Once again, eating a diet based on fish, legumes, vegetables and moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to lower chances of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other vascular "events," according to a new study of New York City residents. The mostly Hispanic and black study participants did not necessarily eat traditional foods from Mediterranean countries, but the closer their diets were to the spirit of Mediterranean eating - with plenty of fish, … full story

If you have chronic heart failure, being around a smoker may be bad for your physical and mental well-being, a new study suggests. Researchers found that of 205 non-smokers with heart failure, those who regularly breathed in secondhand smoke reported more problems in their day-to-day functioning -- physical and emotional. The findings, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, do not prove that other people's smoke was to blame. But they … full story

In people with low blood levels of vitamin D, boosting them with supplements more than halved a person's risk of dying from any cause compared to someone who remained deficient, in a large new study. Analyzing data on more than 10,000 patients, University of Kansasresearchers found that 70 percent were deficient in vitamin D and they were at significantly higher risk for a variety of heart diseases. D-deficiency also nearly doubled a person's likelihood … full story

Hi-tech medical scanners could be used to probe causes of death, reducing the need for invasive autopsies that can upset bereaved families, a study published in The Lancet on Tuesday says. In Britain, post-mortems are ordered in about a fifth of deaths, notably where crime is suspected. The procedure has changed little over the past century, entailing evisceration and then dissection of the major organs. Keen to find whether a non-invasive alternative … full story

More than one in five people with heart disease aren't getting life-saving statin drugs despite guidelines saying they should, a new study shows. Researchers looked at nearly 39,000 people who had experienced a heart attack or undergone heart surgery, and found about 8,600 people weren't prescribed the cholesterol-lowering medications. Although there is still controversy over whether people should take statins to prevent heart attacks, research … full story

Women who drank anywhere from a few alcoholic drinks a month to more than three a week in the year leading up to a heart attack ended up living longer than women who never drank alcohol, according to a US study. The findings, which focused on more than 1,000 women and were published in the American Journal of Cardiology, add to mounting evidence that alcohol, regardless of the type of drink, can be good for the heart. "One thing that was interesting … full story

Walnuts, the brain shaped nuts, cut down cholesterol and may also help fight stress and reduce blood pressure. Those with high levels of bad cholesterol had lower blood pressure during stressful moments after following a diet rich in walnuts for three weeks. Study participants were told to deliver a three-minute speech or sink one foot in cold water – both of which trigger stress. Those who ate walnuts had lower blood pressure, said Professor … full story

Seniors who take aspirin daily are twice as likely to have late stage macular degeneration, an age-related loss of vision, than people who never take the pain reliever, a new European study reports. The data do not show that aspirin causes vision loss. But the findings are of concern if aspirin somehow exacerbates the eye disorder, researchers say, given how many seniors take it daily for heart disease. (Reuters) full story

Simply suggesting that a treatment will ease chest pain may not only dampen the pain, but directly alter heart arteries, a small study concludes. Among 30 patients having a procedure to evaluate their chest pain, researchers found that those who were told they were being given an infusion of a pain-relieving drug did, on average, report a decrease in pain. But the participants also showed a measurable change in their heart arteries: a slight but … full story

Simply suggesting that a treatment will ease chest pain may not only dampen the pain, but directly alter heart arteries, a small study concludes. Among 30 patients having a procedure to evaluate their chest pain, researchers found that those who were told they were being given an infusion of a pain-relieving drug did, on average, report a decrease in pain. But the participants also showed a measurable change in their heart arteries: a slight but … full story