A study where a group of 201 African-Americans with narrowing of the arteries were told to take up lifestyle changes or transcendental meditation twice a day for 20 minutes “significantly” reduced heart disease, the BBC reports. The story is based on findings reported at a five-day scientific meeting of the American Heart Association where the latest heart research is being presented.Among other findings reported Monday 16 November: biotech soybeans may prove to be a good alternative to fish oil as a source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and from another study, a telephone-based collaborative care programme speeds recovery and  helps coronary bypass patients avoid depression.

Links to other sites: AHA and AHA Science News congress, BBC,

For the heart, better up than down: the Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva

Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Researchers at the University of Zurich, in a study of 1.6 million German-speaking Swiss people over a 10-year period, confirm that the risk of having a heart attack or stroke is dramatically lower if you live above 1,000 metres, and that climate is probably a key factor. Previous studies have provided conflicting results, in part because of the mixed populations studied, say authors David Faeh, Felix Gutzwiller and Matthias Bopp for the Swiss National Study Cohort Group.

The people with the lowest risk are those born at high altitude who continue to live there, their study shows.

The risk of coronary heart disease falls by 22 percent for each 1,000 metres of altitude and the risk of stroke drops by 12 percent per 1,000m. The study included men and women ages 40 to 84, who lived at altitudes ranging from 259 metres to 1960m.

American Heart Association, 28 July 2009