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A scientific study likely to stir the souls of chocoholics has suggested that eating dark chocolate every day for 10 years could reduce the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes in some high-risk patients. The researchers, whose work was published in the British Medical Journal on Friday, stressed the protective effects have only been shown for dark chocolate containing at least 60 to 70 percent cocoa - not for milk or white chocolate. This is probably due to higher levels of flavonoids in dark chocolate.

Neither aspirin nor warfarin is superior for preventing a combined risk of death, stroke, and cerebral hemorrhage in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to a landmark clinical trial published in the May 3, 2012, New England Journal of Medicine. The 10-year Warfarin and Aspirin for Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) trial is the largest double-blind comparison of these medications for heart failure, following 2,305 patients at 168 study sites in 11 countries on three continents. The research was led by clinical principal investigator Shunichi Homma, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and statistical principal investigator John...

oday U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) released a video outlining the progress of his recovery after suffering from an ischemic stroke in January and expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Illinois for allowing him the time he needs to recover. "I want to thank everyone especially for the patience they have given me to recover from a big stroke," said Kirk. "[And also] to the people of Illinois for granting me the honor to represent them in the United States Senate. I cannot wait to get back to work to vote to spend less, borrow less and tax...

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke in January, has gone home. Kirk (R-Ill.), 52, had been hospitalized since he first suffered stroke symptoms on Jan. 21. Since February, he has been at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where his doctors said he has made steady progress and will be involved in a research project that involves more field rehabilitation than normal. Though he will be spending nights at the homes of “various relatives,” his staff said, he will be reporting by day to the RIC to continue his rehab. A lift has been installed on the stairs at...

Today I said goodbye to my 83 year old father Richard G. Pulido. I brought him home 1 week ago as he decided to stop doing dialysis because there were so many other things going wrong with him. It was my first hospice expeience and for the most part it went ok. My father, a man of Mexican decennt was the most " unlikely Conservaive" Teaching me and my sibling the golden rule first and foremost PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! My father handed down to me a great work ethic. He made himself successful with out a college degree. He had smarts...

Researchers from the University of East Anglia found that flavonoid-rich foods, like oranges and grapefruit, can help protect against strokes in women. This study was published in the journal, Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. In this study, the researchers followed 69,622 women for 14 years. The researchers monitored the protective nature of flavonoids, an antioxidant found in fruits, vegetables, dark chocolate and red wine. During the study, every four years, the women reported their fruit and vegetable intake. As a result, the researchers were able to look for relationships between flavonoid intake and the risk of ischemic, hemorrhagic...

The Republican senator elected in 2010 to fill the seat once occupied by Barack Obama suffered a stroke Saturday and underwent surgery today to repair related damage, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Mr. [Mark] Kirk, 51 years old and a freshman Republican, checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital on Saturday, and doctors found damage to his carotid artery on the right side of his neck. He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where tests revealed he had suffered a stroke. His office said the surgery was successful.“Due to his young age, good health and the nature...

Sen. Mark Kirk undergoes surgery after suffering stroke 9:31 a.m. CST, January 23, 2012 U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk underwent surgery today at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke, his office said. "On Saturday, Senator Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck," his office said in a statement.

Doctors believed Sam Goddard would be in permanent vegetative state after eight strokesFiancée who stood by him discovered Ambien had helped other sufferers Read more: here

Taking aspirin regularly can cut the long-term risk of cancer, according to the first major study of its kind. British researchers found it can reduce the risk by 60 per cent in people with a family history of the disease. The landmark research covering 16 countries is the first proof that the painkiller has a preventive action that is likely to benefit anyone using it every day.

TAMPA, Fla. - Multiple sources are confimring Buccaneers great and Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon has died after suffering a massive stroke. SnipIn his first year with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Lee Roy won the team's Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Selmon went to six straight Pro Bowls and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. A back injury made the 1984 season his last, and the Bucs retired his number, 63, in 1986.

Chocolate Good for the Heart and Brain Michael O'Riordan   August 29, 2011 (Paris, France) — In a city renowned for its love of food, it is only fitting that researchers presented the results of a new study in Paris, France, showing that chocolate is good for the heart and brain. In a presentation at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2011 Congress, British investigators are reporting that individuals who ate the most chocolate had a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke compared with individuals who ate the least amount of chocolate. In the study, published online...

Quebec City, August 25, 2011—A diet rich in omega-3s reduces the severity of brain damage after a stroke, according to a study conducted by Université Laval researchers. The team, co-directed by professors Jasna Kriz and Frédéric Calon, showed that the extent of brain damage following a stroke was reduced by 25% in mice that consumed DHA type omega-3s daily. Details of the study can be found on the website of the journal Stroke. Researchers observed that the effects of stroke were less severe in mice that had been fed a diet rich in DHA for three months than in mice...

Freepers, I need your help. A couple of weeks ago, I had a mini-stroke. As of this writing, I still feel horrible. I get fatigued easily (like I've read the New York Slimes )and I get constant headaches. Also, my short term memory is non-existent and my spelling has gone from lousy to it looks like Joe Biden is my editor. Has anyone else had any experience with this ?

Harold Camping, the Family Radio minister who inaccurately predicted that the world would experience Judgment Day last May 21, has suffered a stroke. Camping, the 89-year-old head of the Oakland-based evangelical media company, suffered a stroke on Thursday night after a radio broadcast and was taken to a local hospital, according to a message posted on a Family Radio-oriented Yahoo group by Charlie Menut, station manager of Family Radio affiliate WFME. Harold Camping doomsday prediction record: 0-2 Harold Camping "flabbergasted" by non-Rapture Apocalypse ... uhm, when? A neighbor of Camping told the Oakland Tribune that the Alameda minister was taken...

Kim Jong-il back in the high-heel shoe groove May 17, 2011 From left: Kim Jong-il in high heels in October 2007, Kim in 1-inch heels in November 2008, and Kim in 2- or 3-inch heels on May 14. [YONHAP] North Korean leader Kim Jong-il seems to have gotten back on his feet after his 2008 stroke - or back in his high heels, to be exact. The communist leader has recently been seen strutting about in 1-inch heels, a shift from the more comfortable shoes he had taken to wearing since he reportedly fell ill in August 2008. The change,...

In 1898, German doctors fed fresh cow ovaries to a young woman suffering from severe hot flashes after having her ovaries removed. It was a milestone of sorts in women’s medicine, leading to crude hormone treatments and eventually commercially prepared drugs to relieve the symptoms of menopause. It was also the beginning of a seemingly endless controversy about the safety and necessity of drug treatments for women at the end of their reproductive years. By the 1960s, pharmaceutical companies and doctors were promoting hormones as a way for women to stay “feminine forever,” even as scientists and women’s health activists...

As some of you know, we've both been having some health issues. My leg is frequently infected from diabetic wounds on my feet. I can't afford to lose my leg because there's no one else who can help my wife who had a stroke last year. Now my ancient car's brakes are giving out, which will make it almost impossible for us to get to the doctor, pharmacy, hospital and store. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes and don't forget JimRob as well. Thanks in advance.

TAU researchers develop a vaccine that staves off stroke as wellOne in eight Americans will fall prey to Alzheimer's disease at some point in their life, current statistics say. Because Alzheimer's is associated with vascular damage in the brain, many of them will succumb through a painful and potentially fatal stroke. But researchers led by Dr. Dan Frenkel of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences are working on a nasally-delivered 2-in-1 vaccine that promises to protect against both Alzheimer's and stroke. The new vaccine repairs vascular damage in the brain by...

Los Angeles reporter Serene Branson has given her first interview since the Grammy night live report that catapulted the KCBS-TV journalist into YouTube fame. “My head was definitely pounding and I was very uncomfortable and I knew something wasn’t right,” Branson told KCBS anchor Pat Harvey Thursday night. “I was terrified and confused. Confused. What had just happened? At that point they sat me down, then my right cheek went numb. My right hand went numb and I lost some sensation in my arm.” The live report, where Branson become visibly confused and had trouble speaking clearly, led many to...