Women who smoke are more likely to develop heart attacks at a much earlier age than non-smoking women, a Norwegian study has found. An average smoker can expect to have a heart attack around the age of 66 - although it can occur at a much younger age for some women, the study said.

The latest study looked at almost 1,800 patients admitted to Lillehammer Hospital, Norway, for a first heart attack from which they recovered and were discharged, or died in hospital between 1998 and 2005. About one in three patients were women, ranging in age from 27 years to 103 year

Patients with cardiovascular diseases are better off getting bypass surgery rather than drug stents, according to results of a major clinical study on Monday.

The trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, Germany, showed that the safety of the two treatments is comparable in the rates of death and heart attacks after 12 months. However, patients who have angioplasties are twice as likely to require another procedure within a year, it said

Alberta health officials confirmed Saturday Canada's 10th fatality related to the national listeriosis outbreak. The outbreak was connected to a Maple Leaf Foods Toronto plant meat recall over the past week.

Reports identified Kristen Woboditsch, 36, who died in a Grande Prairie hospital Aug. 14 after being infected by the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium in her blood and brain

- Health officials in Oklahoma are investigation the cause of a lethal E. coli outbreak that has left one man dead and many others seriously ill.

One hundred and sixteen people are reported to have contracted the severe form of E. coli. More than 50 were hospitalized, and nine people, including six children, have had to undergo dialysis

High-dose olive leaf extract significantly reduces high blood pressure, a new study has found. Researchers in Germany and Switzerland conducted their research on sets of identical human twins with borderline hypertension.

Cem Aydogan of Frutarom Health and colleagues conducted a pilot trial with 20 identical twin pairs who had increased blood pressure, or mild hypertension. Individuals were either given placebo capsules or capsules containing doses of 500 mg or 1,000 mg of olive leaf extract EFLA 943