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PARIS -- Willy Wonka may have been on to something with that chocolate factory, according to a meta-analysis that suggests chocolate can provide a heart benefit. In six studies, people who ate the most chocolate -- about two pieces of chocolate per week -- had a 37% lower risk of any cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate less (RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.90), according to Oscar Franco, MD, PhD, of the University of Cambridge in England. And in three studies, those who consumed the most had a 29% lower risk of stroke (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52...

In Sept. 2008, Roger Fisher said that he was happy to receive the publicity for the song "Barracuda", co-written with the Wilson sisters from Heart, which was being used by the McCain/Palin campaign. The Wilson sisters said that "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women." Roger told Reuters back then that he pledged to give part of the royalties from the song's use by McCain/Palin campaign to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign. I wonder if he and the Wilson sisters feel the same way about Barack Obama these days...

The letter she wrote to her family before the birth of Trig gives us a glimpse into the soul of the penultimate "NON-quitter." In her email Palin imagines a letter from God to the family about to launch on its challenging child-rearing experience together. "Then, I put the idea in your hearts that his name should be 'Trig', because it's so fitting, with two Norse meanings: "True" and "Brave Victory"." "I've given Trig's mom and dad peace and joy as they wait to meet their new son. I gave them a happy anticipation because they asked me for that.I'll give...

If a person's blood becomes too thick it can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attacks. But a Temple University physicist has discovered that he can thin the human blood by subjecting it to a magnetic field. [snip] Because red blood cells contain iron, Tao has been able to reduce a person's blood viscosity by 20-30 percent by subjecting it to a magnetic field of 1.3 Telsa (about the same as an MRI) for about one minute. Tao and his collaborator tested numerous blood samples in a Temple lab and found that the magnetic field polarizes the...

CLEVELAND - Contrary to what we’ve been told, eliminating or severely limiting fats from the diet may not be beneficial to cardiac function in patients suffering from heart failure, a study at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reports. Results from biological model studies conducted by assistant professor of physiology and biophysics Margaret Chandler, PhD, and other researchers, demonstrate that a high-fat diet improved overall mechanical function, in other words, the heart’s ability to pump, and was accompanied by cardiac insulin resistance. “Does that mean I can go out and eat my Big Mac after I have a heart...

Which is more dangerous: dietary salt or the government’s dietary guidelines? A new study confirms some old truths. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (May 4), reports that among 3,681 study subjects followed for as long as 23 years, the cardiovascular death rate was more than 50 percent higher among those on who consumed less salt. The researchers concluded that their findings, “refute the estimates of computer model of lives saved and health care costs reduced with lower salt intake” and they do not support “the current recommendations of a generalized and indiscriminate reduction...

NEW ORLEANS (AFP) – A new type of heart valve made with cow tissue and inserted by catheter was hailed on Sunday as a major breakthrough that could eliminate the need for open heart surgery in some patients, US doctors said Sunday. The method is aimed at high-risk patients who suffer from severe aortic stenosis, a clogged valve that impedes the pathway of oxygen-rich blood by making the heart work harder to pump blood through a narrowing opening. The condition affects nine percent of Americans over 65. Without treatment, up to half of patients die within two years. The technique...

Strokes are rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people, a sign that the obesity epidemic may be starting to shift the age burden of the disease. The numbers, reported Wednesday at an American Stroke Association conference, come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age. Government researchers compared hospitalizations in 1994 and 1995 with ones in 2006 and 2007. The sharpest increase — 51 percent — was among men 15 through 34. Strokes rose among women in this age group, too, but not as fast — 17 percent. "It's definitely alarming," said...

February is “American Heart Month,” and our e-mail inboxes are filling up with information about all sorts of cardiovascular-related events, including a celebrity-studded game of Capture the Flag at UCLA. Apparently, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, singer Natasha Bedingfield, actor Ryan Kwanten and others will serve as captains of CTF teams that will compete for money to fund heart research at UCLA and UC Davis. CTF games will also be played in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Boston, according to a news release. The part that caught my eye was the source of the research money at stake in these games –...

Vitals Major Finding: Eplerenone reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalization by 37%, compared with placebo. Data Source: Phase III randomized trial in 2,737 patients with NYHA class II heart failure. Disclosures: EMPHASIS-HF was funded by Pfizer. Dr. Zannad reported receiving grants from and consulting for Pfizer. Two coauthors are Pfizer employees, and several others reported Pfizer grants and consultancy. CHICAGO — Adding eplerenone to standard therapy significantly cut the risk of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization by more than one-third in patients with mild heart failure in the phase III EMPHASIS-HF trial. The primary composite...

Cheney Back in Public, Thinner, With Heart Pump *snip* The LVAD is implanted next to the heart to help its main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, pump blood through the body. Such devices are used mainly for short periods, to buy potential transplant candidates time as they await a donor organ. Cardiologists said that in Cheney's case, the pump is likely a "bridge" that will keep him alive until he can receive a heart transplant. Many cardiac experts said at the time of his surgery that Cheney may be only one step away from a transplant but could find himself...

San Francisco (AP) Nearly 15 years after sentencing, an inmate is getting an unexpected chance at freedom - and the judge a shot at redemption. Students at San Francisco's novel Three Strikes Project, which has successfully overturned 14 life prison terms handed down for non-violent crimes under California's unforgiving sentencing law, are joined by an unusual coalition in their latest bid.

Dick Cheney's new implant—a ventricular assist device—needed 'cause his heart is screwed, "leaves most recipients without a pulse because it pushes blood continuously instead of mimicking the heart's own pulsatile beat."

  The First Friday Devotion in the Catholic Church History of First Friday First Friday devotions among Catholics are related to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ. First Friday practices date to the last decades of the 17th century, when Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary and spoke to her of His Sacred Heart. Among the promises Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary, the 12th specifically referenced practices for Fridays:In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the...

Chest tight and short of breath. No pain in chest or extremeties. Heart enzymes at 5.8.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is rebounding from five weeks in the hospital this summer, and plans about 10 stops on the speaking circuit in coming months – along with some hunting trips as well, according to friends. Cheney spent much of the summer at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute, a stay that was prolonged by a bout of pneumonia. He had a left ventricular assist device implanted, a pump that is used in dire cases, and that can be used as a bridge to a heart transplant. The former vice president hasn’t decided whether to seek a heart...

Soy does not lower cholesterol, does not prevent heart disease, and does not deserve an FDA-approved soy heart-health claim. This amazing announcement comes from none other than the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of its journal Circulation. Athletes at Risk Not long before this announcement, University of Colorado researchers reported in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation that soy worsens cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is very much on the rise, afflicting 1 in 500 Americans. Cardiomyopathy, defined as a weakening of the heart muscle or change in structure...

Ralph and Wynona Passow bought their first camels a decade ago to rid their farm of weeds. The camel herd has grown to more than 30.Lanky legs and neck sprawled too far forward, then too far backward. That black, furry newborn was going to stand and nurse somehow, Passow decided. The mother camel blinked long, dreamy eyelashes and watched carefully as Passow coaxed the big baby to the mother's side. "The females are lovely," Ralph Passow said, watching his wife try to turn the baby toward the patient mother. "But the male camels will kill you." About 30 minutes earlier,...

Enlarge Image Cellular alchemy. A cocktail of three genes can turn common structural cells in the heart into beating muscle cells. Credit: M. Ieda et al., Cell,142 (6 August 2010) ©Elsevier Inc. Cell biologists often seem like modern-day alchemists. Instead of turning lead or straw into gold, they're looking for ways to turn one kind of cell into another, potentially more useful, cell. Now, one research team has found a way to turn a very common heart cell into a cell missing in injured hearts. A healthy heart is a mix of several kinds of cells, including cardiomyocytes, the muscle...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is still in the hospital after heart surgery in early July. Daughter Liz Cheney says her 69-year-old dad is out of intensive care and hopes to return home this week. She tells "Fox News Sunday" that he's already planning trips for fly fishing and hunting later this year. Dick Cheney has had five heart attacks since he was 37. In his recent surgery at a northern Virginia hospital, Cheney had a small pump installed to help his heart work.