November 18, 2019 — Let’s talk about two different kinds of bypass surgeries. Both of them are the subject of studies presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific meeting this past weekend. But that’s where the similarities end. Operation C We’ll call the first of these procedures Operation C. More than 200,000 people have these surgeries done every year. […]
October 24, 2019 — Applying the science of health outcomes research to social determinants of health is bringing surprising insights. In fact, for chronic diseases like obesity, heart failure, and diabetes, delivering better nutrition might do more than merely prescribing medicine can. Also, it seems to seems to offer good value for money. Food Is Medicine? This catchphrase sometimes […]
October 9, 2019 — A pair of studies and an editorial published in Circulation yesterday reinforce a long-standing observation. People live longer with a dog in their lives. So is this cause and effect? Maybe. These two very substantial studies support a growing body of evidence. In fact, the relationship between owning a dog and risk of death from […]
September 7, 2019 — Do vegetarian diets pose little more risk of strokes and a little less risk of heart disease? That’s the possibility researchers are raising in the BMJ this week. So what’s a committed vegetarian supposed to do with this information? Advice in an editorial from Mark Lawrence and Sarah McNaughton seems solid to us. Keep this […]
August 28, 2019 — JAMA has a new paper describing in detail how the progress in reducing deaths from heart disease is grinding to a halt. Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Liverpool found disturbing trends in heart deaths. The decline in overall deaths from heart disease is slowing. Deaths from stroke and diabetes are no longer […]
August 12, 2019 — A new trend, anticipated by many, seems to be gaining momentum. For decades, deaths due to heart disease have declined in wealthy countries. But now, that decline is slowing. In fact, it’s going in the opposite direction now for several countries – including the U.S. These observations come from a new study in the International […]
December 3, 2018 — The headlines are full of it. “Drug overdoses and suicides are causing American life expectancy to drop,” says the Atlantic, for example. But the real story is much more complex. Heart disease and obesity are playing a significant role, too. Big Increases, Small Numbers Without a doubt, big increases in drug overdoses and suicide are […]
April 11, 2018 — A colleague recently asked: How do you keep doing what you do in the face of so much awful stuff? By awful stuff, she meant flagrant examples of weight bias. Like the Guardian’s recent Op-Ed by Lizzie Cernik, proclaiming “It’s not fine to be fat.” The short answer to our friend’s question is this. Bias […]
April 10, 2018 — You can’t outrun a bad diet. So says the wisdom of the internet. But a new study published yesterday in Circulation suggests that maybe you can outrun bad genes for heart disease. Emmi Tikkanen and colleagues found that fitness, strength, and physical activity might erase some – but not all – of the risk for heart disease, […]
December 24, 2017 — It’s here. On this holiday, many people will stop everything as they gather with family for a festive time and seasonal foods. Maybe it’s a goose, maybe it’s eggnog. or maybe it’s Chinese food. Though a bit of mindfulness might help, the menu is probably out of your hands. So your best bet for seeking […]
