The connection between cardiovascular disease risk and obesity is not new. But a recent study has better defined that risk based on body mass index (BMI). 

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a 23 percent higher chance of having a heart attack than patients with normal guts, according to a study presented at an American College of Cardiology meeting.

IBD is an umbrella term for conditions that involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. The most common types are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis disease. 

Following the DASH diet seems to reduce your chances of developing depression, according to preliminary study presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 70th Annual Meeting. 

Supplementing with fish oil is now linked with lowering your risk of cardiac death, according to a recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. It’s only a moderate eight percent reduction, but I’ll take it.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and even try to get them into your diet. But not all omega-3 fatty acids are created equal.

Omega-3 fatty acids are divided into three categories – alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapetaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). 

If you’ve ever experienced a kidney stone, you know first-hand just how excruciating painful they can be. Despite being a largely preventable condition, kidney stones are quite common. Each year more than 3 million people visit their doctor or the emergency room seeking treatment for stones, according to Cleveland Clinic. 

The MIND diet, created by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, seems to forestall Alzheimer’s disease, boost brain health and slow cognitive decline in stroke survivors, according to a previous study.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. This is nothing new – heart disease has been identified as a major public health problem for the past 80 years. 

What is new is how we’re trying to prevent it. Since about half heart attacks in the United States occur in people with normal cholesterol levels, we’re focusing on more than just cholesterol levels — we’re also looking at inflammation, particularly since it’s involved in all the stages of heart disease development. 

Plant-based diets are credited with preventing, treating and even reversing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. For a dedicated omnivore, plant-based proteins probably don’t sound very appealing. Who wants to swap a T-bone steak for a mushroom-lentil loaf? 

High doses of vitamin D may quickly ease arterial stiffness in certain overweight, vitamin-deficient populations, according to a recent study conducted by the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Arterial stiffness can in crease your risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia and renal disease.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean you should begin taking a vitamin D supplement to lower your cardiovascular disease risk. 

Every so often I have a new patient and need to scour their medical record to prepare for their appointment. In all the years I’ve been practicing, I often notice that records are missing appropriate testing to assess risk of a heart attack. This also includes records from cardiology offices.