LEWISVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Gallagher has had a heart attack. He collapsed just before going on stage to do his standup. He's in stable condition. His promotional manager says Gallagher is sedated and "slowly recovering." He's 65.

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he holidays are a great excuse for a party, but overindulging in holiday cheer could lead to heart trouble.

Dr. Tom Tallman of the Cleveland Clinic estimates about a third of patients who come into his emergency room between Thanksgiving and New Year's have something called "Holiday Heart Syndrome."

It affects those who aren't used to drinking very much who then over-indulge in alcohol during holiday get-togethers.

Their heart rate speeds up and becomes irregular.

"Blood pressure can drop, and you can get lightheaded, as well as having the chest pain or shortness of breath," Dr. Tallman explains.

Feeling like they're having a heart attack, they head to the emergency room only to discover it was the alcohol that caused the problem.

Drinking while on cough and cold medicine can have the same effect.

The problem usually goes away within 24 hours without any long-term damage, but doctors say it's always good to get heart symptoms checked out, just in case.

 

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A woman's heart breaks more easily than a man's.

Females are seven to nine times more likely to suffer "broken heart syndrome," when sudden or prolonged stress like an emotional breakup or death causes overwhelming heart failure or heart attack-like symptoms, the first nationwide study of this finds. Usually patients recover with no lasting damage.

The classic case is "a woman who has just lost her husband," said Dr. Mariell Jessup, a University of Pennsylvania heart failure specialist who has treated many such cases.

Cyndy Bizon feared that was happening when her husband, Joel, suffered a massive heart attack in 2005. "May God work through your hands," the Maine woman told the surgeon as her husband was wheeled past her into the operating room. She later collapsed at a nurse's station from "broken heart syndrome" and wound up in coronary care with him. Both survived.

Japanese doctors first recognized this syndrome around 1990 and named it Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; tako tsubo are octopus traps that resemble the unusual pot-like shape of the stricken heart.

It happens when a big shock, even a good one like winning the lottery, triggers a rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones that cause the heart's main pumping chamber to balloon suddenly and not work right. Tests show dramatic changes in rhythm and blood substances typical of a heart attack, but no artery blockages that typically cause one. Most victims recover within weeks, but in rare cases it proves fatal.

Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh of the University of Arkansas had treated some of these cases.

"I was very curious why only women were having this," he said, so he did the first large study of the problem and reported results Wednesday at an American Heart Association conference in Florida.

Using a federal database with about 1,000 hospitals, Deshmukh found 6,229 cases in 2007. Only 671 involved men. After adjusting for high blood pressure, smoking and other factors that can affect heart problems, women seemed 7.5 times more likely to suffer the syndrome than men.

It was three times more common in women over 55 than in younger women. And women younger than 55 were 9.5 times more likely to suffer it than men of that age.

No one knows why, said Dr. Abhiram Prasad, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who presented other research on this syndrome at the conference.

"It's the only cardiac condition where there's such a female preponderance," he said.

One theory is that hormones play a role. Another is that men have more adrenaline receptors on cells in their hearts than women do, "so maybe men are able to handle stress better" and the chemical surge it releases, Deshmukh said.

Bizon was 57 when her attack occurred; she's now 63. She and her husband are pharmacists and live in Scarborough, Maine.

"I remember grabbing the counter and a black curtain coming down before my eyes," she said in a telephone interview. Her attack was so severe that she went into full cardiac arrest and had to have her heart shocked back into a normal rhythm. Although most such attacks resolve without permanent damage, she later needed to have a defibrillator implanted.

About 1 percent of such cases prove fatal, the new study shows.

"In the old days, we'd say someone was scared to death," said Prasad.

About 10 percent of victims will have a second episode sometime in their lives. And although heart attacks happen more in winter, broken heart syndrome is more common in summer.

 

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A study finds that offering people free medicines after a heart attack can help cut the chances they will suffer another one. It also saves them about $500 for health care over the next year without raising costs for insurers.

However, doctors were shocked that only about half of these patients filled their prescriptions even though they got them for free.

Insurance company Aetna says it soon will start offering certain heart medicines such as cholesterol-lowering statin drugs for free or with a reduced copay to some heart attack survivors because of these results. Aetna helped sponsor the study,

The research was discussed Monday at an American Heart Association conference in Florida.

 

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Insomnia is the most common sleep problem - affecting almost 30% of adults.

And cardiologists have been aware of the link between sleep and heart problems for a while now, said Dr. paul Aggarwal of North Texas Heart Center. "We think that lack of sleep leads to lack of energy. And that in turn leads to lack of exercise. Maybe weight and that in turn leads to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, maybe diabetes."

However, other experts who study sleep said it's tough to say if sleep causes heart problems - or if it's the other way around.

 

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More signs of childhood obesity and less exercise means a better chance for heart disease among younger patients. Here are some tips to prevent fat build-up in the arteries.

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Although you might know eating certain foods can increase your heart disease risk, it's often tough to change your eating habits.

Start with these eight strategies from the May Clinic to kick-start your way toward a heart-healthy diet. Here's more.

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Implanted defibrillators can save lives, shocking a heart beating wildly out of sync back to a regular rhythm. But they can also make a dying patient's last hours agonizing, delivering shock after shock to a heart that is failing.

There's a simple solution: Advise patients who are nearing their last months, days, or hours to turn off the implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD - or at least explain what can happen if they don't, a new report suggests. This course seems especially clear when a patient is on death's door and has signed orders telling medical personnel not to use heroic measures if heart or lungs stop working. Here's more.

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Red wine (in moderation) is as good for your health as it is to your palate. At least that's what we're consistently told.

Red wine and heart health have long been linked, with studies suggesting a glass or two a day lowers heart disease risk. Here's more.

 

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Danish researchers followed 4500 adults with good heart health for six years. Those who had worrisome or demanding relationships with their partner or a child were two to three and a half times more likely to develop angina, or chest pain.

Excessive worries about other family members was linked to an almost doubling of angina risk.

And while arguments with friends and distant relatives were insignificant, frequent disagreements with a partner boosted the risk by 44-percent and conflict with a neighbor increased angina by 60-percent.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - In the future, most heart transplant recipients could be getting a heart that's already beating before it's placed in the body.

The University of California, Los Angeles is heading an experiment that compares the safety and effectiveness of the "beating heart" transplant to the standard method of stopping the heart and placing it in a cooler to get it to the recipient. Enrolled in the beating heart pilot study in the U.S. will be 128 patients randomly chosen nationwide.

Instead of stopping the heart and putting it on ice in a $35 cooler, the new technology calls for placing the organ in a special $200,000 box that feeds it blood and keeps it warm and ticking outside the body. The first such transplant was done in Germany in 2006. A 40-year-old woman with lupus received a beating heart in Los Angeles in August.

If the study is successful, doctors say the donor heart could stay out of the body longer than the roughly 6 hours in a cooler, and the organ recipient who is selected wouldn't have to be the one living closest to the donor heart.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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Having obstructive sleep apnea could hurt your heart.

A study by researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found obese adults with the disorder had blood vessels that were narrower than obese adults without the disease.

Also, the plaque in their arteries was dangerous because it was the kind that is more vulnerable to rupturing and causing a blood clot.

Experts say this study shows sleep apnea patients are at an increased risk for an aggressive form of heart disease -- and should be treated with this risk factor in mind.

The patients included in the study were obese, with a mean age of 60. Each underwent coronary CT angiography.

The study was presented at the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting.

If you have concerns about your heart health, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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A new study shows the death of a spouse or child could literally break your heart.

Australian researchers found grieving can cause an elevated heart rate, irregular heartbeat or depression which may increase the risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death. The symptoms usually go away within six months.

Researchers say those in mourning for their loved one may want to consider a medical review and should seek immediate help for any cardiac symptoms.

The study was led by researchers at University of Sydney Nursing School and presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

If you are suffering troubling symptoms, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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A new study finds some patients wait hours before going to the hospital when they're having a heart attack.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic studied the medical records of over 100K patients who had a certain type of heart attack -- called non-stemi. They found patients waited, on average, two-and-a-half hours before seeking medical attention. Some waited as long as 12 hours.

Waiting did not increase the patient's risk of dying in the hospital, but experts say getting treatment sooner rather than later is the best idea.

Heart attacks aren't always as sudden as they appear in movies. For most patients they start slow. Symptoms include chest and upper body discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea and lightheadedness.

 

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Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Dr. Brian Whisenant is a leading cardiologist and founder of Coherex Medical. Recently, he supervised the world's first human implantation of this potentially life-saving device in New Zealand. He calls the operation a great success.

"It was quick. It was easy. He went home the next day," Whisenant said. "It's been about a week now. He's doing great, and we've dramatically reduced his risk of stroke."

In surgery, the WaveCrest Left Atrial Appendage Occluder is placed at the opening of the appendage, or LAA.

"As it is unsheathed, as it comes out of the catheter, it expands, and fills up the appendage," Whisenant explained.

In an unhealthy heart, blood clots easily form in the LAA. If those clots break loose and flow to a person's brain, stroke occurs. The LAA is a dangerous breeding ground for strokes caused by blood clots among people with irregular heartbeat patterns, known as atrial fibrillation or AF.

In surgery, the surgeon snakes the occluder from the thigh to the heart. Once in place, the surgeon anchors the device and pulls out the catheter and implantation tools.

"Over time, tissue grows over this wall and eliminates this appendage where clots form," Whisenant said, pointing to the implanted device.

American Heart Association Statistics show 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation.

"Stroke is the No. 3 leading cause of death in the United States, the No. 1 leading cause of adult disability," he says. "This affects all of us."

Coherex aims to prove the device reduces the risk for stroke from 5 percent to less than 1 percent for patients with AF.

"If you're talking about 5 percent of the world's population over age 65, that's a lot of people and a lot of strokes we're preventing," Whisenant said.

It also reduces the use of blood thinners, which are tough on patients.

"I suspect five years from now this will revolutionize the care of patients with atrial fibrillation," Whisenant said.

Trials in the U.S. are targeted for late 2011.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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Heart disease patients with severely blocked coronary arteries require emergency medical attention.

Doctors often insert tiny wire mesh tubes called stents to prop open those arteries, and they typically go through a large artery in the groin to get there.

It's an effective procedure that has a long safety record in the U.S., but it does come with an increased risk for bleeding, at least one night in the hospital, and an extended recovery.

But there is an option--getting to the heart through the wrist. "When we do this through the wrist, the risk for those major bleeding complications is reduced 70-80%," says Dr. Quinn Capers of the Ohio State University Medical Center.

The recovery can be much quicker. Patients can sit up immediately and some are able to go home the same day.

"Patients heal better when they're in a comfortable surrounding, when they're at home, they're relaxed," adds. Dr. Capers.

The wrist procedure has gained popularity over the past five years. Even so, the vast majority of stents are inserted the traditional way, through the groin.

"We as physicians are typically creatures of habit, and if we've had long-standing experience with one approach it's difficult to adopt another one," says Dr. Sahil Parikh of the UH Case Medical Center.

Even doctors who have adopted the wrist technique point out not every heart disease patient is a good candidate. "Patients should feel comfortable that their physician is making the best decision in their own hands for their specific case," Dr. Parikh says.

Either approach could be a lifesaver.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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More young women are having strokes and other serious medical problems shortly after giving birth.

Doctors are trying to understand why that's happening in hopes that it will help others catch the warning signs before it's too late.

Everyday in America, two women die from complications of pregnancy or child birth, and those rates have been rising in recent years.

Many of those deaths are caused by strokes.

Dr. Karen Benz says all pregnant women are at some increased risk for strokes. Age can increase that risk. So can multiple births, having a C-section, and obesity.

Deaths from childbirth are still relatively rare, but researchers are now trying to understand why the numbers have crept up in the U.S.

Knowing the signs of a stroke can help pregnant women and their families spot one and get treatment faster.

The American Heart Association says symptoms can include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding, and trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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While folic acid supplements are known to prevent certain birth defects -- they may do nothing to prevent heart disease.

Folic acid is a B-vitamin, and a vitamin B deficiency has been linked to a higher risk for inflammation associated with heart disease.

A new analysis of data suggests boosting B-vitamin and folic acid intake doesn't do anything to prevent heart attacks, stroke or death.

The pool of data was large and included information on more than 37,000 participants over a five year period.

This study was led by researchers at the University of Oxford and is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

For complete heart health care, contact Parkview Medical Center.

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