Heart Disease

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Love your pet with all your heart? It may not be just an emotional thing. Researchers said recently that having a pet may help reduce heart disease in humans. The American Heart Association released a study that said pet ownership, especially dog ownership, is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease and increased survival among patients. Why is dog ownership more beneficial? Experts said it's probably because owning a pooch provides cardiovascular benefits -- all those walks and games of fetch add up!

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, but many don't recognize the warning signs. They may ignore the symptoms or mistake them for more benign ailments. Dr. Shannon J. Winakur, medical director of the Women's Heart Center at Saint Agnes Hospital, said women should be more aware of heart disease and how to prevent it. How are the warning signs of heart disease different in women? Warning signs of heart disease typically occur with exertion and go away with rest. The classic symptom of heart disease is a dull tightness in the center of the chest, which may or may not radiate to the neck, jaw, left shoulder or left arm. Women can certainly have these symptoms, but they also often describe sharp or burning chest pain.

Editor: The new link between meat consumption and heart disease, discovered by Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic, is just the latest evidence linking meat consumption to killer diseases that cripple, then kill, 1.3 million Americans annually. Hazen's study showed that carnitine, an amino acid contained in all meat products, is a major factor in heart failure. Similarly, an Oxford University study of nearly 45,000 adults in last January's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vegetarians were 32 percent less likely to be suffer from heart disease than people who ate meat and fish.

Kathy Brown wasn't always much of a chef - but she was an educator. When Brown, the former head of Grace Christian School, was diagnosed with amyloidosis of the heart in April 2008, she began experimenting with recipes to suit her new low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar diet. Compelled to share what she'd learned, Brown started compiling a heart-friendly cookbook for other patients. While Brown later received a successful heart transplant, the 62-year-old died in December 2010 before she could finish the book.

For the first time in this country, an approved injectable drug will be used as an alternative to the stress test to evaluate the effects of suspected coronary artery disease.The drug will make it possible for a "tremendous number of people," who cannot tolerate exercise up to peak levels, to be diagnosed for this disease, researchers said yesterday.I.V. Persantine is a new intravenous form of oral Persantine, which has been used in this country for chest pain since the 1960s. The drug, also known as dipyridamole, will be available next month.

Early menopause may mean a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins Medicine . The researchers say the risk can be twice as high, and doctors should help women avoid early menopause if possible. “If physicians know a patient has entered menopause before her 46th birthday, they can be extra vigilant in making recommendations and providing treatments to help prevent heart attacks and stroke,” Dhananjay Vaidya, an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine in Hopkins'  School of Medicine and leader of the study, said in a statement.

Love your pet with all your heart? It may not be just an emotional thing. Researchers said recently that having a pet may help reduce heart disease in humans. The American Heart Association released a study that said pet ownership, especially dog ownership, is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease and increased survival among patients. Why is dog ownership more beneficial? Experts said it's probably because owning a pooch provides cardiovascular benefits -- all those walks and games of fetch add up!

Baltimore city is looking for someone to develop a mobile app that helps people reduce their risk of heart disease. The city is one of four chosen by the  theU.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesto take part in a contest dubbed The Million Hearts Risk Check Challenge that includes creation of the app. The app should help consumers take a heart health risk assessment and find places to get their blood pressure and cholesterol checked. It will then provide a way for patients to use the results to work with a doctor to develop a plan to improve their heart health.

Saint Agnes Hospital will work with local churches to screen for heart disease, using a $244,455 grant from The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. The hospital announced Thursday that it had received the award. The screening program will focus on African-American women, who have the highest risk for developing heart disease, the hospital said. Those found to have heart disease or risk for it will get access to educational programs, lifestyle coaches and exercise classes. The hospital will follow patients over time and measure improvements in health.

The new link between meat consumption and heart disease, discovered by Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic, is just the latest evidence linking meat consumption to killer diseases that cripple, then kill, 1.3 million Americans annually. Dr. Hazen's study showed that carnitine, an amino acid contained in all meat products, is a major factor in heart failure. Similarly, an Oxford University study of nearly 45,000 adults in last January's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that vegetarians were 32 percent less likely to be suffer from heart disease than people who ate meat and fish.

Heart disease killed a 64-year-old passenger on a cruise ship out of Baltimore, the FBI said Thursday, ruling out foul play and ending a brief mystery as to how the Virginia woman died last weekend. "It's considered a natural death," FBI Special Agent Rich Wolf said. The FBI identified the woman as Katherine Kennedy of Midlothian, Va. Kennedy and her husband were on a six-night, seven-day cruise that began March 18. Among 2,409 passengers, they were aboard Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, a 989-foot ship with 11 decks that had stopped in Port Canaveral, Fla.; Nassau and CocoCay, Bahamas.

Nonprofit organizations abound in Howard County, and Howard Magazine highlights who they are, what they do and how you can help. Name: American Heart Association Who: Annette Fisher, senior director, marketing and communications, Mid-Atlantic region What is your mission? The American Heart Association's mission is building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Our 2020 impact goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent, while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, but many don't recognize the warning signs. They may ignore the symptoms or mistake them for more benign ailments. Dr. Shannon J. Winakur, medical director of the Women's Heart Center at Saint Agnes Hospital, said women should be more aware of heart disease and how to prevent it. How are the warning signs of heart disease different in women? Warning signs of heart disease typically occur with exertion and go away with rest. The classic symptom of heart disease is a dull tightness in the center of the chest, which may or may not radiate to the neck, jaw, left shoulder or left arm. Women can certainly have these symptoms, but they also often describe sharp or burning chest pain.

A new study provides the best evidence to date that a Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, fish, vegetables and nuts can reduce heart disease. The research, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine online edition, found that the diet can reduce heart attacks and strokes by 30 percent. Other scientists have had similar findings, but this study conducted in Spain is the first major clinical trial. Previous research mostly showed that people living in Mediterranean countries had low risk of heart disease.

Saint Agnes Hospital will work with local churches to screen for heart disease, using a $244,455 grant from The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation. The hospital announced Thursday that it had received the award. The screening program will focus on African-American women, who have the highest risk for developing heart disease, the hospital said. Those found to have heart disease or risk for it will get access to educational programs, lifestyle coaches and exercise classes. The hospital will follow patients over time and measure improvements in health.

A team of 30 volunteers from Johns Hopkins plans to partner with Baltimore City schools to offer city teens screening for early signs of heart disease. The free exams will look for key risk factors including obesity, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes and family history of disease. With the findings, officials hope to curb increasingly common bad eating and exercising habits before they become engrained. Hopkins officials already had been screening Maryland athletes for heart abnormalities and decided to expand the program to some 2,000 13-year-olds expected to attend a high school fair at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Nov. 13 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. "One of the surprise findings from our other heart screenings was that basic risk factors for cardiovascular disease are too common among Maryland high-school students, and these students and their parents are simply unaware that they face a serious health problem," said Dr. Theodore Abraham, a cardiologist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital who is spearheading the screening efforts.

Heart-disease deaths in the United States dropped 24 percent from 1980 to 1988, a sign that Americans are eating better, smoking less and receiving better treatment after heart attacks.Deaths from heart disease in people age 35 and over dropped from 588 per 100,000 people in 1980 to 448 per 100,000 people in 1988, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.The death rate declined faster for men than for women, and faster for whites than for African-Americans, the CDC said."It's clear that we're preventing the occurrence of heart attacks and lowering mortality," said Dr. Charles Hennekens, a professor of preventive medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

On the face of it, the state of Maryland is flying in the face of Purple Friday. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sent out a message on Twitter today urging Marylanders to wear red Friday to show their commitment to fighting heart disease in women. The timing may be unfortunate because many Marylanders, including much of the General Assembly, already have plans to wear a certain other color in support of the Baltimore Ravens two days before the Super Bowl. The Go Red for Women is part of a national observation sponsored by the American Heart Association, which apparently picked Feb. 1 without football in mind.

Last Sunday, we lost former U.S. Sen. George McGovern ("Liberal icon fought Nixon, Vietnam War," Oct. 22). Although many will recall his disastrous 1972 loss to Richard Nixon and his subsequent leadership in getting us out of Vietnam, his truly lasting legacy will be his war on hunger and malnutrition. In 1977, following extensive public hearings, Senator McGovern's Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published Dietary Goals for the United States, a precursor to today's Dietary Guidelines.