Heart Health Archive

Known as bradycardia, this heart rhythm disorder can cause fatigue, dizziness, and fainting.

The steady beat of your heart depends on a crescent-shaped cluster of cells in the upper right portion of your heart. Called the sinoatrial or sinus node, it emits a tiny jolt of electrical current that triggers the heart to contract and pump blood throughout the body (see illustration). Because the sinus node determines the heart's pace and rhythm, it is sometimes called the body's natural pacemaker.

Just as your skin, joints, and other parts of your body reveal signs of normal wear and tear as you age, so too can the structures inside your heart. "This age-related degeneration can affect the sinoatrial node and other parts of the heart's conduction system," says Dr. Peter Zimetbaum, director of clinical cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are featured in an array of dishes throughout the world, including in Africa, India, the Middle East, and Europe. Chickpeas are rich in fiber, folate (vitamin B₉), manganese, and other minerals. Several studies have found that eating chickpeas may improve cholesterol levels and reduce blood sugar.

Americans may be most familiar with hummus, a blend of chickpeas and sesame paste that's so popular you can even find it in small convenience stores. But chickpeas are also being used in a range of other products, including pasta and rice as well as snack foods such as chips, fries, and "puffs."

Research we're watching

With some smartphones, you can unlock the phone simply by showing your face. One day, a short video of your face may do far more — maybe even measure your blood pressure.

That's the premise of a novel smartphone-based technology described in the August issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. For the study, researchers took two-minute videos of 1,328 Chinese and Canadian adults, using an iPhone equipped with transdermal optical imaging. The software measures blood pressure by detecting blood flow changes in a person's face. When compared with readings taken using a traditional blood pressure cuff, the video blood pressure readings were about 95% accurate.

Research we're watching

If you've had a heart attack, national guidelines strongly recommend taking a high-intensity statin to prevent a second heart attack. But a study of Medicare recipients finds that where you live may affect your chances of receiving a statin prescription.

People living in New England were most likely to receive a high-intensity statin (74%), while those from the West South Central states (such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana) were the least likely (41%). The data came from nearly 140,000 people ages 66 and older who were hospitalized for a heart attack from 2011 to 2015. The findings were published online July 24 by JAMA Cardiology.

Research we're watching

To manage the painful joint disease known as osteoarthritis, people often take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox). But these and related drugs — known as NSAIDs — may account for the higher rates of heart disease seen in people with osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.

Researchers matched 7,743 people with osteoarthritis with 23,229 healthy people who rarely or never took NSAIDs. People with osteoarthritis had a 42% higher risk of heart failure and a 17% higher risk of coronary artery disease compared with healthy people. After controlling for a range of factors that contribute to heart disease (including high body mass index, high blood pressure, and diabetes), they concluded that 41% of the increased risk of heart disease related to osteoarthritis was due to the use of NSAIDs.

For years, the conventional wisdom about dairy is that we should be eating less of it, and when we do have any it should be low-fat or fat-free. But more recent research suggests that some full-fat dairy in our diets could in fact be beneficial, though the type of dairy still matters.

For people who have had a heart attack or heart surgery, or been diagnosed with angina or a specific kind of heart failure, participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program has medically proven benefits to overall health and quality of life.

Statins are known to be effective in reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, but for older adults the guidelines are less clear. A study looking at an older population found that continuing to take statins did have a statistically significant benefit.

Technology may help to provide more supportive, efficient, and effective care for diabetes, a leading contributor to heart disease.

About one of every 11 adults in this country has diabetes — a chronic, costly condition that's closely connected to heart disease. Lifestyle changes that encourage eating healthy foods, exercising, and losing weight are the cornerstone of managing both problems. But making those changes can often feel overwhelming and frustrating, especially for people with diabetes. They also need to keep tabs on their blood sugar levels, which are influenced by what and when they eat and exercise.

And getting effective support for managing diabetes with lifestyle changes isn't easy. "The current system for managing diabetes is broken," says Dr. Osama Hamdy, medical director of the Obesity Clinical Program at Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center. For starters, there aren't nearly enough endocrinologists for the millions of people with diabetes in this country. Appointments with these specialists are often too short and too infrequent for people to make meaningful progress, he explains.

Ask the doctor

Q. My friend, who has a family history of heart disease, recently had chest pains. The doctor ordered an exercise stress test on a treadmill, which was normal. His daughter insisted on a cardio PET scan, which showed that he needed triple bypass surgery. He had the surgery and is doing well and has no more chest pain. If stress tests aren't conclusive, why use them? How can people make sure they're getting the best information about their hearts?

A. People who are having chest pain at rest or rapidly worsening chest pain (known as unstable angina) need to be evaluated in an emergency department. However, people who have so-called stable angina (their chest pain occurs during certain activities and then goes away when they rest) are usually evaluated in a clinic or doctor's office.