American Heart Association says Genetically inherited High Cholesterol twice as common as believed
March 15, 2016
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Genetically inherited high levels of cholesterol are twice as common in the United States as previously believed, affecting 1 in 250 adults, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
The condition, familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), leads to severely elevated cholesterol levels from birth and is a leading cause of early heart attack.
Prepping the patient to draw blood for a cholesterol test. (American Heart Association)
American Heart Association says Moms’ Pre-Pregnancy Weight impacts risk of dying decades later
November 20, 2014
Chicago, IL – Adults whose mothers were overweight or obese before pregnancy have a dramatically elevated risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014.
“Excess weight among young women of childbearing age has important implications not only for their own health, but for that of their children as well,” said Michael Mendelson, M.D., S.M., the study’s lead author and a research fellow at the Framingham Heart Study, Boston University and the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Previous studies had shown that people whose mothers were overweight before pregnancy were at higher risk for obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. This study examined whether that translated into higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death. [Read more]
American Heart Association says DNA particles in the Blood may help speed detection of Coronary Artery Disease
July 4, 2013
High blood levels of these DNA particles may eventually help identify patients at risk for further serious heart problems.
Dallas, TX – DNA fragments in your blood may someday help doctors quickly learn if chest pain means you have narrowed heart arteries, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
The study involved 282 patients, ages 34 to 83, who reported chest pain and were suspected of having coronary artery disease. Researchers used computed tomography imaging to look for hardened, or calcified, buildup in the blood vessels that supply the heart. Blood samples also were tested for bits of genetic material. Release of small DNA particles in the blood occurs during chronic inflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease. [Read more]
