Heart Friendly Cities

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn., is the top heart-friendly city and Nashville the least heart-friendly, American Heart Association officials say.

The study, conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces, lists the nation's 10 most- and least-heart friendly cities for women analyzed 22 factors for each location, including cardiac mortality rates for women, smoking, hypertension rates, obesity, cardiac mortality rate and regular exercise amongst women.

Nashville finished at the bottom of the rankings with high obesity and smoking rates.

The study's other heart-friendly cities are: Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Va.; San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland, Calif.; Denver-Aurora, Colo.; Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.; Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.; San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.; and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.

The other least heart-friendly cities are: St. Louis; Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.; Pittsburgh; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas.; Columbus; Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio; Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.; Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio; and Indianapolis.

Regardless of where activity falls on the list, cardiovascular disease is the top killer of women in all 50 states -- killing about 460,000 women nationwide per year, or roughly one woman per minute.

However, heart disease is largely preventable by eating a heart-friendly diet, regular physical activity, and tracking blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and weight, American Heart Association officials say.

Alcoholism: Not Just For Men Anymore

There is a substantial increase in drinking and alcohol dependence among U.S. women, particularly white and Hispanic women, born after 1945.

The researchers examined two large, national surveys and compared lifetime prevalence rates from the same age groups and demographics, while simultaneously controlling for age-related factors.

Richard A. Grucza, an epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicated that by looking at two cross-sectional surveys that asked the same questions in the same manner but were conducted 10 years apart, the researchers were able to compare, those age 30 to 40 years in 2001 with those 30 to 40 in 1991.

The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that for women born after World War II, there are lower levels of abstaining from alcohol and higher levels of alcohol dependence but there was no significant tendency for more recently born men to have lower levels of abstention or higher levels of alcohol dependence.

Grucza said the findings are probably due to higher levels of alcohol problems among women, while men have been more or less steady in their levels of dependence.

Large Lumbar Belts May Not Be Helpful

Those large belts people wear when they lift or carry heavy objects aren't that useful in preventing back pain, a Dutch review found.

Lead author Ingrid van Duijvenbode of the Amsterdam School for Health Professionals in the Netherlands said although many people use lumbar supports to bolster the back muscles, they are no more effective than lifting education -- or no treatment whatsoever -- in preventing related pain or reducing disability in those who suffer from the condition.

Van Duijvenbode and colleagues looked at 15 studies -- seven prevention and eight treatment studies -- that involved more than 15,000 people.

The review, published in The Cochrane Library, found little or no difference between people who used supports and their peers who didn't.

"There is moderate evidence that lumbar supports do not prevent low back pain or sick leave more effectively than no intervention or education on lifting techniques in preventing long-term low back pain," Van Duijvenbode said in a statement. "There is conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of lumbar supports as treatment compared to no intervention or other interventions."