Heart disease affects an estimated 62 million Americans, more than any other illness. Laurie Anderson RN FNP MSN is here to share information and advice on heart disease, its symptoms, treatments, and prevention.

This week I'm thinking about time. It seems to me that my daughter was just born yesterday, yet next week she begins her senior year of high school. Where does the time go? One thing I notice as I age is that my memory has days where it's not as sharp as it used to be. I resist making lists, because that makes me feel so old, but there are times when I know that my brain is on overload and I just have to do it, or something will be missed. For me these are the times when my life is very hectic, with many projects to be addressed, keeping track of family appointments and obligations, all thrown into a busy summer week of work in the ED. Whew! Makes my brain overwhelmed just thinking about it. These are the weeks when I have to take really good care of myself by getting plenty of rest, eating well, and making those darn lists. I have to admit though, I am less stressed when I have a list to fall back on.

Hope this finds everyone well! I noticed this week that there is a link from my Google homepage this "flat belly diet." Funny, Web MD just happens to have an article about it too. I generally have a lot of faith in Prevention Magazine and I think that a lot of information contained in it is well researched and worth while, but sometimes I think they get swept up in the nonsense too. This "diet" is one such example and I think that Web MD's registered dietitian (RD) does a great job of supporting what is right about this eating plan, as well as dispelling the myths about it. This plan is a healthy, Mediterranean-diet based plan, and you will certainly lose weight on on it, as well as probably lower your cholesterol and improve your blood pressure, but it won't melt away fat from any particular body location.

Photo Credit: Lisa Brewster As reported this week in HealthDay News , more than 73 million adults in the US have high blood pressure (hypertension); half of them are women.

I am very glad to see all the thoughtful comments on the last " Tales From the Emergency Room " post. I was inspired by your comments to post this follow-up, because I think there is a critical misunderstanding about the abilities of medicine to diagnose illnesses among those who have to be the recipients of that care. Medicine is not black and white. There is no "x + y = z" to diagnosis. When faced with a diagnostic challenge a practitioner of medicine must take a thorough history, including all the details of the present illness, as well as the person's past medical and surgical history, and current and recent medication use (prescription and over the counter). He or she then synthesizes all this information and places it in the context of the "odds" of various things being wrong. Let's take a common example, chest pain (CP). As I approach the room in the ED with the CP patient I have a "differential" list in my head. A differential list is all the possible causes of chest pain I can think of: heart (ischemic heart disease/heart attack/angina), lung ( congestive heart failure , pneumonia, blood clot, tumor, pneumothorax , pleurisy , dissecting aneurysm ), musculo-skeletal (contusions, costochondritis , rib fractures), and GI ( reflux , heartburn, esophagitis , ulcer , gastritis , referred pain from the gallbladder or pancreas).

Summer's here and so is the heat. Last week on the day that I read about this study it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit and 57% humidity in my surroundings, and I found myself thinking about winter heart attacks. This is because of a research announcement that may explain why there is an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) related deaths in the winter months. Apparently cold weather stimulates inflammation in the body, a factor that was demonstrated in the levels of inflammatory markers in the blood in the study subjects. In this study researchers observed that 5 consecutive days of colder weather lead to an immediate increase in levels of the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6; levels of a third marker of inflammation, called fibrinogen, rose 3 days later than the other two markers. The research team measured levels of these markers in nearly 6,000 blood samples from 1,000 adults who had had a heart attack within the last 6 years. These adults were located across a wide range of climate zones.

Fans of Gray's Anatomy will recognize the mantra of the show, stated when a character really can't believe what they are seeing in front of them and says, "Seriously. Seriously?" Frequently in the ED I have these moments where I want to say "Seriously. Seriously, you came to the ED because of THAT?"

Despite the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke that occur annually from smoking, there is no government agency with the authority to regulate tobacco products. As a result the tobacco companies are free to use addictive substances in cigarettes without disclosing their presence and they are free to market to children and teens. Recently a piece of legislation, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 625/H.R. 1108) , was introduced in both the House and Senate. This proposed law would prohibit the marketing of tobacco products to children, stop illegal sales to them, and outlaw candy cigarettes, which are a product starter for many kids. It would require the cigarette makers to disclose what is in their products and it would give the FDA the authority to require manufacturers to remove or reduce the amount of harmful additives in tobacco products. It would also stop confusing health claims from tobacco manufacturers. such as those which suggest that "lite" or "natural" products are safer or less addicting.

Are you at all concerned that food is becoming medicine? Every day I hear an advertisement for one food item or another and how it's been enhanced to be better for my health. Yogurt now has to have "active cultures" to be worth eating. Eggs are being created with more omega-3 fatty acids . Bread is now "Wonder" soft yet made from "white whole wheat" flour so that it's nutritious again. It seems to me that food is getting so complicated with health claims that individuals are going to become increasingly confused about what they should eat. It also occurs to me that there has got to be something wrong with food that is manipulated in such a way as to "improve" upon it.

Look here: Doing The Perfect Push-up . I've always said that the simple push-up, requiring no equipment and only a stretch of floor in your home (or hotel room!) is the perfect exercise, and now even WebMD and fitness experts agree! Although it offers no aerobic benefits, the push-up can be done in a way that works your whole body, and as a resistance exercise, it can help prevent osteoporosis . This is important for both women and men, both of whom may suffer from bone thinning. So in addition to your aerobic routine, add some push-ups to work multiple muscle groups, improve your core strength, and protect your bones. That's a lot of bang for no bucks!

Readers warning: what follows is a brief review of some of the flaws in nutrition research. If you're like me, your eyes glaze over whenever you try to get through study results, and frequently you end up with a headache and no more enlightened. Please try to bear with me because I hope I put this information in plain English, and that you actually will be enlightened by this discussion. A new study published in the April issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that the "DASH" diet reduces women's risk of heart disease and stroke , and lowers their blood pressure. "DASH " stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is comprised of lots of fruits, vegetables, and plant proteins (beans and nuts), and is low in animal protein. It includes a moderate amount of low-fat dairy products.