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Ray Liotta’s cause of death has been revealed one year after he passed away suddenly in the Dominican Republic. The “Goodfellas” star died from heart and respiratory issues, according to TMZ. Documents obtained by the outlet cite pulmonary edema — or fluid in the lungs — as well as respiratory insufficiency and acute heart failure as the specific causes. Medical authorities also listed atherosclerosis — a thickening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining — as an underlying issue. Liotta died in his sleep in May 2022 while filming “Dangerous Waters” on the island...

Most medical textbooks claim that atherosclerosis — the process by which plaque accumulates inside blood vessels and slowly chokes off blood flow, eventually leading to heart attack or stroke — is irreversible. This claim may not be accurate. In a landmark study, research has established a therapeutic role for an obscure herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, berberine, for the treatment and even possible reversal of arterial plaque, one of the main drivers of heart disease. The presumed mechanism by which berberine may reduce atherosclerosis is by tamping down production of a compound called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) that has been...

A major risk factor for diabetes, insulin resistance occurs when the cells of the body do not respond to insulin and cannot make use of the glucose (sugar) in the blood stream. The condition is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. George King, MD, identified a pathway in which the cells lining the blood vessels—called endothelial cells—drive the body's metabolism. In a reversal of scientific dogma, the findings suggest that vascular dysfunction may itself be the cause of undesirable metabolic changes that can lead to diabetes, not an effect as previously thought. In addition to being...

A receptor activated by substances formed from omega-3 fatty acids plays a vital role in preventing inflammation in blood vessels and reducing atherosclerosis, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reports. The discovery can pave the way for new strategies for treating and preventing cardiovascular disease using omega-3 fatty acids. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death globally and a serious public health problem. Atherosclerosis is associated with chronic inflammation in the blood vessels. Inflammation is normally controlled by stop signals called resolvins, which switch off the inflammation and stimulate tissue healing and repair through a process...

An antioxidant drug reverses atherosclerosis and could be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes due to clots. Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries. When a type of fat called LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized and builds up to form plaques in the artery walls, inflammation and damage increase which can cause the plaques to rupture and cause blood to clot. These clots can block vital arteries that allow blood to flow to the heart, causing a heart attack, or to the brain causing a stroke. Previously, researchers at the University of Reading discovered that LDL cholesterol...

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Health (MOH) has said that there was no indication that a 72-year-old woman who died a day after she received her first Covid-19 jab had had an allergic reaction to the vaccine. It was responding on Saturday (June 19) to media queries about a Facebook post by Mr Andrew Tan, who questioned if his mother's death could have been caused by the vaccine. Madam Doreen Chan received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on June 3, and "everything seemed fine except for a sore arm", said Mr Tan in his post that had gone...

Scans of mummified Inuits from 16th-century Greenland revealed that the ancient hunters suffered from clogged-up arteries despite a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Atherosclerosis — the build-up of plaques of fat, cholesterol and calcium in one's arteries — is a leading cause of death today in the world's wealthier countries. While often seen as a product of modern lifestyles, evidence of the condition has been found in human remains dating back as far as around 4,000 BC. However, none of these examples enjoyed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which has been suggested can help protect against plaque...

Modern diets and sedentary lifestyles leading to obesity are largely blamed for the disease in modern culture but a new University of Texas study, published in the American Heart Journal , found cholesterol buildup in the arteries of five mummies dating back to 2000 BC. [S]canning the preserved arteries of ancient mummies revealed that heart disease and high cholesterol have for a long time been part of the human condition. Although processed high-fat foods leading to high-cholesterol are so often blamed for heart disease today, this new study found signs of the same kind of cholesterol-clogged arteries seen in modern...

Gut bacteria may convert a nutrient found in red meat into a compound that can damage the heartThe link between red meat and poor heart health has traditionally been blamed on cholesterol, but new evidence suggests this isn't the whole story. US researchers found that carnitine, a nutrient found in red meat, is converted into a metabolite that promotes cardiovascular disease by gut bacteria. This may mean that the popular practice of taking carnitine supplements to build muscle is unwise.‘The cholesterol and saturated fat content of red meat is not sufficient to account for increased cardiac risk,’ says lead author...

However, study found those serving in Afghanistan, Iraq still had beginnings of heart diseaseHealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan had been healthier than troops in previous wars, military researchers report.Although almost 9 percent of those autopsied had some degree of atherosclerosis (or "hardening") of their coronary arteries, which can lead to heart disease, this was far lower than seen in soldiers who died in Vietnam or Korea, researchers say.Similar studies had shown that 77 percent of soldiers in the Korean War and 45 percent in the Vietnam War had atherosclerosis,...

Antioxidant-producing microbes may keep atherosclerotic plaques in place Though atherosclerosis is an artery problem, microscopic denizens of the intestines may play a surprising role in how the disease plays out. A new study suggests that different mixes of intestinal microbes may determine whether people will have heart attacks or strokes brought on by break-away plaque from the arteries. Compared with healthy people, heart disease patients who have had strokes or other complications of atherosclerosis carry fewer microbes that make anti-inflammatory compounds. These patients also have more bacteria that produce inflammation-triggering molecules, researchers report online December 4 in Nature Communications. Inflammation...

TORONTO — A single junk-food meal rich in saturated fat is detrimental to the health of the arteries, researchers in Canada said. Dr. Anil Nigam and colleagues at the University of Montreal-affiliated EPIC Center of the Montreal Heart Institute compared the effects of a junk-food meal and a typical Mediterranean meal on the vascular endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels. Endothelial function is closely linked to the long-term risk of developing coronary artery disease.

New study reveals molecular mechanism promoting the breakdown of plaque by statinsIn a new study, NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have discovered how cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins promote the breakdown of plaque in the arteries... The findings support a large clinical study that recently showed patients taking high-doses of the cholesterol-lowering medications not only reduced their cholesterol levels but also reduced the amount of plaque in their arteries. However, until now researchers did not fully understand how statins could reduce atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque in arteries, a major cause of mortality in Western...

Enterobacter hormaechei -- normally associated with pneumonia and sepsis -- found in excised atherosclerotic plaque tissueDr. Emil Kozarov and a team of researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have identified specific bacteria that may have a key role in vascular pathogenesis, specifically atherosclerosis, or what is commonly referred to as "hardening of the arteries" – the number one cause of death in the United States. Fully understanding the role of infections in cardiovascular diseases has been challenging because researchers have previously been unable to isolate live bacteria from atherosclerotic tissue. Using tissue specimens from the Department of...

Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes...

Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too. Study results are appearing in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and are being presented Nov. 17 at the Scientific Session of the American Heart Association at Orlando, Fla. "Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern day humans and, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socioeconomic status...

Many strokes cannot be explained by known risk factors like high blood pressure and smoking, and scientists have speculated that infection could play a role. A new study is linking cumulative exposure to five common pathogens with an increased risk for stroke. The infections in order of significance are Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, according to the study, published online on Nov. 9 in The Archives of Neurology. “Each of these common pathogens may persist after an acute infection and contribute to perpetuating a state of chronic low-level infection,” said the paper’s lead...

The cholesterol fighter Vytorin sold by Merck & Co Inc and Schering-Plough Corp failed to meet the main goal of improving outcomes in a closely-watched heart study, according to data presented on Monday. Slightly higher incidents of cancer deaths were also seen in those taking the drug -- 39 versus 23 on placebo -- although the lead researcher said those could have occurred as a result of chance. The shares of both companies fell after the data were released, with Schering off more than 15 percent and Merck down by 7 percent. No significant difference in the study's composite heart...

Dr. Steven E. Nissen’s most important medical contribution is his pioneering work in using ultrasound images to measure fatty plaque inside the walls of coronary arteries. And so, his supporters say, pharmaceutical companies — whatever they may think of Dr. Nissen’s drug safety crusades — come to him to conduct industry-sponsored research on the heart effects of their medicines. “He has technology that he’s good at that they need access to,” said Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, a well-known heart surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The technology — known as intravascular ultrasound, or IVUS — involves attaching miniature probes to the tip...

A new and emerging understanding of how heart attacks occur indicates that increasingly popular aggressive treatments may be doing little or nothing to prevent them. The artery-opening methods, like bypass surgery and stents, the widely used wire cages that hold plaque against an artery wall, can alleviate crushing chest pain. Stents can also rescue someone in the midst of a heart attack by destroying an obstruction and holding the closed artery open. But the new model of heart disease shows that the vast majority of heart attacks do not originate with obstructions that narrow arteries. Instead, recent and continuing studies...