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Women who breastfeed longer have a lower risk of heart attacks, stroke and cardiovascular disease, according to new research.

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh found that post-menopausal women who breastfed for more than a year were ten per cent less likely to suffer from these conditions than those who had never breastfed.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, according to Dr Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, who conducted the research published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

"We have known for years that breastfeeding is important for babies’ health; we now know that it is important for mothers’ health as well," she added.

An average of 35 years had passed since the 139,681 women enrolled on the study had breastfed, suggesting that the health benefits were long term.

The Department of Health recommends all mothers breastfeed for the first six months after their baby is born to protect the newborn against various infections, asthma and obesity.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions.

Patients with heart disease who are diagnosed with depression are at greater risk of heart failure, new research suggests.

The study, due to be published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also found that taking antidepressant medication did not reduce this risk.

People with depression and coronary artery disease (CAD) were twice as likely to suffer from heart failure – a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body.

Dr Heidi May, epidemiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah, said the findings show that depression is an important and emerging risk factor for heart failure in patients with CAD.

"It may be important for clinicians to keep in mind that although a patient’s depressive symptoms may improve, the risk for harmful cardiovascular outcomes related to depression might not," she added.

CAD kills more than 110,000 people in the UK every year, making it the nation’s biggest killer.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions.

New research suggests that heart cells are renewed over the course of a lifetime and that people are not limited to the number they are born with.

The researchers estimated that a 20-year-old person renews about one per cent of their heart muscle cells per year, meaning that a 50-year-old only has about half the heart cells they were born with.

It is hoped that this renewal process could one day be exploited to treat people with damaged hearts and possibly even reduce the need for transplants.

Study co-author Jonas Frisen, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, told Science News: "The dream scenario would be after a heart attack, we have a drug to take to increase heart cells."

Heart disease life insurance may become easier to obtain if such a breakthrough were to become reality.

The findings contradict the long-standing belief that a person is born with the same heart cells they die with and that no new ones are made during their life.

Approximately six in every 1,000 UK men aged between 30 and 69 have a heart attack each year and men are three times more likely to suffer one than women, according to NHS figures.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions.

Diabetes and heart disease may be linked to a low weight at birth, new research suggests.

The study, which followed over 5,000 babies from birth to adulthood, found that those with a low birth weight had higher levels of white blood cells in adulthood.

White blood cells are an indicator of inflammation, which is a normal response of the immune system.

However, if inflammation persists over a period of time, it can promote the development of diabetes and heart disease.

Lead researcher Dr Dexter Canoy, from Manchester University’s school of community-based medicine, said: "Our findings suggest that the link between poorer growth early in life and these adult chronic diseases may involve inflammation as a common underlying factor."

He added that ensuring appropriate growth after birth may result in long-term health benefits for low-weight babies.

Babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) are considered low birth weight, which accounts for about 4.6 per cent of live births in the UK.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with diabetes.

High levels of germs commonly found in the mouth could be linked to an increased risk of heart attack, a new study suggests.

Scientists studied levels of bacteria in the mouths of people who had suffered a heart attack and compared them with healthy individuals.

It was discovered that two particular species of pathogen had a significant association with an increased risk of heart attack.

The research, conducted at the University of Buffalo, is the latest in a number of studies to connect organisms that cause gum disease with the development of heart disease.

Researcher Dr Oelisoa Andriankaja, who conducted the study, said: "The message here is that even though some specific periodontal pathogens have been found to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, the total bacterial pathogenic burden is more important than the type of bacteria."

This may be important news for people seeking heart conditions life insurance, as it suggests that improving oral health could reduce your risk of a heart attack.

A previous study, outlined in the Journal of Perindontology, showed that 91 per cent of patients who suffered a heart attack had periodontitis (gum disease), compared with 61 per cent of healthy individuals.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions.

A single pill that contains five drugs could protect against heart attacks and stroke, a study suggests.

It is thought the polypill could reduce heart disease by 62 per cent and stroke by 48 per cent, according to the study published in the Lancet this week.

The pill tested is called Polycap and contains a cocktail of a statin, aspirin and three blood pressure drugs usually prescribed individually to people with, or at risk of, heart disease.

Principal investigator Dr Salim Yusuf, from McMaster University in Ontario, said: "The thought that people might be able to take a single pill to reduce multiple cardiovascular risk factors has generated a lot of excitement; it would certainly revolutionise heart disease prevention as we know it."

A previous study suggested that if everyone over the age of 55 and everyone with cardiovascular disease took such a pill, it would reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease by over 80 per cent, and largely prevent heart attacks and stroke.

However, opposition to a ‘one-pill-fits-all’ strategy has come from critics, who disagree with the idea of taking drugs to prevent heart conditions over maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

One in three adults in the UK has high blood pressure, according to the charity Blood Pressure UK, which is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

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Health ‘MOTs’ that could save hundreds of lives a year will be offered to all over 40s in the UK from this week.

The national programme of NHS health checks should reduce heart attacks, strokes and diabetes as part of a drive towards a more preventative health service.

Everyone aged 40 to 74 will be invited for the check-up, which was announced by the health secretary Alan Johnson over the weekend.

Speaking about the programme, Mr Johnson said: "The national programme of Health Checks could save 650 lives a year and reduce the health inequalities that blight the lives of the country’s most deprived families."

The checks will include asking general questions about the patient’s lifestyle, taking height and weight measurements and a blood sample.

Doctors will then make recommendations to the patient on what can be done to reduce their risk of a number of diseases.

Mostly the checks will be run from GP surgeries, pharmacies and walk-in health centres but could also be offered in supermarkets.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with medical conditions.

Anergia – the fatigue suffered by heart failure patients – needs to be further examined, scientists have claimed.

The condition currently affects nearly 40 per cent of older adults with heart failure, but a study published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure revealed that it is often overlooked as a symptom of old age.

Scientists at the Columbia University Medical Centre believe that studying anergia - which can have long-term implications - may provide evidence for the potential benefits of fatigue treatment in heart failure patients

Mathew Maurer, senior study author, said: "The overall goal of our current research efforts is to develop methods to evaluate and assess the causal or contributing factors of anergia in order to develop interventions to decrease morbidity and mortality due to this syndrome."

It recently emerged that researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of stroke patients by inserting ‘tiny scaffolding’ into damaged brain tissue.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions

Young men who suffer from impotence are at a substantially higher risk of developing heart disease than those with no history of erectile dysfunction, according to a new study.

Recent research in the US - which is published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings - indicated that men with such a problem are at an 80 per cent elevated risk of heart disease.

According to the findings, the risk of heart disease increased twofold if erectile dysfunction occurs between the ages of 40 and 49.

"The highest risk for coronary heart disease was in younger men," said Dr Jennifer St Sauver.

"In older men, erectile dysfunction may be of less prognostic importance for development of future heart disease."

Scientists believe the link could be due to the build-up of plaque that blocks the arteries around the heart and the smaller penile arteries.

It was recently reported that MRI scans could soon be used to identify who is at risk of heart attacks.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions

MRI scans could soon be used to identify who is at risk of heart attacks, it has been claimed.

Heart attacks are often caused by plaques made of immune cells and cholesterol that build up inside the arteries.

Currently, the only way to monitor this is by using an invasive probe that may actually cause cardiac arrest by rupturing a plaque, reports the New Scientist.

However, Simon Robinson of Lantheus Medical Imaging in North Billerica, Massachusetts, and his colleagues believe they have found a way of improving the resolution of an MRI scan to make it suitable for such tests.

"If you’ve got a plaque developing, you’ll see a brighter, thicker region," Mr Robinson explained.

Radiologist Mohammed Hamady of St Mary’s Hospital in London said there is an "enormous need" for new ways of examining these plaques.

Meanwhile, a recent study in the US noted that sleep apnea can cause strokes by decreasing blood flow to the brain.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with heart conditions