The lesser known sister of coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) involves clogging of the arteries around the body -- often in the legs. The two conditions often go hand in hand, but researchers have recently reported that, of the two, patients with PAD often fare worse.

Researchers based their findings on comparisons of CAD patients who underwent coronary angioplasty and PAD patients who underwent a variety of surgical interventions such as abdominal aortic surgery and lower limb reconstruction. The annual mortality rate for PAD patients was 5.7% -- 2.7% higher that than for CAD patients.

Researchers state that PAD patients are less likely to receive medication for their condition. The undertreatment could be the cause of the higher mortality rate.

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Recent research shows that the anniversary of a parent's death can trigger sudden death, particularly for men. Researchers think the mental stress from the anniversary of the event may induce sudden death in people that are prone to heart failure. People at risk will likely have a family history of heart attack, sudden death, and/or coronary disease. Other risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, or a sedentary lifestyle.

Researchers evaluated 102 sudden deaths of people between 37 and 79 years old. 70% of those people died from coronary artery disease. 12% of the people died on the anniversary of a parent's death. 80% of those who died on an anniversary date were male.

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So many researchers studies, so little time.

That's sometimes how I feel when I sift through the scores of research articles on health and fitness. Some will tell you that XY and Z is healthy, while another will indicate that XY and Z are incredibly detrimental to your health. By this point, I've come to expect contradictory research, which is why I'm not surprised by the American Heart Association's recent findings that vitamin E is a poor antioxidant; having little effect on preventing coronary heart disease, stroke, or heart attack.

Again, typical of most research studies, a study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center revealed that high levels of vitamin E can help neutralize free radicals, which are dangerous chemicals produced naturally during metabolism. But, the dosage of vitamin E used in the Vanderbilt study were, as mentioned, very high (upwards of 3,200 IUs). To put that in perspective, long-term use of more than 400 IUs of of vitamin E has been linked to an increased risk of heart failure and premature death.

Doesn't anyone have any straight answers on anything?

Is a pretty strong statement when something like "the medical establishment is wrong about the underlying causes of coronary heart disease" is uttered. That's precisely what is being said here, though.

A roundup of supporting facts is hard to argue with, though. Since coronary heart disease has grown from rare to the top killer in the U.S., we have to ask: what has changed?

Dr. Thomas Levy thinks that a vitamin C deficiency (of all things) could be the cause of all coronary heart disease. This is a very interesting idea and one that is worth further reading I think.

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