What to Know About the Link Between Cancer and Heart Disease

Cleveland HeartLab cancer, heart attack and stroke, inflammation, lifestyle habits

When you are diagnosed with cancer, heart disease is the last thing on your mind. But there’s a growing awareness of a link between cancer and heart problems. Recent research in Nature Communications that looked at more than 7 million cancer survivors showed that the risk of death from heart disease among cancer patients is 2 times greater than that …

How the Road to Menopause Affects Your Heart

Cleveland HeartLab heart attack and stroke, inflammation, lifestyle habits, women's health

If you’re getting close to menopause, you’re probably not looking forward to annoying symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. But you may not realize that there’s a bigger health concern: a higher risk for heart disease. Doctors have known for a while that the risk for heart attacks and strokes in women after menopause is greater than for women …

Say Yes to Fish Oil!

Cleveland Heartlab cholesterol, diabetes, diet, heart attack and stroke, inflammation, Stroke, vitamins and supplements, women's health

Confused if you should be taking a fish oil supplement? That’s not surprising. Sometimes headlines say the omega-3 fatty acids in them can lower heart risks. Others say the opposite. But the data in favor of fish oil has been growing. Two recent studies show a strong benefit – especially if you don’t like or can’t eat fish itself. The …

The Surprising Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

Cleveland Heartlab blood pressure, cholesterol, diet, exercise, heart attack and stroke, inflammation, lifestyle habits

You might have heard that people who are depressed are more likely to have heart disease. People who have heart disease are also more likely to get the blues. Having both heart disease and depression is worse for your health than just having heart disease. A 2017 study found that people diagnosed with depression after they’d had a heart attack …

Simple Ways to Get Tough and Prevent Heart Disease and Early Death

Cleveland Heartlab Aspirin Therapy, blood pressure, heart attack and stroke

For many years, the number of people dying from heart disease has decreased. But now that trend is starting to slow down. In 2016, more than 415,000 people died from a heart problem that could have been prevented. This unexpected number comes from a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The organization is trying to …

The Diet That Lowers Your Cholesterol Naturally

Cleveland Heartlab cholesterol, diet

You’ve probably heard of the heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet. And you may have heard of the DASH Diet, which is designed to lower blood pressure. But you may not have heard of the Portfolio Diet. All three eating patterns are based on plant foods and help the heart. But if lowering cholesterol is very important to you, the Portfolio Diet deserves …

A New Risk Factor for Heart Attack

Cleveland Heartlab heart attack and stroke, inflammation

The 3 million Americans with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease often have severe diarrhea and stomach pain, lose weight, and  feel tired. They may sometimes develop blockages in their bowels or have trouble digesting food, which can put their very lives at risk. On top of all that, new research presented recently at the American College …

4 Essential Steps to Surviving a Heart Attack

Cleveland Heartlab heart attack and stroke

Every 43 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack. Yet the outlook has never looked better for patients who recognize symptoms and get to the hospital promptly. Over the past decade, hospitals and health systems have quietly revolutionized the way they treat heart attacks. Ambulances now electronically transmit electrocardiogram (EKG) images ahead when a heart attack patient is …

Detecting Hidden Heart Disease Before it Harms

Cleveland Heartlab heart attack and stroke, inflammation

People who are slim, don’t smoke, and don’t have diabetes usually don’t worry too much about their hearts. Those with good control of their blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels, even less so. But an alarming new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology may soon change that calculus. Researchers from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos …

The Cardiac Risks of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Cleveland Heartlab inflammation

As if the chronic pain and mobility challenges of rheumatoid arthritis weren’t burdensome enough, it’s becoming clearer that people with the disease face another serious health threat—a greater risk for heart disease. Some 1.5 million Americans, a majority of them women, have this form of arthritis, an autoimmune disease that happens when the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, …