Heart Health Center

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.

Most physicians are now convinced that emotional stress, under certain circumstances, can play a role in the development of chronic heart disease, and even in the precipitation of acute cardiac crises. If you are experiencing significant of emotional stress and are reacting to it negatively, you should be concerned about preventing stress-related heart problems.

Here are some proven steps you can take to reduce the effect of stress on your heart.

Infectious endocarditis - which sometimes is also called subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE), or just "endocarditis" - is an infection of the endocardial surface (the interior lining) of the heart. Infectious endocarditis is always a serious medical problem, since the infection can destroy your heart valves or heart muscle.

Read here all about infectious endocarditis.

Recent studies have shown that during periods of grief caused by loss of a loved one, the risk of having a heart attack becomes remarkably higher for a period of time.

Read about the increase in cardiac risk caused by bereavement - what causes the risk, its magnitude, and what you can do about it if you or a loved one are going through a period of intense grief.

Yes, stress can help to produce heart disease - but not all stress, and not in all people.  For stress to be harmful to your heart, you've got to have the "right" kind of stress, and you've got to react to it in the "right" way. Learn about what kind of stress to avoid, and how to handle it when you cannot avoid it.

Read about when stress causes heart disease.

The American Heart Association has released its first-ever official statement on the topic of sexual activity in people with heart disease.  The salient features of the AHA's advice can be boiled down to two points.

1) If you are receiving a nitrate drug,  you should not take Viagra  or any of the other PDE-5 inhibitor drugs used for erectile dysfunction.

2) As long as your heart disease has been completely stabilized with appropriate treatment, and you are not having active cardiac symptoms, then go ahead and enjoy sexual activity.

Read more about using Viagra-like drugs if you have heart disease.

Read more about resuming sexual activity after having a cardiac problem.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a developing, minimally-invasive approach to replacing the aortic valve in people who have aortic stenosis.  TAVI permits the replacement of diseased aortic valves by means of a catheter-based procedure, instead of the usual open-heart surgical procedure.

Several studies have now been completed with TAVI, and the results have been mixed. TAVI is indeed an extremely attractive alternative for some people with aortic stenosis - but many others are better off with the classic surgical approach.

Read all about TAVI, and when it makes sense to consider this new approach to aortic valve replacement.