New data published in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggest that relatively healthy women with severe depression are at increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death (SCD) and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD). Researchers found that much of the relationship between depressive (more…)

Berkeley, Calif.: A high blood pressure education campaign called Heart 2 Heart raises awareness about the disease among black residents by concentrating only on high-risk families living on four city streets, the Oakland Tribune reports. The three-year, $500,000 collaborative effort between the city and LifeLong Medical Care calls for workers to reach about 500 households through door-to-door (more…)

With the nation’s economic crisis contributing to greater workplace stress, providing effective mental health care for employees may be more important than ever.
Unfortunately, the approach most companies take in purchasing mental health care benefits is flawed and unlikely to produce the best outcomes for either their bottom line or their employees’ welfare, according to a Florida State (more…)

Pregnant women suffering from asthma run a greater risk of giving birth prematurely if they suspend their asthma treatments. According to a Universit?© de Montr?©al study, published in Respiratory Medicine, the probability of suffering from hypertension during pregnancy also increases for women who interrupt their asthma treatment.
"Many pregnant (more…)

As the economic outlook becomes gloomier and gloomier and the credit crunch bites even harder, experts at the Priory Group are warning that they are seeing an increasing number of patients suffering from the symptoms of ‘recession depression’.
People facing unemployment, mounting debts and losing their homes can be overwhelmed by negative feelings and this can manifest itself in a serious depressive episode. This (more…)

The following highlights efforts that seek to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.
Austin, Texas: City officials this month will begin a series of forums, called the "Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Initiative," which seek to improve the quality of life among Hispanics, the Austin American-Statesman’s "Somos Austin" blog reports. Four community forums covering specific quality of life topics will be held (more…)

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have linked higher levels of the hormone aldosterone to high blood pressure and blood vessel disease in African Americans. Aldosterone is secreted by the adrenal glands and causes salt retention by the kidneys.
The (more…)

The Institute of Race Relations has published a new report on the devastating impact on family life of Britain’s anti-terrorist control order and detention policy. The report, entitled ‘Besieged in Britain’, has been written by journalist and author Victoria Brittain, co-author with Moazzam Begg of Enemy Combatant: a British Muslim’s journey to Guant??namo and back. Based on her meeting (more…)

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic products, today announced it has initiated a second pivotal Phase 3 study of avanafil, its investigational new drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Avanafil is a next-generation, fast-acting, selective, investigational oral phosphodiesterase (more…)

Scientists in the United States say they have discovered a link between heart disease and erectile dysfunction - they say in some cases that risk is doubled.
The researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota say they have found that men who experience erectile dysfunction between the ages of 40 and 49 are twice as likely to develop heart (more…)