Thyroid disorders - either an underactive or overactive thyroid gland - are common, even in people with heart disease. And especially if you have heart disease, the symptoms produced by thyroid disorders, even if subtle, can be dangerous. Unfortunately doctors often attribute these symptoms to something other than thyroid disease, and sometimes it's up to the patient to lead them in the right direction. Read what you need to know about thyroid disorders and the heart, here.

Cardiac Effects of Thyroid Disease originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 07:33:02.

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Evidence from clinical trials now indicates that in patients with stable angina, medical treatment can be as effective as the more invasive treatments we hear so much about, treatments like bypass surgery, angioplasty and stents.

But what, exactly, is medical therapy for angina? It turns out that treating angina medically is an art that involves the judicious use of several treatment modalities, some of which are well-known to doctors and others less so. You can read all about the medical therapy of angina here.

Medical Treatment for Coronary Artery Disease originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 07:29:47.

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Implantable defibrillators (ICDs) are highly effective at preventing sudden cardiac death from heart arrhythmias. Unfortunately, most of the more than 400,000 Americans who die suddenly each year never learn that their risk is high - and therefore, they never have the opportunity to consider an ICD.

Here is a brief article that discusses the current thinking on which people should consider receiving an ICD.

Should You Have An Implantable Defibrillator? originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 08:19:30.

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Pulmonary hypertension - the condition in which the blood pressure within the pulmonary artery is elevated - is always a potentially serious problem, and often a life-threatening one.� If you have pulmonary hypertension it is critical that your doctor take every step necessary to identify the underlying� cause, and institute aggressive therapy.� Here's what you need to know about pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary Hypertension originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 09:48:03.

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Chest pain is a common symptom that is commonly misunderstood. Click here to read about the causes of chest pain, and how it should be evaluated.

Chest Pain originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 07:55:21.

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Heart disease - and not cancer - is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Unfortunately, several studies have documented that many women do not receive appropriate attention from their doctors regarding heart disease - for either its treatment or prevention. The American Heart Association has published guidelines on preventing heart disease in women, and if docs aren't paying enough attention to them, then American women should. The guidelines for women are not quite the same as for men. Read about these recommendations here.

Guidelines for Preventing Heart Disease in Women originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 11:05:00.

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This week, investigators reported in the British Medical Journal that even small drops in the average temperature can measurably increase the risk of heart attack.

The British researchers performed a daily time-series study, looking at over 800,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks during 2003-2006 in England and Wales. They found that for every 1 degree Celsius drop in the average daily temperature (or roughly 2 degrees Fahrenheit),� the risk of heart attack over the next 28 days increased by 2%.

Elderly individuals - age 75 to 84 - appeared to be more susceptible to colder temperatures than younger individuals.

In contrast, temperature elevations - even during heat waves - did not correlate with an increase in heart attack risk. Heat waves were associated with an increase in mortality, however, suggesting that death from high temperatures tends to occur relatively quickly, possibly before victims can be admitted to the hospital.

We have known for many years that cold temperatures are associated with an increase in cardiac risk. This study suggests that the risk can be seen even with relatively small changes in temperature.

So, if you have coronary artery disease, or if you are at increased risk for coronary artery disease, you should dress warmly, keep your home well heated, and avoid extended stays outdoors when it is cold.

• How To Survive A Heart Attack

_Sources:

_{Bhaskaran K, Hajat S, Haines A et al. Short term effects of temperature on risk of myocardial infarction in England and Wales: time series regression analysis of the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) registry. BMJ 2010; DOI:10.1136/bmj.c3823.}

Lower Temperatures Are Related To Increased Heart Attack Risk originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 20:29:43.

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In a meta-analysis published last week in the British Medical Journal, investigators report that, especially in women, taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attack.

The authors of the study analyzed 15 randomized clinical trials involving almost 12,000 patients, the large majority of whom were older women, who took either calcium supplements or placebo for the treatment of osteoporosis. They report that taking 500 mg/day or more of calcium supplements was associated with a 30% increase in heart attacks, though there was no increase in mortality. The increase in cardiac risk appeared strongest in subjects who also reported a diet high in calcium.

What does this mean?

It is always difficult or even impossible to draw definitive conclusions from a meta-analysis. However, in this case a reasonable risk/benefit estimate appears possible: The added cardiac risk for older women who take calcium supplements for osteoporosis - while not definitive - is likely to be real, while the benefit seems only marginal.� (That is, calcium supplements have not been shown to substantially reduce the incidence of bone fractures in osteoporosis.)

So women who are taking calcium supplements for osteoporosis should discuss this treatment with their doctors in light of these new findings.

Notably, this meta-analysis excluded any study in which vitamin D was given in addition to calcium supplements, so we simply do not know the cardiac effect of this combination. Since evidence is accumulating that vitamin D supplements may be protective for the heart, it is tempting to speculate that vitamin D plus calcium supplements might not impose the same cardiac risk as calcium alone. However, at this point we simply do not know.

_Sources

_{Bolland MJ, Avenell A, Baron JA, et al. Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis. BMJ 2010; DOI:10.1136/bmj.c3691.}

Do Calcium Supplements Increase the Risk of Heart Attack? originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 07:10:22.

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Cardiac calcium scans can identify and quantify the amount of calcium deposits in your coronary arteries. Calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, of course, indicate the presence of coronary artery disease.

Over the years, these scans have been controversial among physicians. But the medical science behind them, and the appropriate ways of interpreting them, now have become much clearer.

Here's what you need to know about calcium scans - what they are, what they are good for, and whether you ought to consider having one.

"Heart Scans" - Cardiac Calcium Scans originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Friday, August 6th, 2010 at 07:13:54.

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OK, you've done your own risk assessment, as advised. And it turns out your risk of heart disease is high. Now what?

If you are at increased risk for heart disease, there are three things you need to do right now. In this article, we discuss what those three things are, why they're important, and what you need to do to get started.

What To Do If Your Risk of Heart Disease Is High originally appeared on About.com Heart Disease on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 07:10:54.

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