Linking Social Jetlag & Cardiovascular Disease

“Cut that lie-in short A study of how much 984 adults shifted their waking and sleeping hours at the weekend has found that, for every extra hour a person’s schedule shifts, there is an 11 per cent increase in the likelihood that they have cardiovascular disease. The phenomenon is called social jetlag, because it’s often caused… Read More

A Guide to Coronary Calcium Scans

Here in Australia, a number of organisations offer coronary calcium scans. What, I hear you say, is a coronary calcium scan? Why Look At Coronary Calcium? A coronary calcium scan looks for specks of calcium (or calcification) in the walls of the coronary (heart) arteries. Calcification can be an early sign of coronary heart disease… Read More

Does Carbohydrate Ingestion Immediately Prior to Combined Mental & Physical Stress Attenuate Cortisol Responses?

Research Paper Title Exogenous Carbohydrate Reduces Cortisol Response from Combined Mental and Physical Stress. Background Combined mental and physical stress is associated with exacerbated cortisol production which may increase risk for the progression of cardiovascular disease in individuals working in high-stress occupations (e.g., firefighters, military personnel, etc.). Carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion prior to physical stress may… Read More

How Many US Cardiovascular Deaths are due to Modifiable Risk Factors?

If the five commonest modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease – high cholesterol concentrations, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and smoking – were eliminated in the United States, deaths from cardiovascular disease would be halved, a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found (Patel et al., 2015). Cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease… Read More

Coronary Heart Disease: Traditional Risk Factors versus Biomarkers

Research Paper Title Traditional Risk Factors Versus Biomarkers for Prediction of Secondary Events in Patients With Stable Coronary Heart Disease: From the Heart and Soul Study. Background Patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) have widely varying prognoses and treatment options. Validated models for risk stratification of patients with CHD are needed. The researchers sought… Read More

Is There Any Association between Alcohol & Heart Failure in Men?

The association between alcohol and heart failure is explored in a study of 33,760 Swedish men aged 45-79 years who were followed up from 1998 to 2011. The study uses two kinds of modelling, and the only significant association to emerge is that of a reduced risk of heart failure in men with an intake… Read More

Smoking Cessation, Glycaemic Control & Weight Gain: Any Link?

Current smoking is associated with a higher risk if type 2 diabetes, and the most beneficial thing anyone with this condition can do is to give up smoking. However, it is not quite that simple. A retrospective cohort study of 10,692 adult smokers with type 2 diabetes that used the Health Improvement Network, a large… Read More