It has been well established that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a condition that leads to chronic symptoms that are generally thought of as a primary disease. However, vascular injury leads to subsequent disease such as metabolic disease, obesity, high blood pressure and kidney disease. There are several contributing factors starting a person on the path … Read more
During my last years in graduate school, I learned that the coolest experiment to ever be conduct was about to take flight – literally. In the genetics world, twin studies have been a classical tool used to study the nature vs. nurture effect of any given trait or disorder in humans. With the ever-increasing interest … Read more
For many decades, we knew that cardiovascular disease and several of its risk factors are heritable. This justifies why we often ask our patients about their family history, but is that truly the best measure for someone’s genetic liability to develop a disease? Diseases such as myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes, and atrial fibrillation are called … Read more
It’s finally summer. Warmer temperatures and local Farmer’s markets motivate us to eat lots of fresh fruits and greens. A healthy summer diet maintains our health and can be even supportive in the management of various diseases. For example, some patients with treated blood pressure are able to taper off blood pressure medications by eating … Read more
We all know that weight loss and exercise are essential for a better health. A healthy life style reduces cardiovascular risk, obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes. In a previous post, I briefly touched upon the idea that weight loss and exercise make HDL, or our “good cholesterol,” better at reducing cholesterol circulating the bloodstream. In … Read more
A couple of years ago I was fortunate to attend the HDL workshop that followed the ATVB council conference, which was held in San Francisco. The workshop’s main focus was to discuss and debate high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or what is commonly known as “the good cholesterol,” and how it influences heart disease. You may … Read more