While cardiovascular disease occurs in both men and women, it does not affect them in the same way. Risk factors and protective factors for heart diseases are likewise unequal. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these differences are so far unknown, but some believe it is due to chromosomal linked genes or sexual hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

Secondary prevention programs for coronary heart disease that contain less than 10 hours contact with health professionals and those provided by family doctors are just as effective in saving lives as more expensive, longer and more specialized hospital-based alternatives, according to cardiovascular researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Within the medical field, it is often assumed that patients view cholesterol-lowering medications (or statins) as a license to eat whatever they like - they figure their medication has them covered, so a steak here and there won’t hurt. However, a study published in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings finds that such patients don’t tend to adopt unhealthy diets when prescribed statins.

A Bluetooth heart monitor could text your local hospital if you are about to have a heart attack, according to research published today in Inderscience's International Journal of Electronic Healthcare. The device measures electrical signals from the heart, analyses them to produce an electrocardiogram (ECG) and sends an alert together with the ECG by cell phone text message.

Family doctors don’t always feel that they can achieve healthy cholesterol levels in their patients even though they are aware of the dangers of cardiovascular disease, according to an international survey of practitioners published in the July issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that is often used to detect cardiovascular disease, may also indicate cognitive impairment in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study of children ages 5 to 7.

These days, it’s easy for people to get confused about exercise -- how many minutes a day should they spend working out, for how long and at what exertion level" Conflicting facts and opinions abound, but one Mayo Clinic physician says the bottom line is this: walking is good, whether the outcome measurement is blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems or mental health.

We’ve all wondered how a seemingly healthy person can actually be at high risk for heart disease or a heart attack. Now researchers have uncovered a new clue to this mystery. The culprit: myeloperoxidase (MPO), a protein secreted by white blood cells that both signals inflammation and releases a bleach-like substance that damages the cardiovascular system.

Can older patients with stable cardiovascular disease benefit from the same cholesterol lowering drugs used by younger patients? The answer is yes, according to a study report in the July 3, 2007 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

People who have a reduced lung capacity may have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke because they show evidence of inflammation, reveals a study published online ahead of print in Thorax.

Can adopting a healthier lifestyle later in life help -- or is it too late? In a study published in the July 2007 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston found that people 45 to 64 years of age who added healthy lifestyle behaviors could substantially reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and reduce their death rate.

Chronic sleep restriction has a negative effect on a person's cardiac activity, which may elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, according to a research abstract that will be presented Wednesday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).