Performing Surgery On A Beating HeartAs per a review of the latest clinical trials, coronary artery bypass surgery performed on a beating heart, without the aid of a heart-lung machine, is a safe option that leads to fewer negative side effects for bypass patients. This review is featured in Journal of Cardiac Surgery.
"Previously, it was more common for doctors to perform artery bypass surgery on the heart by stopping the heart and passing the blood through a heart-lung........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 3/23/2007 9:44:37 PM)
Apple consumers reap heart-healthApples may prove to be a winner when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, says a new study of more than 34,000 women. In this study, flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women, The findings were reported in the March 2007 American Journal of Clinical........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 3/15/2007 8:51:37 PM)
Adult Stem Cells For Heart Damage RepairThe University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is among the first medical centers in the country taking part in a novel clinical trial investigating if a subject's own stem cells can treat a form of severe coronary artery disease.
The trial, just underway at UW Hospital and Clinics, is enrolling subjects in the Autologous Cellular Therapy CD34-Chronic Myocardial Ischemia (ACT34-CMI) Trial. The first patient underwent the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 3/12/2007 8:52:00 PM)
Fruit Flies And Age-related Heart DiseaseLa Jolla, CA, February 26, 2007 -- The tiny Drosophila fruit fly may pave the way to new methods for studying and finding therapys for heart disease, the leading cause of death in industrialized countries, as per a collaborative study by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, UC San Diego (UCSD) and the University of Michigan.
The study reports that mutations in a molecular channel found in heart muscle cell membranes caused arrhythmias........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/26/2007 6:50:06 PM)
caffeinated beverages might prevent heart diseaseIntake of caffeine containing beverages on a regular basis may provides protection against heart disease mortality in the elderly, say researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Brooklyn College.
Using data from the first federal National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, the researchers found that survey participants 65 or more years old with higher caffeinated beverage intake exhibited lower........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/23/2007 5:00:36 AM)
predictor of mortality in cardiac patientsScientists at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn have determined that low levels of a protein in the blood is a predictor of cardiac death in patients with coronary artery disease.
In a group of men undergoing coronary angiography, low baseline levels of RANTES (Regulated upon Activation, Normal T-cell Expressed, and Secreted), also known as CCL5, were shown to be an independent predictor of cardiac mortality.
RANTES is a chemokine........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/20/2007 9:07:34 PM)
Simpler Way To Cure Atrial FibrillationPhysicians have an effective new option for treating atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heart rhythm that can cause stroke. Heart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed and tested a device that radically shortens and simplifies a complex surgical procedure that has had the best long-term cure rate for persistent atrial fibrillation.
The simplified procedure is termed Cox-maze IV, and the........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/12/2007 10:02:08 PM)
Patients with ICDs have less driving restrictionsPeople who receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) as a preventative measure don't need the same driving restrictions as people who get an ICD after surviving a life-threatening heart rhythm disturbance, as per an updated scientific statement.
The statement, issued by the American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society, is an addendum to "Personal and Public Safety Issues Correlation to Arrhythmias that May Affect........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/7/2007 8:51:03 PM)
Weight loss linked to CHFVarious reports have suggested that increased BMI in patients with HF or who are undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention or have established CAD may be linked to decreased mortality and morbidity. Pepine said this has been called the "obesity paradox".
In November, data were presented by researcher Stefan D. Anker, MD, PhD, professor for applied cachexia research, department of cardiology, Charite-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/5/2007 9:29:05 PM)
Teamwork For Chronic Heart FailureActive patient involvement during therapy of chronic heart failure, coupled with partnership with healthcare team members to provide care consistent with evidence-based guidelines, dramatically improves quality of care for chronic heart failure patients.
The study by scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, reported in the January........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/4/2007 9:16:25 PM)
Monitoring Patients Heart Daily at their HomeAn easy-to-use in home monitoring device for patients is changing the way doctors monitor the health of patients with implanted defibrillators. Rush University Medical Center is participating in a pilot study of the LATITUDE® Patient Management system to determine if the wireless home monitoring system can decrease hospitalizations for heart failure.
A mini-antenna built into the implanted defibrillator sends data to a wireless system........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 1/31/2007 8:28:09 PM)
Less Experienced Surgeons Perform New Techniques On Black PatientsThere is racial bias among cardiac surgeons, when it comes to using experimental off pump techniques in coronary artery bypass surgery. Less experienced surgeons tend to perform such procedures in Black patients until they gain confidence on these new techniques.
Writing in the Royal Society of Medicine's, Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, the findings are based on over 15,000 coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients in........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 1/11/2007 4:45:42 AM)
Diabetes, Heart Associations Align Fight Against Heart DiseaseIn a joint statement released recently, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American Heart Association (AHA) summarize the evidence supporting lifestyle and medical interventions that can help to prevent the development of heart disease in people with diabetes.
The statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association's clinical research journal Diabetes Care, outlines........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/28/2006 9:20:45 PM)
Cardiovascular Disease Kills One In ThreeCardiovascular disease (CVD) as an underlying cause of death accounted for more than one-third (36.3 percent) of all deaths in the United States in 2004, as per the most recent data from the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2007 Update. The Update will be available in the Dec. 29 online issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association at http://www.americanheart.org/statistics.
The Update........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/28/2006 9:14:13 PM)
Hypertension Start At Young AgeAt what age does hypertension starts showing up. I was thinking may be when you are age 50 or more, or may be when you are at age 40 or more. I was surprised to read this study. Who would believe that hypertension starts at age 10.
By age 10, some African American children already have high nighttime blood pressure according to latest research findings.
As they grow up, black children also show greater increases in nighttime blood........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/23/2006 9:17:35 AM)
Are Drug-eluting Stents Worth The Cost?Over the past 3 decades, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, or balloon angioplasty) has significantly changed the therapy of coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart muscle). Unlike the more invasive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, angioplasty is a nonsurgical procedure in which a tiny catheter with a balloon is inserted into the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated to push aside the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 4:37:51 AM)
Blood Pressure Control Improving In The USMore people, particularly the elderly, have their blood pressure under control as per a new study in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
While the prevalence of high blood pressure - the proportion of Americans with hypertension - was essentially unchanged from 26.8 percent in 1999-2000 to 29.3 percent in 2003-04, the overall rate of patients who had their hypertension controlled improved significantly, from 29.2 percent........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/15/2006 6:36:07 PM)
Don't Stop Those Statin PillsThousands of statin users worldwide are suffering preventable heart attacks, simply because they are not complying with their treatment or are taking too low a dose, according to new research published on-line in European Heart Journal.
These life-saving drugs, used to lower cholesterol levels in people at risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), can only be optimally effective if patients use them properly - and many are not.
That is the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:42:59 PM)
Height Loss And Heart DiseaseMen who lose 3 centimeters or more of height as they age have an increased risk of death and of coronary heart diseases events, as per a report in the December 11/25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Changes in bone, muscles and joints typically lead men and women to become shorter as they age, as per background information in the article. Eventhough a small amount of height loss is normal and........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:29:04 PM)
New Tool To Halt Atrial FibrillationClinical scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Health System are starting a trial utilizing a new mechanism to treat the heart when its electrical pulses essentially short-circuit, referred to as atrial fibrillation (A-Fib).
The biggest problem physicians run into with current therapies to cope with electrical rhythmic pumping problems in the heart, namely pulmonary vein isolation procedures, is that up until now, they've had to........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:11:35 PM)
|
|
Heart Failure And Death From StrokePeople with heart failure are twice as likely to die from a stroke as the general population, new research at Mayo Clinic has found.
A random sample of 630 patients with heart failure was identified over a 20-year period, from 1979 through 1999, in this community-based study. Stroke risk in heart failure was compared with the risk in the general population using standard morbidity ratios. In the 30 days following a heart failure diagnosis,........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 3/23/2007 9:49:53 PM)
Drinking Wine Keeps Women's Hearts BeatingDrinking wine, but not beer or spirits, keeps women's hearts beating healthily finds research in Heart.
Much of the research on the potential health benefits of alcohol has been done on men, and it is not yet clear exactly why moderate amounts of wine seems to be good for heart health.
The Swedish research team studied 102 women under the age of 75, all of whom had survived a heart attack or heart surgery for blocked arteries. All........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 3/23/2007 9:39:58 PM)
regenerating failing mouse heartsMayo Clinic scientists have safely transplanted cardiac preprogrammed embryonic stem cells into diseased hearts of mice successfully regenerating infarcted heart muscle without precipitating the growth of a malignant tumor -- which, so far, has impeded successful translation into practice of embryonic stem cell research.
The Mayo study is the first known report establishing a successful, tumor-resistant approach to growing new heart tissue........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/27/2007 9:33:27 PM)
Usefulness of cardiovascular disease test?Researchers with Dartmouth Medical School and the Veterans Affairs Outcomes Group at the White River Junction (Vt.) VA Medical Center are questioning the usefulness of the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test for guiding decisions about the use of cholesterol-lowering medication.
The researchers show that adding CRP testing to routine assessments would increase the number of Americans eligible for cholesterol-lowering treatment by about 2 million........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/26/2007 6:40:08 PM)
Cause Of Chronic DizzinessApproximately 9 million to 15 million people in the U.S. suffer from recurrent bouts of dizziness and 3 million experience symptoms of dizziness nearly every day. According to a paper that appears in the recent issue of Archives of OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) may have several common causes, including anxiety disorders,........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/20/2007 9:11:06 PM)
Yeast Yields Secrets Of Cholesterol And Drug MetabolismBy first probing the way primitive yeast make cholesterol, a team of scientists has discovered a long-sought protein whose human counterpart controls cholesterol production and potentially drug metabolism.
The collaborative study by scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Indiana University and Eli Lilly Co., was published in the recent issue of Cell Metabolism.
"Dap1 controls the activity of a........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/19/2007 8:54:32 PM)
Poor people worse off following heart attackPeople from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who suffer a heart attack come to the emergency department more often, are less likely to be treated aggressively and have higher mortality rates a year after the attack, says new University of Alberta research that has important implications for access to cardiac care.
Dr. Padma Kaul and a group of U of A scientists investigated 5622 patients in Alberta who went to a hospital emergency department........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/13/2007 9:30:44 PM)
New pacemaker lets docs check hearts from afarSoon, people with pacemakers won't need to drive to the hospital to give their doctors an update as to how their tickers are doing. The Latitude system is a new type of defibrillator that monitors a variety of stats, such as weight, blood pressure, and heart rate. Doctors can then request the data at any point without requiring a face-to-face appointment.
Sounds awesome, right? Yeah, I agree, but what about when your doctor can keep track of........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/5/2007 9:46:50 PM)
Women In Polluted AreasWomen living in areas with higher levels of air pollution have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and subsequently dying from cardiovascular causes, as per a University of Washington study appearing in the Feb. 1 issue of The New England Journal (NEJM). The study is one of the largest of its kind, involving more than 65,000 Women's Health Initiative Observational Study participants, age 50 to 79, living in 36 cities across the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/5/2007 7:38:50 PM)
Stem Cells to Repair Damaged HeartsThe Autologous Cellular Therapy CD34-Chronic Myocardial Ischemia (ACT34-CMI) Trial is the first human, Phase II adult stem cell therapy study in the U.S. designed to investigate the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of blood-derived selected CD34+ stem cells to improve symptoms and clinical outcomes in subjects with chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI), a severe form of coronary artery disease.
Rush University Medical Center is one of the........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 2/2/2007 5:06:39 AM)
Prehypertension In Young Linked With Heart EnlargementHigh blood pressure and prehigh blood pressure in adolescents and young adults was linked to a higher risk of having an abnormally enlarged heart, scientists report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
In a study of American Indians, average age 26.5, those with high blood pressure or prehigh blood pressure were more likely to have changes in the heart structure linked to increased cardiovascular risk: higher left........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 1/11/2007 9:03:31 PM)
New Therapy For Severely Elevated Cholesterol LevelsScientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated the potential of a new type of treatment for patients who suffer from high cholesterol levels. The findings are in the January 11 issue of the New England Journal (NEJM) (NEJM). In this study, patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a high-risk condition refractory to conventional treatment, had a remarkable 51% reduction in low-density........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 1/10/2007 8:58:51 PM)
Jefferson Cardiologists Fix Broken HeartUnexplained chest pain after a heart attack might be more dangerous than a number of physicians originally think.
In a case study would be reported in the recent issue of the international journal Clinical Cardiology, physicians at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia report on a seemingly healthy 55-year-old man who had a silent heart attack and subsequent unexplained chest pain.
Once he was admitted to the hospital, it........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 1/8/2007 9:44:24 PM)
Surgery Can Help When Medicines FailHypertension may seem like something that only adults get, after years of smoking, overeating and little exercise. But children can develop it too -- and just as in adults, uncontrolled hypertension can pose serious risks to children's hearts, brains and lives.
While medications may help some children with high blood pressure, surgery is the best option for those with renal artery obstructions, causing a rare but particularly dangerous form........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/28/2006 9:01:40 PM)
When Is Your Next Heart Attak?Don't you think it would be nice if doctors could predict when a heart attack could happen to you? I think it might be possible in future. Scientists are paving the way for this.
In the latest issue of the New England Journal (NEJM) (NEJM) scientists report findings from a long-term Framingham Heart Study. In this the researchers have identified multiple biomarkers that could predict when you might have your first heart attack.
In the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 9:55:36 PM)
Those Blood Transfusions During Heart Bypass SurgeryBlood transfusions save the lives of millions of heart surgery patients and others each year. But a new study suggests that patients who receive transfusions during heart bypass surgery have a higher risk of developing potentially dangerous infections, and dying, after their operation.
In fact, this increased risk may help explain a longstanding medical mystery: why women bypass patients are more likely than men to die in the first few........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 4:30:06 AM)
Safer Way To Dose Life-saving Heart DrugScientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have taken the dangerous guesswork out of dosing a lifesaving medicine for congestive heart failure.
A new formula developed in the UIC College of Pharmacy will help physicians prescribe the proper amount of the powerful heart drug digoxin. The medicine helps an injured or weakened heart to work efficiently, strengthening the force of the heart muscle's contractions and helping to restore a........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/16/2006 8:32:53 AM)
Moderate Drinking May HelpYou Live LongerA study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society finds that moderate alcohol intake (1-2 drinks/day for 3-6 days/week, depending on alcoholic content) may lead to increased quality of life and survival in older women. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health followed nearly 12,000 women in their 70's over a 6 year period. The group was comprised of non-drinkers, occasional drinkers and moderate drinkers.
The study........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:35:33 PM)
Those 2 glasses a day that lengthen your lifeA study performed by the Research Laboratories of the Catholic University of Campobasso (Italy) con-firms the beneficial effects that moderate consumption of alcohol has on our health. But this time it is not just cardiovascular disease that gets advantage from this: drinking in moderation reduces all-cause mortality.
The research, published on the American journal Archives of Internal Medicine, assembled 34 scientific studies conducted........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:31:00 PM)
Folic Acid Supplementation And Heart DiseaseAn analysis of prior studies suggests that for people with a history of vascular disease, folic acid supplementation does not decrease the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke, as has been suggested in some research, as per a review article in the December 13 issue of JAMA.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide, accounting for 30.9 percent of deaths world-wide and 10.3 percent of........Go to the Heart-news-blog (Added on 12/14/2006 9:21:59 PM)
|
