Health Expert HeartHawk shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/45631/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/45631/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/45631/index http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/125113/jupiter Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:04:00 -0500 HeartHawk The study known as the "Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin" (JUPITER), was a classical large, long-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial designed to determine whether it made sense to start statin treatment (in this case 20 mg of rosuvastatin or Crestor) in healthy individuals with low LDL-cholesterol levels but with elevated C-reactive-protein... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/125113/jupiter http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/117953/statin Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:26:00 -0400 HeartHawk Wow!  Is this what heart healthcare is coming to?   I just finished reading a report published in the American Journal of Cardiology suggesting that a statin be offered with fast food orders as a means of countering the unhealthy effects such dubious diet choices can have on the heart.   The study comes from the prestigious Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, England.  This is not some... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/117953/statin http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/111750/vactioning Mon, 17 May 2010 13:55:00 -0400 HeartHawk I love cruise ship vacationing and generally take at least one cruise per year.  Having traveled with virtually every major cruise line I have had several discussions with heart disease prevention professionals and patient groups about vacationing or attending conferences on cruise ships and thought I would use the opportunity created by my latest cruise to investigate the subject in a more in-depth manner.  The attitudes held about... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/111750/vactioning http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/108214/cholesterol Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0400 HeartHawk As both a blogger and a patient "living with heart disease" the recent announcement (see HealthCentral.com report) of the success of the new anti-cholesterol drug "eprotirome" is the most exciting news I have come across in quite some time. However, the article's headline "Statin Alternative Shows Promise in New Study" tells only half the story!   Eprotirome is an experimental thyroid hormone mimetic (a drug that "mimics" the action of... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/108214/cholesterol http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/97852/diabetes Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:41:00 -0500 HeartHawk Few disease conditions are so thoroughly intertwined as coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes.  The link between diabetes and heart disease is well-established.  If you have diabetes your CAD risk skyrockets.  More importantly, even without a diagnosis of diabetes, you may still have a significantly elevated risk.  Once again, it is time to practice Informed Self-Directed Healthcare (ISH) to not only save your life but... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/97852/diabetes http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/91069/3-phenomenon Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:40:00 -0400 HeartHawk It seems each passing year adds another new chapter in the story of the fish oil phenomenon.  The keen interest in the heart-healthy effects of fish oil began in earnest shortly after publication of the Italian GISSI Prevenzione Trial involving over 11,000 participants.  It demonstrated that doses in the range of 1000mg of EPA and DHA provided an enormous 30% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease and a 45% reduction in sudden... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/91069/3-phenomenon http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/85070/contributors Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:15:00 -0400 HeartHawk I spend a great deal of "electronic ink" harping on the subject of "Informed, Self-directed Healthcare (ISH).  In a nutshell, ISH is about spending a little time studying your personal health concerns (using resources like HealthCentral.com) and working with your doctor as a team to solve them.  Remember, your doctor has to study, understand, diagnose, and treat perhaps hundreds of thousands of diseases and conditions and manage... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/85070/contributors http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/83083/perspective Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:16:00 -0400 HeartHawk It is no secret that I have embraced the concept of informed, self-directed healthcare and am one of its most ardent proponents.  In a nutshell, this healthcare philosophy preaches that you must take your health into your own hands and not rely on the "one-size fits-all" type of medicine often provided.  If I had simply followed what my primary care physician and first cardiologist offered I would likely have become just another... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/83083/perspective http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/78111/sufferers Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:05:00 -0400 HeartHawk Like many other heart disease sufferers, especially those taking niacin as this supplement can raise blood sugar, I routinely (perhaps once per year) have my fasting blood sugar tested to remain on guard for diabetes and pre-diabetes.  As most of us are already aware, diabetes as well as any form of elevated blood sugar, is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  Given the ubiquity of the fasting blood sugar test as a... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/78111/sufferers http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/75923/insurance Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:22:00 -0400 HeartHawk Just as the science of jet aircraft advanced to break the sound barrier, a new Texas law has broken the "Insurance Barrier" to providing heart scans for asymptomatic patients at risk for heart disease.  The primary supporting evidence was provided by the SHAPE Guidelines (full report).   The bill was introduced by an asymptomatic Texas legislator who first discovered he had life threatening heart disease after a heart scan. ... http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/c/45631/75923/insurance