimise the brain damage caused by a stroke, according to a recent study. Delayed reaction We already know that grapes are good for us. Dark-skinned grapes in particular contain resveratrol, an antioxidant that has be...read more
Healthy choices on a vegan diet
Decades of experience, culminating in more than a million vegans today, have shown that appropriate vegan diets support good health at all stages of life and reduce the risk of heart disease. This has been confirmed by independent scientific...read more
Heart healthy eating
Why do I need to be concerned about heart healthy eating? Diet is one of the things that can affect your heart health, and your risk for getting heart disease. And, every woman needs to be concerned about heart disease. It is the #1 killer of American women...read more
High blood pressure: what is it and how to control it
What is hypertension (high blood pressure)? Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries – the vessels that bring oxygen-carrying blood to the heart. It rises and falls quite naturally all the time. Your blood pressure will be lower when you are <...read more
HIV infection and treatment linked to heart disease in children
Children infected with HIV show early signs of cardiovascular disease, particularly if they have been treated with protease inhibitors, according to the results of a study presented in the 5th July edition of Circulation. This suggests that children with HIV...read more
HIV infection, viral load and injecting drug use linked to early signs of cardiovascular disease
HIV-positive patients have signs of damage to the lining of blood vessels, according to a study published in the 1st May edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study found that blood vessel damage was more pronounced in the patients who had higher viral loads, particul...read more
How a veggie diet can protect your heart
Heart Pumping Of all the complex jobs our bodies have to perform it sounds such a simple task to ask of our hearts - just sit there and pump. Yes that really is it - the heart just sits around day in and day out pushing the blood around the body, thereby supplying individua...read more
How do I prevent anemia?
Take these steps to help prevent some types of anemia: Eat foods high in iron: red meat fish chicken liver o eggs ...read more
How is iron-deficiency anemia treated?
Goals of the treatment The goals of treating iron-deficiency anemia are to restore normal levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, and iron as well as to treat the condition causing the anemia. Specific types of treatment Treatment for iron-deficiency anemi...read more
How the heart works
The heart is a muscle about the size of your fist. It works like a pump and beats 100,000 times a day. The heart has two sides, separated by an inner wall called the septum. The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Then, oxygen...read more
How to control hypertension
Why me, why now? There are a number of reasons why people have hypertension. In the majority of cases, hypertension is caused by a combination of inherited and environmental factors. Certainly, a family history of hypertension predisposes you to the disease. Other risk fact...read more
How veins work
Lying Down The legs, like any other part of the body, need a blood supply. Blood from the heart takes oxygen and food to the tissues in blood vessels called arteries. Blood then returns to the heart through the veins. The blood pumps the blood through the a...read more
Hyperglycaemia: protect your heart by lowering your blood sugar levels
Is heart health compromised by the high blood sugar levels of diabetes, or by other conditions such as hypertension that can be triggered by diabetes? In short: Which comes first and which matters most. Two studies indicate that hype...read more
Hypertension aka high blood pressure
It's important to always monitor your blood pressure. High Blood Pressure can be extremely dangerous if uncontrolled. It can lead to heart and/or kidney disease, as well as a stroke.Anyone can develop high blood pressure during their lifetime. Having normal ...read more
