- Health A to Z
In Brief
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Blood pressure control improving. Statistics usually paint a gloomy picture of heart disease in America. Here's a ray of sunshine: The percentage of us who have our high blood pressure under control jumped from 29.2% in 1999 to 36.8% in 2007. If sustained, that jump will mean fewer cases of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. The flip side is that almost two-thirds of those with high blood pressure don't have it under control. And almost one-quarter of Americans with high blood pressure don't know they have it. (Hypertension)
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Folic acid. Bad news for folks counting on extra folic acid to keep their heart disease at bay — it doesn't work. An analysis of a dozen large trials showed that folic acid didn't work any better than a placebo at preventing heart attack, stroke, or total cardiovascular disease in general, and had no effect on the overall number of deaths. Getting extra folic acid may work if started early, before heart disease gets a foothold, and it may prevent some types of cancer. But don't count on it yet. (Journal of the American Medical Association)
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Rehabilitating the heart. Stressing the heart with exercise after a heart attack, bypass surgery, angioplasty, or other procedure sounds like a risky proposition. It isn't. Across a network of 65 French cardiac rehabilitation centers, just one heart attack was reported during 1.3 million patient hours of exercise. That's not quite as small as the odds of being struck by lightning, but it's close. In contrast, the benefit of cardiac rehabilitation is huge, especially if it turns into a habit of regular exercise. (Archives of Internal Medicine)
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ICE your phone. Your wallet or purse almost surely contains your identification, but it may not readily identify who to call if you collapse or are rushed to the hospital and can't communicate with emergency workers. If you carry a cell phone, add to your phone book a listing for ICE — In Case of Emergency — with the number of the family member or friend you want summoned in an emergency. If you don't carry a cell phone, think about carrying an emergency contact card clipped to your driver's license. (American College of Emergency Physicians)