People who suffer a heart attack or have severe coronary heart disease, could also be suffering from unrecognized diabetes according to new research.

Dr. Darcy Green Conaway told Reuters Health that "the majority of patients" who are seen in emergency rooms with a heart attack or heart-related chest pain "have impaired glucose metabolism," and this represents an opportunity for doctors to intervene. "Only once we recognize what we are missing can we then improve it

People who suffer a heart attack or have severe coronary heart disease, could also be suffering from unrecognized diabetes according to new research.

Dr. Darcy Green Conaway told Reuters Health that "the majority of patients" who are seen in emergency rooms with a heart attack or heart-related chest pain "have impaired glucose metabolism," and this represents an opportunity for doctors to intervene. "Only once we recognize what we are missing can we then improve it

Coretta Scott King's family is optimistic she will make a full recovery from a minor heart attack and a major stroke that impaired her ability to speak and affected her right side.

Says her daughter, Yolanda King, "We are completely assured she will come to a complete recovery

Alzheimer's disease affects roughly 5 million Americans and in some cases the neurological disorder may be preceded by an ailment dubbed "mild cognitive impairment. Though some researchers are skeptical that MCI, which represents progressive loss of memory, is even a real disorder. "MCI is an arbitrary category on the continuum of cognitive aging," said Dr. Peter Whitehouse of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Whitehouse reminds us of previous misunderstood phenomena mistaken for illnesses. "Remember, homosexuality and hysteria used to be diseases - and do not forget 'drapetomania,' the pre-Civil War disease that caused slaves to run away." Criticism of MCI highly rose after a New England Journal of Medicine publication about Aricept, a drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease symptoms, showed that Aricept slows the aggression of Alzheimer's. Researchers believe Aricept, also given to patients showing signs of MCI, delays diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease by one year. The is no test that can accurately make an MCI diagnosis, only detailed patient histories, along with specific cognitive and psychological testing, can assist physicians when diagnosing MCI. The controversy over the term MCI derives from its broad use. Some feel the term is too inclusive and they could possibly diagnose persons experiencing normal mental decline due to aging. Some experts feel that early diagnosis is the last thing on the drug companies mind. "MCI is a marketing tool for drug companies," said Dr. Thomas Finucane, professor of geriatric medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "They are taking advantage of the despair and heartbreak of caregivers who love family members with Alzheimer's, and selling billions of dollars worth of drugs that have no meaningful effect," Finucane said. Despite the critics, the Aricept study and MCI description is favorable considering the dramatic results of delaying the onset of Alzheimer's. "Saying all people with MCI in all studies around the world should be treated is incorrect," said study author Dr. Rachelle Doody, professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "What we did in this study was define a subtype of MCI - the ones that are to become Alzheimer's patients

U.S. researchers have found vision impairment in some patients who use Viagra (sildenafil) for erectile dysfunction. A new study in the Journal of Neuro-Opthamology describes seven people developing nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropath (NAION), an eye ailment that sometimes results in blindness. Including other studies, as many as fourteen people have been affected by NAION after using Viagra. Doctors say vision loss is among the most serious side effects exhibited by patients, but is rare. Most patients exhibit signs such a blurred vision within 24-hours. Researchers say all of the patients had additional risk factors, including her disease and high blood pressure. Many also had high cholesterol levels as well, while others had preexisting eye conditions. Researchers say it's still to soon to acknowledge a cause and effect relationship between sildenafil and NAION, but patients should be cautious