by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 21, 2013 | Heart Health
A slow pulse rate in athletes usually means a strong heart, but in non-athletes, it can mean heart damage. Athletes often have pulse rates below 60 because their hearts are strong enough to pump large amounts of blood with each beat and therefore don't have to...
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 21, 2013 | Heart Health
Having high blood levels of cholesterol increaes your chances of getting a heart attack, but your blood cholesterol level is influenced far more by how many calories you eat than by how much cholesterol is in the food you eat. Cholesterol is found only in foods from...
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 19, 2013 | Heart Health
It takes only two weeks for a diet to lower cholesterol as much as it is going to do. You lower cholesterol by replacing saturated fats from animals with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats from plants, and by restricting refined carbohydrates found in bakery...
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 19, 2013 | Heart Health
Changes in diet should be the first strategy for anyone with high blood pressure, but most people will need to make drastic changes in their eating habits to succeed. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have shown why the DASH diet lowers high blood...
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 19, 2013 | Heart Health
Your leg muscles function like a second heart to pump fluid from your legs to your heart. When your leg muscles relax, the veins near them fill up with blood. When your leg muscles contract, they compress the veins and squeeze blood up toward your heart. When you...
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin | May 19, 2013 | Heart Health
A regular exercise program helps to lower high blood levels of homocysteine, according to a study from multiple medical centers (European Journal of Applied Physiology, November 2006). High blood levels of homocysteine increase your risk for heart attacks, but at this...
