Atherosclerosis

CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, show evidence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles, researchers said Tuesday. The study, presented at the American Heart Assn. meeting in Orlando, Fla., was conceived by Dr. Gregory Thomas, a cardiologist at UC Irvine, after he read about Pharoah Merenptah at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. When he died at age 60 in 1203 BC, Merenptah was plagued by atherosclerosis, arthritis and dental decay.

Los Angeles residents living near freeways experience a hardening of the arteries that leads to heart disease and strokes at twice the rate of those who live farther away, a study has found. The paper is the first to link automobile and truck exhaust to the progression of atherosclerosis -- the thickening of artery walls -- in humans. The study was conducted by researchers from USC and UC Berkeley, along with colleagues in Spain and Switzerland, and published this week in the journal PloS ONE. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the carotid artery wall thickness of 1,483 people who lived within 100 meters, or 328 feet, of Los Angeles freeways.

A new study by researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine has found that people with atherosclerosis in their legs are 7 1/2 times more likely to die of cardiovascular diseases than people who don't have such fatty deposits in their legs. The results of the study, if confirmed by follow-up analysis, would give doctors yet another way of finding out whether their patients are in danger of suffering heart attacks and strokes.

CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, show evidence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles, researchers said Tuesday. The study, presented at the American Heart Assn. meeting in Orlando, Fla., was conceived by Dr. Gregory Thomas, a cardiologist at UC Irvine, after he read about Pharoah Merenptah at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. When he died at age 60 in 1203 BC, Merenptah was plagued by atherosclerosis, arthritis and dental decay.

A spongelike plastic device implanted under the skin near arteries may help to prevent hardening of the arteries, researchers from the Harvard Medical School said last week at the ACS meeting. The implant acts something like a sponge, Dr. Elazer Edelman said, allowing the blood-thinning drug heparin to diffuse through tiny, porelike holes over a period of weeks or months.

In a surprising discovery, UCLA researchers have found that atherosclerosis, better known as hardening of the arteries, may arise in part through the formation of bone in the arteries. The finding, reported today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could open the door to new therapies to prevent atherosclerosis, which is treated by controlling intake of cholesterol and fats, said Dr. Linda Demer, associate chief of cardiology at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Los Angeles residents living near freeways experience a hardening of the arteries that leads to heart disease and strokes at twice the rate of those who live farther away, a study has found. The paper is the first to link automobile and truck exhaust to the progression of atherosclerosis -- the thickening of artery walls -- in humans. The study was conducted by researchers from USC and UC Berkeley, along with colleagues in Spain and Switzerland, and published this week in the journal PloS ONE. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the carotid artery wall thickness of 1,483 people who lived within 100 meters, or 328 feet, of Los Angeles freeways.

Another study of transgenic mice has provided the first direct proof that high-density lipoproteins--HDL, the so-called "good cholesterol"--can protect against atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty deposits in blood vessels. Such buildups clog the vessels, producing heart attacks.

For the first time, researchers have linked the hardening of arteries to blood clots in veins, a finding that could trigger new research in the effort to prevent the blockages that kill thousands of people each year. Italian researchers found patients hospitalized with unexplained deep-vein clots were nearly 2 1/2 times more likely to also have hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, than patients with deep-vein clots attributed to other health problems.

Middle-age men who feel hopeless or think of themselves as failures may develop atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries that leads to heart attacks and strokes, faster than their more optimistic counterparts, researchers report. People who expressed high levels of despair had a 20% greater increase in atherosclerosis over four years, according to a report in the August issue of the American Heart Assn. journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

YOU care about your heart, so you don't smoke, you eat a healthful diet and you exercise regularly. Maybe you should also lay off the negativity and controlling comments when you talk to your spouse. A three-year study of older married couples conducted by psychologists from the University of Utah has found a link between the quality of relationships and atherosclerosis, or the narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the heart.

For the first time, researchers have linked the hardening of arteries to blood clots in veins, a finding that could trigger new research in the effort to prevent the blockages that kill thousands of people each year. Italian researchers found patients hospitalized with unexplained deep-vein clots were nearly 2 1/2 times more likely to also have hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, than patients with deep-vein clots attributed to other health problems.

In what she acknowledges as the worst thing that ever happened to her during a 60-year career as dancer, choreographer, teacher and arts advocate, 83-year-old California dance matriarch Bella Lewitzky has lost her right leg to a long-term arterial disease. The amputation took place Oct. 27 at Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, where Lewitzky and her husband, Newell Taylor Reynolds, had moved following the disbanding of her internationally known Southland modern dance company in 1997.

Middle-age men who feel hopeless or think of themselves as failures may develop atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries that leads to heart attacks and strokes, faster than their more optimistic counterparts, researchers report. People who expressed high levels of despair had a 20% greater increase in atherosclerosis over four years, according to a report in the August issue of the American Heart Assn. journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

In a surprising discovery, UCLA researchers have found that atherosclerosis, better known as hardening of the arteries, may arise in part through the formation of bone in the arteries. The finding, reported today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could open the door to new therapies to prevent atherosclerosis, which is treated by controlling intake of cholesterol and fats, said Dr. Linda Demer, associate chief of cardiology at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Another study of transgenic mice has provided the first direct proof that high-density lipoproteins--HDL, the so-called "good cholesterol"--can protect against atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty deposits in blood vessels. Such buildups clog the vessels, producing heart attacks.

Regarding your Sept. 7 piece about the Atlantic's article on "The Cholesterol Myth" (by Garry Abrams), Thomas Moore is not alone in challenging popular thinking. On March 28, a maverick scientist from New Zealand also made waves in the tranquil waters of Los Angeles cardiology circles. He lectured to a group of eminent heart specialists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on "Atherosclerosis and the Cholesterol Myth." Atherosclerosis is the more correct term for what is commonly known as arteriosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries."

YOU care about your heart, so you don't smoke, you eat a healthful diet and you exercise regularly. Maybe you should also lay off the negativity and controlling comments when you talk to your spouse. A three-year study of older married couples conducted by psychologists from the University of Utah has found a link between the quality of relationships and atherosclerosis, or the narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the heart.

A spongelike plastic device implanted under the skin near arteries may help to prevent hardening of the arteries, researchers from the Harvard Medical School said last week at the ACS meeting. The implant acts something like a sponge, Dr. Elazer Edelman said, allowing the blood-thinning drug heparin to diffuse through tiny, porelike holes over a period of weeks or months.

Regarding your Sept. 7 piece about the Atlantic's article on "The Cholesterol Myth" (by Garry Abrams), Thomas Moore is not alone in challenging popular thinking. On March 28, a maverick scientist from New Zealand also made waves in the tranquil waters of Los Angeles cardiology circles. He lectured to a group of eminent heart specialists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on "Atherosclerosis and the Cholesterol Myth." Atherosclerosis is the more correct term for what is commonly known as arteriosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries."