Free Republic

The Biden administration withheld data from the public on the risks of myocarditis from the Covid vaccine, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary claimed Thursday — a bold accusation that clashes with years of public statements from federal health officials. “We have done more to study myocarditis and to go back and look at deaths of people, of children from the Covid vaccine,” Makary told NBC News in an interview. “Internal data submitted on myocarditis, we found that the Biden administration was sitting on data on myocarditis in young people, and it was not made public.” Makary’s claim comes...

A study provides new insights into why heart muscle cells lose their rhythm in atrial fibrillation. Disrupted calcium signaling between key cellular structures in the heart may be a critical underlying mechanism. A research team has now uncovered new evidence suggesting that disrupted communication between key cellular structures in heart muscle cells plays a critical role in the development of this rhythm disorder. The research focuses on mitochondria—the "powerhouses of the cell"—and the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a fine network of tubules within heart muscle cells that stores calcium and releases it with each heartbeat. This calcium is what triggers heart muscle...

A widely used, inexpensive gout drug could reduce heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease, according to a new review. The review examined the effects of low doses of colchicine, a drug used to treat gout, and found no increase in serious side effects. Cardiovascular disease is often driven by chronic low-grade inflammation, which contributes to recurrent cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. Colchicine has anti-inflammatory properties that make it a promising option for people with heart disease. The review included 12 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 23,000 people with a history of heart disease, heart...

Researchers found that adult heart attack survivors who took specific vitamin D doses reduced their risk of developing another heart attack by more than half, compared with people who did not take the vitamin D dose. Research done by Utah-based Intermountain Health found that there was a 52 percent lower risk of suffering another heart attack in people who already survived one and who received “personalized dosing of vitamin D supplements” to reach vitamin D levels of 40 nanograms per milliliter for around four years, said a news release from the American Heart Association (AHA). That was compared to those...

My wife age 81 recently developed the need to see a cardiologist for A-fib (non-valvular) which has been releasing blood clots into her lungs causing pulmonary edema and inability to breathe on two occasions requiring EMT intervention and hospitalization. These events have also caused her to lose most of her ability to ambulate and have also caused loss of mental clarity. The hospital has not provided us with a referral to a cardiologist only saying my wife needed to see one on an out-patient basis, and this despite having referred her the second time to a skilled nursing facility for...

A tailored approach of vitamin D3 supplementation in patients who have suffered a heart attack significantly reduces their risk of a second heart attack, a new study finds. In a large, randomized clinical trial, researchers found that treating heart attack patients in a "target to treat" fashion, where patients' blood levels of vitamin D were monitored and vitamin D3 dosing adjusted to achieve optimal levels, cut their risk of a second heart attack in half. The study, called the TARGET-D trial, enrolled patients from April 2017 to May 2023 and included 630 patients who had a heart attack within a...

Could cocoa extract supplements rich in cocoa flavanols reduce inflammation and, in turn, prevent age-related chronic diseases? In a new study from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), investigators looked at changes in five age-related markers of inflammation among participants who received daily cocoa supplements over several years. They found that hsCRP—an inflammatory marker that can signal increased risk of cardiovascular disease—decreased in participants taking the cocoa extract supplement, suggesting its anti-inflammatory potential may help explain its heart-protective effects. Nutritional interventions have become an increasingly attractive solution for slowing inflammatory aging, so-called "inflammaging." Cocoa extract has been shown...

Intense light therapy after surgery can increase a critical protein that protects heart tissue while lowering levels of troponin, a protein indicating heart damage that's linked to higher mortality in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, according to a study. The results add to a growing body of evidence showing that intense light has a healing effect on the heart and blood vessels, a finding that could help reduce the number of cardiac events that happen after surgery. Myocardial Injuries in Noncardiac Surgeries (MINS) occur in about 20% of patients and significantly increase one-year mortality rates. "The risk of myocardial injury goes...

Methotrexate, a common medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, has a newly recognized useful secondary effect of lowering blood pressure and potentially reduces the risk of heart disease in people with this condition. A new study led by researchers, has shown that methotrexate significantly lowers blood pressure when compared to another arthritis drug, sulfasalazine, marking the first clear evidence of this effect in newly diagnosed patients. Occurring in about 1 in 100 people, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease which leads to inflammation and pain in the connective tissue of a patient's joints. Over six months, the researchers...

Digitalis has been used to treat heart failure for more than 200 years. The drug digitoxin also belongs to this group of active ingredients known as cardiac glycosides. Although there were indications that digitalis was beneficial in heart failure, it has only now been scientifically proven that digitoxin has a significant positive effect in heart failure due to reduced pumping function and insufficient emptying of the left ventricle—known in medical terms as HFrEF (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction). For 10 years, researchers thoroughly investigated the safety and efficacy of the active ingredient in a clinical study involving more than...

A team of investigators report that adults who later develop cardiovascular disease show declining physical activity levels beginning roughly 12 years before their event, with the gap versus their healthy peers persisting long afterward. Scientists analyzed data from 3,068 participants in CARDIA, a prospective study initiated in 1985–1986 with up to 10 physical activity assessments through 2020–2022. Participants were followed in four US cities with a median follow-up of 34.0 years. Physical activity decreased steadily from young adulthood into middle age, then stabilized in later years across the full cohort. Black men had a more sustained decline, while Black women...

Researchers have linked brighter night-time light exposure to elevated risks of five major cardiovascular diseases. Circadian rhythms govern fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate, platelet activation, hormone secretion, and glucose metabolism. Long-term disruption of those rhythms in animal and human studies have produced myocardial fibrosis, hypertension, inflammation, and impaired autonomic balance. Researchers conducted a prospective cohort analysis to assess whether day and night light exposure predicts incidence of cardiovascular diseases and whether relationships vary with genetic susceptibility, sex, and age. Data came from 88,905 UK Biobank participants, average age 62.4 ± 7.8 years and 56.9% female, who wore wrist-based light...

Sugar-free treats have taken over the shelves. You’ve probably seen erythritol listed on sodas, protein bars, and even toothpaste. It’s everywhere. Almost zero calories, no sugar spikes, and perfect for keto diets. Sounds like a win, but maybe not. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder has cracked open a side of erythritol that few expected. It’s not about weight gain or tooth decay. It’s about what this sweetener does to your brain’s blood vessels that may elevate the risk of a stroke.

As survival rates declined, excess cardiac arrest deaths nearly erased two decades of progress in lives saved.A new JAMA Cardiology study by McBride et al confirms what emergency physicians in King County, WA, have long hoped: survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has steadily improved for two decades. From 2001 to 2020, survival to hospital discharge rose from 14.7% to 18.9%, with even greater gains for shockable rhythms—from 35% to 47.5%. This reflected massive regional investments in CPR training, AED access, EMS optimization, and post-arrest care. Twenty Years of Progress. One Year to Reverse It. In our 2024 study,...

Pfizer's Delayed Myocarditis Study A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing Now for the not-so-hidden easter egg. CDC’s Captain Dr. Sarah Meyer (CDC/NCEZID), during her recent ACIP presentation titled “COVID-19 safety update” regarding long-term outcomes from COVID-19 mRNA product myocarditis, assured the nation that post mRNA vaccine myocarditis, while a real risk, resolves completely without long-term problems. Frankly, that statement was verifiably false. Whether the post-Comirnaty-associated clinical myocarditis OR the post-COVID-associated clinical myocarditis afflicting those unfortunate few who develop this disease (note the hopeful, optimistic forward-looking statement…) fully recover without long-term consequences is not known. Because the...

A new multi-cohort study has found that exposure to certain metals, detected in urine, is associated with a higher risk of heart failure (HF). "In our analysis of over 10,000 adults we observed consistent associations between elevated urinary metal levels and increased HF risk over long-term follow-up." The study pooled data from three large cohorts with more than 20 years of follow-up. Key findings included: —Higher levels of the mixture of five metals in urine—arsenic, cadmium, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc—were associated with a 55% higher risk of heart failure in rural American Indian adults (SHS), a 38% higher risk in...

The close relationship between the United States and Europe transcends geographic proximity and transactional politics. It represents a unique bond forged in common culture, faith, familial ties, mutual assistance in times of strife, and above all, a shared Western civilizational heritage. Our transatlantic partnership is underpinned by a rich Western tradition of natural law, virtue ethics, and national sovereignty. This tradition flows from Athens and Rome, through medieval Christianity, to English common law, and ultimately into America's founding documents. The Declaration's revolutionary assertion that men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” echoes the thought of Aristotle, Thomas...

A study of almost 400,000 people is the first to indicate, in humans, that the signaling of substances called short-chain fatty acids or SCFAs, released when gut bacteria break down dietary fiber, significantly protects against cardiovascular disease and hypertension by up to 20%. A previous clinical trial has shown these SCFAs—when provided as a supplement—lead to lowered blood pressure. Another trial is underway. The current study used data from the UK Biobank database and found rare genetic variants that profoundly impact the function of receptors that bind to SCFAs essentially prevent people from utilizing the cardiovascular protection offered by their...

The lives of untold thousands have been lost or permanently diminished.It is an undeniable scandal of mammoth proportions, but one that is – surprise, surprise – still being ignored by major media. It all began in February of 2021, shortly after Joe Biden took the oath of office with the pandemic still raging. Health officials in Israel sent a dire warning to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) detailing “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people” who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Many doctors and vaccinated individuals witnessed the same phenomenon here in the US. The affliction strikes...

COVID vaccines cause myocarditis, which is debilitating and deadly. The Israelis told Team Biden in February 2021. Team Biden kept a lid on that. So now we learn not only that Joe Biden has Stage Five prostate cancer, but that starting in February 2021, the POC/LGBTQ committee that was operating Biden like a Muppet concealed, then downplayed the risk of heart disease from the COVID vaccines. It’s funny how we find out all this dirt, within 48 hours after the committee’s announcement about Joe’s cancer. Because he’s got a few months to live, he’s now officially the “Fall Guy.” Everything...