Dabigatran (Pradaxa) is being sold - and widely marketed on TV - as a new anticoagulant drug which reduces the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation.  And indeed, dabigatran is effective in reducing the risk of stroke, and furthermore, is much easier and more convenient to take than Coumadin - the blood thinner traditionally used for this purpose.

It is becoming apparent, however, that if a bleeding problem should occur while you are taking dabigatran - and bleeding is an inherent risk whenever you are taking any anticoagulant - it may be relatively difficult for doctors to assess and treat that bleeding.

Read here about bleeding problems with dabigatran.

If you have diabetes or metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease -- coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular -- is substantially elevated.

Here is an article that describes the several ways in which diabetes predisposes to heart disease.

Several recent studies have made an association between chronic sleep deprivation (in general, getting fewer than five hours of sleep per night) and heart disease - or at least the risk factors for heart disease. And one study even suggests that getting too much sleep (greater than nine hours of sleep per night) is associated with heart disease.

So is there an "optimal" sleep duration window?

Read about sleep duration and heart disease here.

While the name "broken heart syndrome" may not be adequately descriptive of the condition itself, this name does have the advantage of calling everyone's attention to the fact that heart disease in women is often quite different from heart disease in men. Read about broken heart syndrome here.