Artificially Sweetened Beverages and the Risk of Stroke and Dementia

I’m often asked which is worse for health, sugar- or artificially sweetened beverages. My most common response is to recommend skipping both and choose water. In the era of fructose phobia and the apparent association between high fructose consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, many tend to prefer artificially sweetened beverages (1,2). … Read more

17 Important Causes of Chest Pain

Chest pain

Chest pain is a common symptom associated with a variety of underlying causes. More than six million people visit hospital emergency departments in the United States each year because of chest pain (1). The cause of chest pain may vary from life-threatening conditions to those that are relatively harmless. Chest pain is most commonly caused by … Read more

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) – From Symptoms to Diagnosis and Treatment

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder among women. It is characterized by menstrual irregularities, infertility, signs of androgen excess, and polycystic ovaries. It is often associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and lipid abnormalities. PCOS is the most common cause of infertility in women (1). PCOS was first described in 1934 by Irving F. Stein … Read more

Evolocumab (Repatha) for Heart Disease – The FOURIER Trial – Success or Failure?

The eagerly awaited results of the FOURIER trial were recently presented at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in Washington DC and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1). The goal of FOURIER was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of evolocumab (Repatha), a PCSK9 inhibitor, among subjects with elevated risk … Read more

Carbs, Fats and Heart Disease – Time For a Reappraisal Following the PURE Study

Recently many of us were provided an opportunity to watch a highly interesting video on the internet covering a talk given by Dr. Salim Yusuf at a recent Cardiology Update meeting. Dr. Yusuf is the Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease at McMaster University Medical School in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and current President of … Read more