NYU Langone Medical Center is the first hospital in the Northeast to offer one of the world's fastest and most radiation dose efficient computed tomography (CT) scanner. [More]

A report released today by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) finds that the quality of U.S. health care was virtually stagnant in 2008, a disturbing slowdown after a decade of improvements. The across-the-board trend was seen in care provided to people with private insurance coverage as well as in Medicare and Medicaid. [More]

Compounds related to Viagra, which is already in clinical trials to prevent heart failure, may also counter the disease in a different way, according to a study published online today in the journal Circulation Research. The results hold promise for the design of a new drug class and for its potential use in combination with Viagra or beta blockers. [More]

Twenty-four month findings from IMPROVE HF, (The Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting), funded by Medtronic, Inc., demonstrated that clinics using the process improvement program increased adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended care by 82 and 62 percent, respectively, for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) use, and 80 percent for aldosterone antagonist use, all relative to baseline results. [More]

Aton Pharma, Inc., a diversified specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced it has launched new education, distribution, sampling and reimbursement programs for TIMOPTIC(R) in OCUDOSE(R), the only preservative-free medication for glaucoma available in the United States. Aton acquired the U.S. marketing rights in February to the TIMOPTIC product line from Merck & Co., Inc. TIMOPTIC (timolol maleate) is a non-selective beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent indicated for the treatment of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma. As many as 2.25 million Americans suffer from open-angle glaucoma. [More]

Dr. Alon Friedman, a neurosurgeon, professor and researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, working with researchers from UC Berkeley, California have identified a TGF Beta Blocker that when given to rats prevents epilepsy after brain damage, according to a new study appearing in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. [More]

Aiming for lower than standard blood pressure targets offers no known clinical benefit, according to a Cochrane Review. In a systematic review of the evidence, researchers found that using antihypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure below the 140/90 mm Hg standard was not associated with any reduction in death rates or serious morbidity. [More]

Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). [More]

Treating a common heart rhythm disorder by burning heart tissue with a catheter works dramatically better than drug treatments, a major international study has found. [More]

When migraine strikes, because of severe pain, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sufferers are effectively disabled for up to 72 hours. [More]

A 12-year-old Dutch boy - bedridden for three years because of an inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndrome - can now join his friends on the soccer field thanks to a discovery made by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers. [More]

ARCA biopharma, Inc. has announced that data from the pivotal Phase 3 BEST trial of Gencaro (bucindolol hydrochloride) in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF) was presented at the American College of Cardiology 58 th Annual Scientific Session being held March 29-31, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. [More]

ARCA biopharma, Inc. has announced that a comparative analysis of primary endpoint data from four beta blocker trials was presented at the American College of Cardiology 58th Annual Scientific Session being held March 29-31, 2009. [More]

"Broken heart syndrome" is still a mystery to many in the medical community, but new data from researchers at The Miriam Hospital may shed some light on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of this relatively rare, life-threatening condition. [More]

People over 80 years of age suffering from a certain type of heart failure do not appear to benefit from most commonly prescribed heart medications, according to a study conducted at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and published in the March 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. [More]