Cardiothoracic Surgery News and Research

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Beta-blockers top choice for prevention and rate control for postoperative atrial fibrillation

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has released the first evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and management of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery.

9 Aug 2005

Study finds better long-term outcomes when surgeons place a bypass graft to all the territories of the heart that have significantly blocked arteries

Pointing out that not all coronary artery bypass operations are performed the same way or have equivalent outcomes, cardiothoracic surgeons at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that patients who have blockages of multiple coronary arteries and undergo "complete revascularization" - grafting of arteries to restore blood flow to all affected territories of the heart - have consistently better long-term survival rates than those who have "incomplete revascularization."

20 Jun 2005

Aortic disease difficult to diagnose

Aortic disease kills nearly 15,000 people in the United States each year, but the rarity and complexity of this deadly disorder make accurately diagnosing it difficult for doctors in the health-care trenches, University of Florida researchers have found.

15 Jun 2005

Patients with advanced heart failure significantly improved after receiving stem cell therapy

The study showed, 30 days after receiving the stem cells by injection into their hearts, patients improved an average of 41 percent in their hearts' pumping efficiency and the distance they could walk nonstop increased by 72 percent in a standard test widely used to assess heart patients.

6 Jun 2005

Heart doctors say off-pump or on-pump, no difference in bypass surgery

As far as the American Heart Association (AHA) is concerned, the long running debate over whether patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery do better if their hearts keep beating or if a heart-lung machine takes over should end.

1 Jun 2005

Australian-designed heart pump gives new hope to heart patients

A 56-year-old New Zealand man, a heart failure patient, is recovering in hospital after world-first surgery to implant an Australian-designed device which helps the heart pump blood.

9 May 2005

Technology helps Stanford shed new light on coronary bypass surgery

On March 31, Joel Dyels celebrated his 72nd birthday by having coronary bypass surgery at Stanford Hospital. He also became the third patient at Stanford - and in the United States - to benefit from a new imaging system that lets doctors see the blood pathways they have created while the patient's chest is still open.

12 Apr 2005

Novel protein marker for early diagnosis of kidney failure

Researchers have found a novel protein marker that can give a rapid and early diagnosis of kidney failure in children undergoing heart surgery, reporting their results in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

3 Apr 2005

Live surgical webcast of a minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedure

NYU Medical Center's Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery will conduct a live surgical webcast on March 9th at 3 pm ET of a minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedure.

27 Feb 2005

Two hearts are better than one for toddler

Camila Gonzalez now has two hearts beating separate rhythms inside her tiny chest. At 22 months of age, she became the youngest child in the United States to receive a donor’s heart while also retaining her original one.

25 Oct 2004

Performance of individual surgeons in the UK will be made publicly available

Later this year, the performance of individual surgeons in the UK will be made publicly available, but the move remains controversial. Researchers in this week's BMJ discuss the issues in relation to cardiothoracic surgery.

20 Aug 2004

Iraqi child undergoes heart surgery in New York

Four-year old Bra’a Hussein’s heart will never be the same following recent surgery at NYU Medical Center to correct a highly complex congenital heart condition called tetralogy of fallot.

19 Jul 2004

Best hospital in the United States for children

A U.S.News & World Report today ranked The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia the best hospital in the United States for children.

2 Jul 2004

Embryonic stem cells may hold the key to regenerating damaged heart muscle

Embryonic stem cells may hold the key to regenerating damaged heart muscle, when transplanted within a 3-dimensional scaffold into the infracted heart, according to a new study coming out in June in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

14 May 2004

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit lowest heart attack rates in the state of Texas

That’s because the CICU he runs has the lowest myocardial infarction (heart attack) mortality in the entire South Texas region. It has one of the lowest rates in the state of Texas.

23 Apr 2004

Growth factor protein succeeds in growing new coronary arteries

Three patients of the UC Heart & Vascular Center have grown new coronary artery branches to increase blood flow to the heart after receiving a new growth factor protein (FGF1) in November 2003. All three patients showed improved blood flow to the heart twelve weeks following the injection.

26 Mar 2004