Does marriage help heart patients live longer?
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(CBS) Married people have a better shot at long-term survival after heart bypass surgery. In fact, happily married husbands and wives who have the surgery are more than three times as likely as single folks to be alive 15 years later, a new study showed.
The life-sustaining benefit of marriage is "every bit as important to survival after bypass surgery as more traditional risk factors like tobacco use, obesity, and high blood pressure," study author Dr. Harry Reis, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, said in a written statement.
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Bill Clinton boots burgers, says he's now vegan
Bill Clinton, shown here in Washington, D.C. on May 25, 2011, says he's become vegan.
/ Getty Images(CBS) No more burgers for Bubba. Bill Clinton says he's gone vegan.
The former president - and former heart patient - said in an interview with CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta that he had given up the fatty fare he used to eat and switched to fruits, vegetables, and beans. When asked if that made him a vegan, Clinton said, "I suppose I am, if I don't eat dairy or meat or fish."
Continue »Smoking more dangerous for women, study shows
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(CBS) Is smoking somehow worse for women than men? At least when it comes to the risk for developing heart disease, new research indicates that the answer may be yes. It showed that women who smoke are a whopping 25 percent more likely to have heart trouble.
Continue »Even a little exercise spells big help for heart
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(CBS) A little exercise can do a lot for your heart. That's the message from Harvard researchers after a new study showed that as little as 2.5 hours of exercise a week can dramatically cut heart disease risk.
Continue »Study points to easier cholesterol tests in kids
Fasting cholesterol tests not much more accurate than similar tests without fasting, scientists say.
/ istockphoto(CBS) Checking kids' cholesterol levels may soon be much simpler, now that a new study has shown that fasting is unnecessary before the required test."
"Cholesterol testing can be very difficult for families," study author Dr. Asheley Cockrell Skinner, research associate professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, said in a written statement. "When having to fast, this almost always means the child has to return on another morning for the test, which can be very problematic for busy families."
Continue »More strokes among pregnant women, new moms: CDC
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(CBS/AP) Strokes are on the rise among pregnant women and new moms, according to a new report.
"That is a very, very alarm-raising statistic that we need to take extremely seriously," said Dr. Dr. Olajide Williams, chief of staff of neurology at Columbia University and spokesman for the American Stroke Association.
Continue »FDA approves Brilinta, new blood thinner
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(CBS/AP) The FDA has approved the blood thinner Brilinta, and that means there's an alternative to the blockbuster pill Plavix for patients who have clogged arteries associated with a condition known as acute coronary syndrome.
Heart attacks, strokes, and other complications of the syndrome put more than a million people in the hospital each year, according to the American Heart Association.
Continue »Quitting aspirin ups risk for heart attack: Study
Taking aspirin to prevent a heart attack? Doctors warn stopping can pose serious risks.
/ istockphotoSpanish researchers report that patients who stop taking daily low-dose aspirin are 60 percent more likely to have a heart attack within a year.
Continue »High-sodium, low-potassium risky combo for heart
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That's the finding from the first federal study to research the relationship among salt, potassium, and heart disease deaths.
"If you have too much sodium and too little potassium, it's worse than either one on its own," said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City's health commissioner in a commentary published with the study in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Continue »Can stem cells cure severe angina?
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(CBS) Doctors think they've found another use for stem cells. Following news that Swedish scientists implanted the first stem-cell made windpipe into a cancer patient, U.S. doctors announced the tissue-derived cells may help sufferers of debilitating chest pains.
And the Northwestern University doctors behind the study are optimistic the cells may change they treat patients with heart problems.
Pictures: First lab-grown windpipe saves cancer patient
Continue »Heart disease silently kills women: Why?
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(CBS/AP) Heart disease may stand out as America's leading cause of death, but the No. 1 killer may be a silent killer among women. Nearly two-thirds of women who die suddenly from heart disease report no previous symptoms, compared with half of men. Women are also more likely to die the year after a first heart attack.
PICTURES: 9 surprising heart attack risks
More than 40 percent of women also don't realize that heart disease is the number one female killer - it strikes one in three women every year.
Why the gender gap?
Continue »Macho Man Randy Savage died from heart disease
Professional wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage is shown in an undated photo. A medical examiner listed his cause of death as heart disease.
/ AP Photo/WWE(CBS) The death of Macho Man Randy Savage was a shock to wrestling fans. So were the results of the ex-pro wrestler's autopsy.
They suggest the 58-year-old died not from a car crash, but from heart disease.
"The crash had nothing to do with his death." William Pellan, director of investigations for Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office in Largo Fla., told Tampa Bay Online. "He just happened to be driving when he had a cardiovascular event."
Do cholesterol-lowering drugs cause diabetes?
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(CBS) Do cholesterol-lowering drugs raise the risk for diabetes?
A new study suggests people who take high doses of popular statin drugs like Lipotor and Zocor face a heightened risk for type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects more than 25 million Americans.
Continue »Cocaine use silently causing heart damage: Study
Is cocaine silently damaging its users hearts?
/ istockphoto(CBS) Is cocaine silently killing its users? An eye-popping new study suggests that coke-heads are harming their hearts - in many cases without even realizing it.
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Stop-smoking drug can cause heart attack: FDA
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(CBS/AP) A popular smoking-cessation drug may raise the risk of heart trouble, the FDA says.
The agency is warning doctors and patients that Chantix (varenicline) has been linked to heart-related chest pain (angina) and heart attack. The warning comes after a study of 700 heart patients taking Chantix showed a small uptick in heart problems like myocardial infarction and chest pain, compared to patients taking a placebo drug.
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