Cardiovascular Disease News and Research RSS Feed - Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 700,000 people die annually of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease involves the heart and vessels and is the number one killer in the U.S. accounting for nearly 30-percent of all deaths. Cardiovascular disease has a number of forms but the most common are myocardial infarction and angina pectoris which affect the heart itself. There are well known environmental risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease such as smoking, diet, inactivity and increased alcohol use. Heredity also plays a factor in cardiovascular disease since other risk factors like high blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol tend to run in families. Cardiovascular disease can be reduced by controlling environmental factors and understanding the genetic factors that put people at greater risk for heart disease.
LDL cholesterol blood level declines found to have abruptly ended in 2008

LDL cholesterol blood level declines found to have abruptly ended in 2008

Decades of declines in LDL cholesterol blood levels, a key marker of death risk from heart disease, abruptly ended in 2008, and may have stalled since, according to a multi-year, national study published in PLOS ONE. [More]
Study suggests that a blood protein contributes to early development of atherosclerosis

Study suggests that a blood protein contributes to early development of atherosclerosis

It's on Saturday that the Journal of the American Heart Association published the conclusive results from a study directed by Dr. Éric Thorin of the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), which suggests for the first time that a blood protein contributes to the early development of atherosclerosis. [More]
Noninvasive imaging tests may play bigger role in diabetes management

Noninvasive imaging tests may play bigger role in diabetes management

New approaches to applying noninvasive imaging tests such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance, and positron emission tomography may play a bigger role in evaluating and managing patients with diabetes. [More]

Insomnia and altered sleep duration may increase risk of CHD and CVD during menopause

Insomnia and other sleep disturbances are common among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and may increase their risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). [More]
Review for clinicians on optimal utilization of aspirin to treat, prevent heart attacks published

Review for clinicians on optimal utilization of aspirin to treat, prevent heart attacks published

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University published a review for clinicians on the optimal utilization of aspirin to treat and prevent heart attacks. [More]
Researchers find that whole walnuts and their oil components can improve heart health

Researchers find that whole walnuts and their oil components can improve heart health

Consumption of whole walnuts or their extracted oil can reduce cardiovascular risk through a mechanism other than simply lowering cholesterol, according to a team of Penn State, Tufts University and University of Pennsylvania researchers. [More]
POZEN announces revenue of $1.4 million for first quarter 2013

POZEN announces revenue of $1.4 million for first quarter 2013

POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. [More]

Aviir to extend comprehensive inherited cardiovascular disease genetic test menu

Aviir Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to the prevention of cardiovascular disease through innovative laboratory tests, announced that it will be extending its offered services with comprehensive inherited cardiovascular disease genetic test menu. [More]
Taking strong anticholinergic doubles risk of developing cognitive impairment in older adults

Taking strong anticholinergic doubles risk of developing cognitive impairment in older adults

Research from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and Wishard-Eskenazi Health on medications commonly taken by older adults has found that drugs with strong anticholinergic effects cause cognitive impairment when taken continuously for as few as 60 days. [More]

UCLA research: Subway not much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents

Subway may promote itself as the "healthy" fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents, according to new UCLA research. [More]
Study to examine role of arts, humanities in improving mental health and well-being

Study to examine role of arts, humanities in improving mental health and well-being

An innovative study led by The University of Nottingham is to investigate whether arts and humanities can help improve the mental health and well-being of patients and carers alike. [More]
New gene implicated in Parkinson can delay onset of aging, extend life span

New gene implicated in Parkinson can delay onset of aging, extend life span

UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans. [More]
Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

Kinase inhibitors are molecules that block the activity of kinases. Kinases are a specific class of enzymes. They are extremely important in signal transduction processes in the human body meaning that they actually regulate most of the physiological processes that take place in the body. [More]
Rare mutation confers high risk of osteoporosis and certain cancers

Rare mutation confers high risk of osteoporosis and certain cancers

deCODE genetics (an Amgen subsidiary) and Illumina, global leaders in analyzing and understanding the human genome, together with scientists from the National Hospital of Iceland and the University of Iceland reported today in the journal Nature the identification of a rare nonsense mutation that confers high risk of osteoporosis and osteoporosis related traits. [More]
Metallurgists use microwave oven to produce nanocrystal semiconductors

Metallurgists use microwave oven to produce nanocrystal semiconductors

University of Utah metallurgists used an old microwave oven to produce a nanocrystal semiconductor rapidly using cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. They hope it will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar cells and LED lights, biological sensors and systems to convert waste heat to electricity. [More]
New protocol for reducing the use of SPECT SPI is found to be diagnostically safe

New protocol for reducing the use of SPECT SPI is found to be diagnostically safe

A new stress test protocol that investigates reducing the use of perfusion imaging in low risk patients undergoing SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for possible angina symptoms was found to be diagnostically safe, revealed a US retrospective analysis. [More]

Two grants to fund weight management, nutrition initiatives for New Ulm project

UnitedHealth Group and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, in conjunction with Allina Health and the community of New Ulm, Minn., recently announced two grants from the company totaling more than $1 million. [More]

Study shows culture of health model reduces employee health costs at PPG Industries

A comprehensive program focusing on "growing a culture of health" has led to a reduction in employee health costs at PPG Industries, according to a study in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. [More]

Scientists reveal that exposure to everyday noise may affect cardiovascular system

Exposure to noise, for example from road traffic, may adversely affect the cardiovascular system. Until now, underlying mechanisms linking noise to elevated cardiovascular risk have rarely been explored in epidemiological studies. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have now shown that exposure to noise during everyday life influences heart rate variability, i.e. the ability of the heart to adjust the rate at which it beats to acute events. [More]

Higher vitamin D levels confer no additional benefit

In recent years, healthy people have been bombarded by stories in the media and on health websites warning about the dangers of too-low vitamin D levels, and urging high doses of supplements to protect against everything from hypertension to hardening of the arteries to diabetes. [More]