Health Tip: Risk Factors for High Cholesterol?

(HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that's found naturally in the body. And while some cholesterol is necessary, too much of it built up in the blood increases your risk of heart disease. Read more

Neck Fat a Measure of Heart Risk

(HealthDay News) -- A too-tight shirt collar might be an indicator of future heart trouble, Framingham Heart Study researchers report.

Doctors have long measured fat in the gut -- visceral adipose tissue, to use the formal name -- to help assess the risk of cardiovascular disease. But fat in the neck is closely associated with the known factors for heart trouble, such as cholesterol levels and diabetes, said a report using data on 3,320 offspring of the study's original participants.

"Neck circumference was associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, even after adjustment for visceral adipose tissue," the researchers wrote in the report, which was to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention annual conference in Palm Harbor, Fla.

The standard ways to assess obesity is to measure the waistline and determine body-mass index. But neck fatness could add to the risk assessment a physician makes by measuring the waistline, the researchers said.

"Upper-body subcutaneous adipose tissue and visceral adipose tissue independently contribute to cardiometabolic risk," they reported.

Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the researchers had "done a really good job of looking past the conventional measurements of risk."

"This is another way by which clinicians can assess the degree of adiposity of patients as a measure of cardiovascular risk and make recommendations about reducing risk," he said.

But the basic message, Fonarow said, is that carrying too much fat is not good for the heart, no matter where in the body the fat happens to be.

"It is just another insight into how much adipose tissue there is," he said. "When you measure waist circumference, you look at visceral fat in the abdomen. Here you're looking at visceral fat in another area of the body."

"The study makes good sense to me," said Dr. Kirk Garratt, director of interventional cardiovascular research at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "They are putting a quantifiable measurement on something we've known for some time -- that people with upper-body obesity are at heightened risk of cardiovascular disease."

The obese body comes in two forms, Garratt said: pear-shaped, with most of the excess weight around the hips; and apple-shaped, with most of the weight in the upper part of the body.

"People with most of the weight in the upper part of the body have more cardiovascular disease," Garratt said. "It appears to be that certain kinds of metabolic abnormalities contribute to the atherothrombotic risk."

But no matter where the excess fat is located, it's best to lose it, he said.

"Everybody who has a body-mass index over 25 increases the risk of coronary events, regardless of where they are carrying their weight," Garratt said.

More information
The American Heart Association has more on the risks of obesity.

Health Tip: Use Less Salt in Your Diet

(HealthDay News) -- Sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, which raises your risk for heart attack and stroke.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers these suggestions for a lower-sodium diet:

• Choose fresh, lean meats, poultry, and fish instead of processed versions.


• Skip the salt and use fresh herbs, spices, and low- or no-salt seasonings.


• Stick to fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned. If you do choose canned, look for "no salt added" versions, or rinse vegetables before use.


• Don't add salt to the water when cooking rice or pasta. Also, avoid instant versions of these foods.


• Stay away from pre-packaged foods that are often high in sodium, such as frozen meals, pizzas, canned soups and foods, and packed food mixes.

How to Lower Your Cholesterol Level

Chances are that you're visiting this web site because you want to find about more about cholesterol and how to keep your cholesterol level low or how to lower your cholesterol level if it is high.

Here are steps you can take to lower your blood cholesterol or keep it low:

• Follow a low saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet.
• Be more physically active.
• Lose weight if you are overweight. Continue Reading >>
  

Every Diabetic Is Ultimately a Diabetes Educator

By Sean Kelley

Americans apparently know a lot about diabetes. A recent Gallup survey found that:
• 81% of respondents had been tested for diabetes

• 25% had been told by a health-care professional that they were at high risk for the disease

• 56% believed the disease to be as serious as heart disease, the No. 1 killer in America.

Even more interesting, most respondents were keenly aware of major risk factors for the disease and preventive measures that diabetics could take to avoid complications—although conclusions from focus groups recently held by the American Diabetes Association seem to contradict the Gallup findings. Read More