Congestive Heart Failure News and Research

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Congestive Heart Failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump blood the way it should. In some cases, the heart can't fill with enough blood. In other cases, the heart can't send blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems. "Heart failure" doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. However, it's a serious condition that requires medical care. Heart failure develops over time as the pumping of the heart grows weaker. It can affect the right side of the heart only or both the left and right sides of the heart. Most cases involve both sides of the heart.

Statins can stimulate cardiac muscle cell regeneration, improve heart function

Statins, used widely to treat elevated cholesterol, have been shown to prevent progression of coronary narrowing and to have other beneficial effects on the heart, such as reducing inflammation, that are independent of cholesterol.

23 Feb 2009

Most coordinated care programs for Medicare beneficiaries do not show benefit

Only 2 of 15 Medicare programs designed to improve care and costs for patients with chronic illnesses resulted in reduced hospital admissions, and none of the programs generated net savings, according to a study in the February 11 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2009

Seniors in Medicare's doughnut hole decrease use of meds

Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D who reached a gap in health care coverage known as the "doughnut hole" were much less likely to use prescription drugs than those with an employer-based plan, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study.

3 Feb 2009

High-tech hospitals see fewer complications, lower costs

Texas hospitals using health information technologies had fewer complications, lower mortality rates and lower costs, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

3 Feb 2009

Biomarkers as a guide to therapy in heart failure patients

There has been much interest in the biomarker known as N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a precise guide for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of heart failure.

29 Jan 2009

Study examines use of loop diuretics and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

The use of loop diuretics does not appear to be associated with changes in bone mineral density, falls or fractures in postmenopausal women, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Jan 2009

Morbidity rates increased substantially after Hurricane Katrina

In the year following Hurricane Katrina, the health of survivors 65 and over declined nearly 4 times that of a national sample of older adults not affected by the disaster, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

23 Jan 2009

Too much weight loss can be a bad thing

Doctors are not doing enough to pick up on problems with excessive weight loss, says a Saint Louis University physician who helped draft recent guidelines to diagnose the condition called "cachexia" (kuh-kex-ee-uh).

21 Jan 2009

Trial tests adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure

The University of California, San Diego Medical Center is the first hospital in California to enroll patients in a multi-center clinical trial, sponsored by Angioblast Systems Inc., to examine the safety and feasibility of administering adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure.

18 Dec 2008

Doxil and docetaxel combination treatment delays disease progression in metastatic breast cancer

Results from a Phase 3 study show that patients with metastatic breast cancer who were treated previously with an anthracycline in the adjuvant setting experienced a significant improvement in time to disease progression (TTP) and overall response rates after receiving a combination of DOXIL (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection) and docetaxel as compared to docetaxel alone.

14 Dec 2008

Novavax announces positive results in trial of seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate

Novavax, Inc. has announced favorable results from a Phase IIa human clinical trial of its seasonal influenza VLP (trivalent) vaccine candidate.

12 Dec 2008

$Thiazolidinediones doubles risk of fractures in women$

Thiazolidinediones doubles risk of fractures in women

New findings out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of East Anglia show that long-term use of a popular class of oral diabetic drugs doubles the risk of fractures in women with type 2 diabetes.

10 Dec 2008

Vitamin D deficiency could lead to heart problems

Vitamin D deficiency - which is traditionally associated with bone and muscle weakness - may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

1 Dec 2008

Follow up results from first case of pulmonary hypertension treated with stem cells

Dr. Leonel Fernandez Liriano, Professor of Medicine at Pontifical Catholic University School of Medicine (PCUSM), announced nine month follow up results for the first patient treated with engineered stem cells in a clinical study of primary pulmonary hypertension.

25 Nov 2008

Women more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain

Women are more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors cannot find a cause, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

24 Nov 2008

Risks associated with diabetes drug rosiglitazone may be higher than those with pioglitazone

Older adults who take the diabetes medication rosiglitazone appear to have a higher risk of death and heart failure than those taking the related medication pioglitazone, according to a report in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

24 Nov 2008

Scientists use patient's own stem cells to treat heart failure

Researchers at the University of Utah are enrolling people in a new clinical trial that uses a patient's own stem cells to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure.

17 Nov 2008

Ethnic disparities in treatment of trauma patients

The initial evaluation and management of injured patients from minority ethnic groups nationwide appears to be similar to that of non-Hispanic white patients, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Nov 2008

Hypertension may develop undetected in young African-American men

Young and healthy African-American men have higher central blood pressure and their blood vessels are stiffer compared to their white counterparts, signs that the African American men are developing hypertension early and with little outward sign, according to a new study.

17 Nov 2008

Fenfluramine shown to have serious long-term effects

Fenfluramine, the appetite suppressant drug banned in the US in 1997 due to fears over its links to heart conditions, has been shown to have serious long-term effects.

6 Nov 2008