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Late last year, Statistics Canada released new figures detailing the leading causes of death in the country. Based on 2007 data, the report noted that cancer and heart disease were the two leading causes of death for Canadians, and these were responsible for slightly more than one-half (51 per cent)

Thirty-one years ago, it was not known that the heart produces hormones. That changed in 1981 when Adolfo de Bold, PhD, discovered that muscle cells in the atria of the heart secrete atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), an essential hormone that regulates fluid volume, blood pressure and sodium. Since

UOHI researchers have identified a stretch in the DNA sequence that increases risk of heart disease by up to 40 per cent regardless of other established risks such as cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes. The discovery could help identify people at high future risk for heart disease, enabling