Statins May Help Prevent Irregular Heartbeat in Elderly

HealthDay – 1 hr 35 mins ago WEDNESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- The widely used class of cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins may help elderly patients with high blood pressure avoid developing atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm abnormality tied to stroke.

"Our study found that statin therapy in elderly patients with hypertension reduces the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation," said Dr. Chen-Ying Hung, lead author of a study scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in Boston.

But the findings are extremely preliminary and don't provide enough evidence to support this particular use of statins, such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Zocor (simvastatin) just yet, said the study authors and outside experts alike.

"We still need further studies to confirm this relationship before we can suggest statin use in

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Irregular Heartbeat Poses Greater Stroke Risk for Women Than Men

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More Babies Today Have Irregular Head Shape: Expert

HealthDay – 16 hrs ago FRIDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of babies with irregular head shapes, such as a flattened section in the back of the skull, have increased in the United States since the Back to Sleep campaign was introduced in 1994 to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, an expert says.

"There's no doubt that as we as a country began putting babies to sleep on their backs, the incidence of

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Stopping Blood Thinners Raises Stroke Risk for Patients With Irregular Heartbeat

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