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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Affair of the Heart

What is the Spyder reading now to pass the interminable months until Rachel Vincent's PRIDE comes out (which is now scheduled for the first of February instead of March - yippee!!)?

The Night Serpent
Harlequin Nocturne
by Anna Leonard

The heroine is a 'cat whisperer' haunted by dreams and memories of a murky past. How could I resist such originality? I'll let you know how it turns out.

Heart disease is the number one killer in America, even over cancer. Like cancer, it isn't easy to spot a heart attack coming, so we need to all be on the lookout for the most reliable predictors. In that vein, I found a great article in this month's Prevention Magazine.

3 Heart-Saving Questions You Might Want to Ask Your Doctor

1. Should I get a CT scan of my heart? Dr. Arthur Agatston MD considers this one of the best tools to assess a patient's risk of heart attack in the near-to-far future.

2. Should I get specialized cholesterol tests? Some doctors may not be familiar with these advanced blood tests that show the size of your cholesterol particles. It seems if you have small particles, your risk is higher even if your total cholesterol count is in acceptable ranges.

3. Should I take a drug to lower my cholesterol levels? Dr. Agatson says statins are good to lower the bad cholesterol, and niacin - in large prescription strength doses - is good for raising the good cholesterol. Unfortunately, niacin causes flushing (blood vessels dilate) in some patients. Evidently this is very unpleasant although I can only imagine. He suggests taking an aspirin a half-hour before taking the niacin. He also suggests taking the niacin with food.

To assess your risk of heart disease, try the heart risk calculator at AOLhealth:
http://www.aolhealth.com/health-concern/interactive-tool-are-you-at-risk-for-a-heart-attack

Visit the following link at WebMD for a detailed description of various CT scans:
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/ct-heart-scan

0 flies caught in my web: