Cardiovascular health

A study in which 136 older couples (average age 63) filled out questionnaires measuring their overall marriage quality and their perceived support from their spouse, has found that calcification in the coronary arteries was highest when both partners in the relationship viewed each other as offering ambivalent support (sometimes helpful, sometimes not). When only one partner felt this way, the risk was significantly less.

Overall marital satisfaction didn’t have a significant impact on this cardiovascular risk factor.

Middle-aged Japanese men living in Japan had lower incidence of coronary artery calcification, a predictor of heart disease, than middle-aged white men living in the United States, after accounting for risk factors such as smoking, cholesterol, alcohol consumption, diabetes and high blood pressure.

A mouse study has found that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease, including cholesterol and inflammation, suggesting that the same bacteria that cause gum disease also promotes heart disease. The findings are consistent with recent evidence that patients with gum disease are at higher risk for heart disease.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

A mouse study has found that long-term physical activity increased levels of two proteins in the mitochondria of their heart. It’s thought this might help explain why regular exercise improves cardiovascular health.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/cfgr-etc021114.php

A review and meta-analysis of all international studies that compared the effects of higher versus lower added sugar consumption on blood pressure and lipids (blood fats or cholesterol) has uncovered evidence that sugar has a direct effect on risk factors for heart disease, and is likely to impact on blood pressure, independent of weight gain.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/uoo-sii051414.php

A Finnish study has found that people who increased their intake of fatty fish to a minimum of 3–4 weekly meals had more large HDL cholesterol in their blood than people who were less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-03/uoef-iio030314.php

Type 2 diabetes greatly increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but a new study shows that cardiovascular risk factors such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels differ significantly between men and women with diabetes.

The study, involving 680 diabetics, found that blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher in women, and women were significantly less likely to have these factors under control. Some 17% of men had control of these factors, compared to 6% of women.

A Swedish study of some 4,000 60-year-olds has found that regular “non-exercise” physical activity such as gardening or DIY significantly reduced risk of heart attack or stroke, with those who were most active on a daily basis having a 27% lower risk of a heart attack or stroke and a 30% reduced risk of death from all causes. This was so regardless of how much regular formal exercise was taken.