New data suggest that an older woman's risk of dying from heart disease may be linked to the number of family and social relationships she has.

Among 503 women with symptoms of coronary artery disease at the study's start, those with few personal contacts were more than twice as likely to die over the next two to four years as women with more social ties.

According to the researchers, the findings should encourage doctors to consider social and economic factors when treating a woman with suspected heart disease, since each may affect her future health "as powerfully" as traditional heart risk factors.

Even having a dog or cat could help, they added, noting that research has shown that pets may help ease stress and lower blood pressure.

Keeping Tabs on B/P

• Magnesium has shown some blood pressure-lowering effects in a number of research studies. Some cardiologists regularly prescribe magnesium supplements to their patients who have high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor.

• New data suggest one way to keep blood pressure in check is to consume at least 800 micrograms of folic acid each day through foods or supplements.

• Avoid salt. Read food labels carefully and check your medicine cabinet--Alka-Seltzer, Aleve, and most antacids contain forms of sodium.

Sensors Monitor Stroke Risk

New experimental sensors may help monitor cardiovascular health to warn of impending rupture or stroke in the body's blood vessels.

U.S. medical electronics makers Medtronic and Philips, along with major healthcare and communications companies, are developing a portable heart monitor to use sensors--woven into underwear--that connect to a chip module. The module then monitors the signal to warn patients before they suffer a stroke.

The system would continuously monitor heart and breathing patterns to track the individual's fitness and stress levels, as well as sleep habits. Software would help motivate patients to become more active and lose weight, if needed.

Promoting Healthy Arteries

Researchers at the University of California say that some drugs used to reduce triglycerides and to improve insulin resistance apparently also prevent cholesterol accumulation in arterial lesions by up to 70 percent.

The prescription medicines, including Actos and Avandia, work by activating proteins called peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors, or PPARs. These proteins are active in the arterial wall and help prevent cholesterol from building up.

The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Hats Off to Ohio: AEDs in Schools

Legislation signed last year by Ohio Governor Bob Taft provides funds to equip the state's schools with lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs). An amendment to Ohio House Bill 434 makes available $2.5 million generated from the tobacco settlement to launch the important initiative.

"Every school day, 20 percent of our adult and child population is in Ohio schools. The lives saved by these devices may be those of parents, teachers, grandparents or coaches," said Dr. Terry Gordon, a cardiologist at the Akron General Medical Center and a leading advocate for the school AED program.

For more information about the Ohio schools AED Program, call 1-888-644-6233. To launch an AED program in your neighborhood, visit www.neighborhood-heart-watch.org.