Another Cleveland Clinic Study Links TMAO To Atherosclerosis

A new study from the Cleveland Clinic research group headed by Stanley Hazen offers more evidence in support of the hypothesis that TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide) may play a role in the development of heart disease. The new research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, follows closely on a related study published recently in Nature…

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More Reasons Why Health Hype Stories Are Bad

In response to my post yesterday about why health stories should nearly always be received with caution, I received the following comment from a distinguished cardiovascular researcher: One lost point is the role of the investigators and media in hyping their research. Hazen (principal investigator of the first study) is a bright and thoughtful guy, but through…

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Is Red Meat A Fish Story? Why You Should Never Believe Health Headlines

Don’t believe the the hype! That’s the cardinal rule to obey when reading health news. “Breakthroughs” and “cures” are rare, and should always be viewed with caution and skepticism. This week was a great example. Last Sunday, the New York Times, the major networks, and a host of other media outlets (including this one) reported on a paper…

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Researchers Find New Pathway Linking Heart Disease To Carnitine

A new line of preliminary research has turned up a novel pathway linking atherosclerosis to red meat and a common supplement contained in energy drinks. If the research is upheld, the findings may have important implications for dietary recommendations and our understanding of atherosclerosis. The research also provides a quite surprising example of the previously…

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Free Cardiac And Spine Surgery For Walmart Employees At Six Hospitals

Starting next year 1.1 million US Walmart employees and their dependents will be eligible for free heart, spine, and transplant surgery at 6 highly regarded health care organizations. Walmart employees will have no out-of-pocket costs, including travel, lodging and food for the patient and a caregiver. On Thursday the company announced that its “Centers of Excellence”…

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