If we each cut one gram of salt from our diet each day, there would be about 250,000 fewer cases of heart disease and 200,000 fewer heart-disease-related deaths every 10 years, say researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. Americans consume 9 to 12 grams of salt a day—much of it from processed foods. That’s far more than the American Heart Association’s recommendation of less than 2.3 grams a day. Researchers used the computer simulation Coronary Heart Disease Policy Model to estimate how reducing salt intake by 0 to 6 grams would affect heart disease and heart disease deaths. If Americans slashed six grams a day, there would be 1.4 million fewer cases of heart disease and 1.1 million fewer deaths.

Watch out for deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is often associated with long airline flights. But that’s not the only thing that can trigger the deadly blood clots in the legs. You’re at higher risk of developing the condition if you:
• have cancer
• are over age 60
• live in a nursing home
• take menopausal hormone therapy
• are pregnant
• gave birth recently
• have a family history of DVT
• are obese
When you have DVT, a blood clot can break free and block a lung artery, which often proves fatal. Plane rides lasting longer than six hours can trigger DVT, as can hospitalization, trauma or a fracture in the leg or pelvic area and major surgery on the hip, knee or pelvis. Symptoms often don’t appear till DVT has progressed, but the condition may cause swelling in the ankle (usually just one leg), leg pain and redness and warmth over the affected area, along with a fever. If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor immediately.

Super-sizing your stroke risk
It’s not a lovely day in your neighborhood if your block is packed with fast-food eateries. That’s because the risk of stroke increases with each of these restaurants, say researchers presenting at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference. Here’s what they found:
• Residents who lived in neighborhoods with the highest number of fast-food restaurants had a 13 percent higher relative risk of suffering ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke. It occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot.
• The relative risk of stroke increased 1 percent for each fast-food restaurant in the neighborhood.
Researchers don’t know if fast-food restaurants raise stroke risks, or if the eateries are just more apt to pop up in unhealthy neighborhoods. However, they stress that it’s these areas that need to be targeted for stroke prevention.

Preschoolers and heart disease

It’s never too early to start thinking about heart disease prevention. According to researchers looking at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, children as young as age 3 can start to show signs of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease. The study looked at more than 3,000 children ages 3 to 6 and found that those with a high body mass index (BMI) and large waist circumference were more likely to have heart disease warning signs: elevated levels of C-reactive protein (an inflammation marker) and lower levels of good cholesterol than normal-weight children. The study makes a case for careful monitoring of BMI and waist circumference, and intervention in children whose numbers are on the rise. Almost a quarter of American kids ages 2 to 5 and a third of children ages 6 to 11 are overweight. Another 12 percent of those ages 2 to 5 and 17 percent of those ages 6 to 11 are obese.