Silicone Sheath

A form-fitting sheath containing sensors worked flawlessly to provide a complete picture of a rabbit’s heart function without interfering with the heart’s performance. Heart rhythm, temperature, and electrical activity were some of the things monitored. A huge improvement over sensors glued or sewn to a heart, the silicone sheath approach must next be approved for human study.

Study performed by John Rogers from the University of Illinois and reported in Nature Communications

Aspirin and Fish Oil—The Dynamic Duo

Many studies on the benefits of aspirin and fish oil have been done on the two singly. But a new study on combining the two indicates that the one-two punch could be used to treat everything from chronic arthritis to heart disease, cancer, even Alzheimer’s. The key is inflammationreducing molecules called resolvins. Resolvins shut off—or resolve—inflammation. Aspirin triggers the body to produce resolvins. They’re found naturally in omega-3 fatty acids. Using the dynamic duo together puts extra muscle in the fight against irritants that cause the body to produce an inflammation response. Inflammation is at the heart of the debilitating effects caused by most chronic diseases.

— Dean Ornish, MD, founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco

Stem cells to improve circulation?

A new study at UC Davis Vascular Center is examining the potential for using a patient’s own stem cells to improve circulation in the lower extremities. Bone marrow is harvested and then stem cells are extracted and injected at various sites in the lower leg muscles. “Our own research in mice has shown that adult human stem cells are very efficient at targeting areas of low oxygen and promoting the formation of new blood vessels,” said Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Stem Cell Program and Institute for Regenerative Cures. “This next stage of our research will determine if the treatment truly offers hope for people without other options and who are at risk of losing a limb.”

—UC Davis Health System

By The Numbers

The number of Americans killed annually by heart disease: approximately 1 MILLION

The number of Americans that will have a heart attack this year: OVER 920,000 The number of women who die each year from heart attacks:

Add 2,000 steps a day to slash your risk of heart disease.

Exercise is good; we all know that. This is the first study to link “how much” with a quantifiable result. Over 9,000 adults in 40 countries participated in the study that showed an 8% reduction in risk for getting CVD (cardiovascular disease).

— Dr. Thomas Yates from the University of Leicester in The Lancet

Being slim reduces heart disease risk better than fitness.

A Swedish study of almost 750,000 men showed that fit but overweight men had almost twice the risk of heart disease compared to unfit but slim men and four times the risk compared to fit, slim men.

— from a study published in the European Heart Journal