“When I say I have a new life and new heart, I mean it.”

My father died of a heart attack when he was 52. Like my father, my mother also suffered from heart disease. She had angina (chest pain) but was misdiagnosed. In 1989, she had a triple-bypass and died the next morning, a few hours after surgery. She was 62 years old.

It took nearly two years before I was “officially” told that I had congestive heart failure.  I too, had been misdiagnosed until I was nearly 40 years of age. Read the full story

You know the scene. Unable to breathe, a man, usually middle-aged, clutches his chest and keels over. Often referred to as the “hollywood heart attack”–most people recognize crushing pain or pressure in the chest as a sign of a heart attack. But for women, heart attack symptoms can be far less dramatic than those depicted in the movies.

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Who says soul food can’t be healthy? You can satisfy your love for soul food and be mindful of your health with the American Stroke Association’s The Best of Healthy Soul Food Recipes cookbook. Read the full story

When it comes to finding the best way to lose weight, it all comes down to individual preferences and metabolic needs. That’s the finding of a new study comparing three popular weight loss diets, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. But the results of the study won’t stop the diet wars from raging on. Read the full story

Often praised for its health-enhancing properties, a new study is providing more evidence that a daily cup of green tea may lead to a healthier heart.

The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the Athens Medical School in Greece, shows that drinking tea improves blood flow and expands arteries, making it easier for the heart to pump blood. Read the full story

Think you live in a heart healthy city? The results of a recent study may surprise you. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, in association with Sperlings BestPlaces, ranked the best and worst heart health cities for women. Read the full story