So The Cardio Blog is going into retirement, and since is this is my last post I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading! It's been a blast writing and reading and learning about the importance of taking care of ourselves and our heart health specifically, and of course I encourage you all to continue doing so. There are countless great resources online (even though we were voted #1!) and I thought I'd share a few that I personally like and plan to stay in touch with:

Hi readers, just a quick note to let you know that MyHeartCentral has listed us, the Cardio Blog, as their number 1 source for daily news and information on heart health, which is truly excellent news and I can assure you, we are certainly flattered. Of course, there are so many great sources of information out there for those who want to get healthy or stay healthy, so we are honoured to take the top spot. But we can't take all the credit. We get inspiration from lots of sources, including

• That's Fit, our sister site.
• AOL's awesome healthy-heart resources
• Personal blogs like one of my favourites, Cranky Fitness
• And of course, our readers.
  

For a list of more great heart-healthy blogs, check out the other top sites on MyHeartCentral.

There are some snippets in life that are absolutely paralyzing. One of those moments is watching a medical person's lips move up and down as he/she delivers the news that you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a heart defect or an illness. As your life turns upside down within a few seconds, you might wonder, "Why me? Why us?".

If this is the case for you or family, you are not alone. There are often support groups for many healthy issues. Or there are blogs that feature everything from eating tips to forums to share news and ideas with other people or families in your same position.

I wish I had known about these sorts of sites when my son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect shortly after his birth. I still recall the awful feeling of being alone and scared and without the answers I needed. Blogs offer the sort of information that families seek in an easily understood manner.

Young Americans, average age 21 -- seem to have a problem with caffeine -- used for feelings of euphoria or just to stay awake. We're not talking cola or coffee, either. Taken to hospital for chest pains and heart palpitations, young adults on caffeine pills and energy supplements containing caffeine rarely think of the health hazards of these drugs. That's because they view caffeine as a FOOD not a DRUG -- and they end up in the ER since doctors rarely think to ask about caffeine supplements.

A review of Illinois Poison Center records revealed over 250 cases of medical complications due to caffeine overdose. Twelve percent of those cases required hospitalization. Hey kids, I know you need to stay up for that mid-term, but let's smart about it, eh?

For obese teens, regularly scheduled exercise -- at least 90 minutes, three times a week -- not only helps shed extra pounds, but also improves the health of their arteries. They need your help to get motivated -- that and low perseverance are two of the biggest obstacles for obese teens in sticking to their routines.

"Atherosclerosis - also referred to as hardening of the arteries -- starts during childhood in the presence of such risk factors as obesity and sedentary lifestyle," said Dr. Andreas Alexander Meyer, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Rostock Children's Hospital in Germany.

At the beginning of a recent study of the effects of regular exercise on preventing heart disease in obese teens, most already had visible signs of artery hardening and thickening of the arterial lining. After six months of exercising at least one hour or more, three times a week, not only had these teens lost significant weight -- the flexibility of their arteries returned, the excess arterial lining shrunk, and their cholesterol and blood pressure levels reduced. Hooray for exercise!

The latest reports have us informed of the links between obesity and sleep loss -- which could end up being a factor for heart disease later in life. Sleep is something everyone needs to realize is much more important than we give credit to -- especially women who are particularly prone to heart disease later in life, without appropriate lifestyle prevention measures.

Lo and behold, over half of American mothers don't get enough sleep. A recent survey revealed full-time working moms get the least sleep -- six hours on a good night. Stay-at-home moms only fare about 10 percent better -- 48 percent reported inadequate amounts of sleep. Stress can lead to insomnia, especially if moms lying in bed unable to sleep are obsessing over money, time, tasks, and family issues.

Moms surveyed said they felt they would be better parents -- and happier people -- if they got more rest. Experts recommend moms follow a strict sleep routine for themselves -- hopefully just as they would for their own child. Try going to bed at a regularly scheduled time, read yourself a story and tuck yourself into your calm, comfortable sleeping place.

A new emergency room test could save time and lives with a 15 second scan called a multi detector computed tomography (MDCT) -- which determines whether ER patients with chest pains are associated with actual heart problems or not. The MDCT allows doctors to see where plaque has built up in coronary arteries. A telltale sign of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) -- associated with chest pains -- plaque build-up makes the arteries narrow and hard, which can lead to a heart attack. This new test would relieve chest pain experiencing patients who don't have actual heart problems from lengthy waits and high anxiety -- and at the same time allow doctors to tend to patients in more urgent need of care.

As women get older, it is common to gain weight. The metabolism slows, physical activity lacks, and diets get heavy. These combinations spell out heart disease. According to a new Danish report, women who steer clear of simple carbs and stick with high fiber foods tend to stay slimmer as the years go on.

Over a period of six years, normal-weight women whose diet was higher on the glycemic index -- meaning higher consumption of blood sugar spiking foods like candy and white bread -- packed on more abdominal fat than women whose diets were low glycemic -- consisting of lots of high fiber vegetable and complex carb whole grains.

High glycemic diets also make you feel hungry quicker, prompting you to fill up faster on more empty calories. The study also noted that the results were worst for women who lead sedentary lifestyles -- reminding us that physical exercise is one of the best preventative measures against weight gain.

Coinciding with Mondays New York court hearing on the ban of trans fat use in restaurants, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) announced that all 5,500 of it's U.S. fried-chicken chains will stop using oils containing trans fat by April 2007. In addition, the Yum Brands Inc. company will also switch oils in all of its 786 Canadian fast food chains as well.

After a two-years of testing a variety of cooking oils, KFC chose linolenic soybean oil, which contains zero trans fat. Joining the ranks of trans-fat banning hamburger chain Wendy's, KFC is still ahead of McDonald's -- who after two years of promises still can't find the right replacement oil and still uses trans fatty oils. In China and other parts of the world, KFC fast food chains already use healthier cooking oils.

The recent discovery of a substance that can block sperm production without changing a mans testosterone levels could mean a new contraceptive male Pill available in the next few years -- one without the emotional and physical side effects experienced by the millions of women taking birth control pills everyday.

It works like this: a sustance called adherin blocks immature sperm from bonding with the tissue in the testes which prevents their development into mature, fertilization-capable sperm. In effect, it renders the male infertile -- although once the contraceptives use is discontinued, sperm production returns to normal in as little as three months.

After extensive testing, scientists found the male contraceptive had no adverse side effects on any vital organ, including the heart. For women over 35 taking hormonal contraceptives, they run the risk of heart attack from the formation of blood clots. A survey from the 2000 British Medical Journal found that only 2 percent of women wouldn't trust their partner to take a contraceptive pill.

"We're all starting to look like Mr. Potato Head," said Howard Weintraub of New York University Medical Center -- at yesterdays court hearing on banning the use of trans fat in NY restaurants. Artificial trans fats -- found in frying oils, processed foods and baked goods -- are major contributors to the nations rising obesity and heart disease epidemic.

If the ban goes through in December, local restaurants will have six months to reduce all trans fat levels in their products to less than 0.5 grams per serving -- a landmark step in the battle to prevent U.S. obesity. Sixty percent of Americans are overweight and 30 percent are obese. French fries are the top vegetable consumed by children 18 to 24 months old -- and are among the highest in trans fat content. Who wonders how the nations children got so fat?

There is some minor protest from the areas restaurant association, which claims it doesn't feel a ban is necessary. They had a year to change their ways -- and no one did a darn thing. Audrey Silk, founder of NYC citizens lobbying against smoker harassment, expressed cynicism against the argument that French fries could be bad for your health, despite the evidence. She claims the city is acting as though "a plate of French fries is like a bullet to the heart." Hey -- no ones putting a french fry to your head, honey.

In renewed efforts to curb teen smoking, Hollywood veterans Bob and Harvey Weinstein plan to include anti-smoking ads on all DVDs of films that include images of people smoking. One of the greatest -- and most preventable -- risk factors for heart disease, smoking appears in 75 percent of youth-rated films and 90 percent of R-rated films. Thirty-eight percent of all teen smoking can be traced back to the influence of these depictions.

"These messages will fight false film images of healthy and hip smokers with the real hard truth of addiction and disease," announced Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal regarding the agreement. One year ago, 32 state attorney generals petitioned Hollywood's major movie studios to include anti-smoking ads on home entertainment products. Last month, free anti-smoking ads poured into Weinstein's offices from 41 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and two U.S. territories.

Advice on eating seafood the past few months -- especially concerning fish like tuna -- sounded a little like this: "Eat the fish. No, don't eat the fish -- no! eat the fish! wait! don't eat the fish!"

In reality, it's easy to simplify -- the guidelines for healthy fish consumption are different for everyone.

The latest report from the committee of the Institute of Medicine, National Academies, recommends two or more weekly three-ounce servings of a variety of fish (to avoid possible contamination through over-exposure to one type of fish) for adults and teens.

Those who are concerned with their heart health can benefit from eating fatty fish such as salmon for the extra protective omega-3s. For women of child-bearing age and children under age 13, only two three-ounce servings a week are safe -- however large predatory fish such as king mackerel, swordfish and shark, as well as albacore tuna, should be avoided due to their high mercury content.

New energy-creating techniques are necessary to stop global warming in it's tracks -- and the richer countries are asked by the developing nations for instruction and advice. The greater the temperature and air pollution, the higher the rate of heart attacks, report recent studies. With help from those with more power, these rates will fall -- as the quality of the environment raises for everyone.

Renewable energy sources can be found sprouting up around the world -- from windmills in China and Holland, to geothermal generators in Kenya, to solar generators in Sri Lanka -- supplying 4 percent of the worlds electricity. However, by the year 2030, two-thirds of the energy demand will be coming from developing countries busy with transport -- and gas, oil and coal may still dominate by 83 percent, project experts.

While the 20 major players in pollution scramble to clean up their act before the 2 degree Celsius temperature rise hits worldwide -- the Global Environment Facility has saved up over $3 billion to support the spread of renewable energy sources the world over.

Former President Gerald Ford, 93, was released from hospital after four days of undeclared medical testing. His son, Steven Ford, called his father's heart issues normal for a man his age -- he is the oldest living former U.S. president.

This was the fourth time Ford has been admitted to the hospital this year. Over the summer he had a pacemaker put in, and was admitted once for shortness of breath. In August, Ford received angioplasty surgery to increase blood flow through two of his coronary arteries at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic -- over half-way across the country from his home in Rancho Mirage, California.