Snoring not only keeps the whole house awake at night, it is also could signal cardiovascular damage.  A study presented at EUROECHO found that patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have the same risk of heart damage as patients with type 2 diabetes.  Specifically, both conditions seemed to be linked to arterial stiffness, which indicates a very high risk of heart disease and other cardiac issues.

What does this have to do with snoring?  OSA will often cause disruptive snoring through the night and has also been linked to hypertension, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and heart attack.  In light of the new connection between OSA and heart damage, the study’s author called on patients to let their doctors know if they have disruptive snoring, and advised doctors to actively diagnose OSA in patients who report snoring.

Sourced from: Medical News Today, Treat Snoring to Avoid Deadly Heart Failure

Sometimes the best test is also the simplest test.  Researchers at the University of California Davis found that the classic exercise treadmill test (ETT) is still an accurate way to measure the cardiovascular health of women, even women over 65.

As diagnostic technology improves, many physicians have given up on the ETT, which simply requires the patient to run on a treadmill and gradually increase speed while monitoring their blood pressure, in favor of the modern but more expensive electrocardiogram (EKG), arguing that the EKG is more accurate.  But, UC Davis’ study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found that the ETT is as good a test as any to detect the possible presence of heart disease.  Researchers recommend that physicians screen for heart disease using an ETT first, and then determine if an EKG is necessary.

Sourced from: ScienceDaily , Treadmill Test Can Predict Heart Disease in Women

Your evening glass of Pinot Noir could be doing a whole lot more for you than simply helping you relax.  A study from the University of Leicester found that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine and other sweet indulgences like dark chocolate, could reduce the risk of cancer.  This is just the latest in a series of studies on resveratrol; other studies have linked the chemical to reductions in heart disease, diabetes and even improved memory (though we don’t recommend drinking a whole bottle of wine to test this theory).

As possible benefits of resveratrol pile up, there emerged an annual conference to discuss the health benefits of the chemical.  The next step in exploring the particular link between resveratrol and cancer reduction is to test the chemical’s effects on humans to determine exactly how much resveratrol is needed to produce any concrete health benefits.

Sourced from: Medical News Today, Chemical in Red Wine May Prevent Cancer