Heart Failure News and Research

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Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. It should not be confused with cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction.

Former Specialty Hospital patient credits Left Ventricular Assist Device surgery

What do former Vice President Dick Cheney, Izzie's boyfriend, Denny, on "Grey's Anatomy" and Anthony Freeman from East Baltimore all have in common? Each is associated with a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

30 Jul 2011

RegenoCELL to open new facility in Panama for treatment of congestive heart failure

RegenoCELL Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in adult stem cell therapy, is pleased to announce it is planning to open another state of the art facility in Panama for patients to be treated for congestive heart failure and peripheral artery disease with its autologous stem cell therapy.

30 Jul 2011

First cardiac ablation procedure using Thermocool SmartTOUCH catheter performed at Mount Sinai

The Mount Sinai Medical Center has become the first hospital on the east coast to perform a cardiac ablation procedure using the Thermocool Smarttouch Contact Force-Sensing Catheter for the treatment of symptomatic, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), or periodic rapid and irregular heartbeats.

30 Jul 2011

Humira defect lawyers file lawsuit against Abbott in Texas state court

Humira defect lawyers filed a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories in Texas state court claiming Abbott's blockbuster drug, Humira, caused a life-threatening disease, leukemia.

30 Jul 2011

Post-menopausal women with CAD are at increased risk for SCD: Study

A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania indicates that post-menopausal women with coronary artery disease and other risk factors are at an increased risk for sudden cardiac death.

30 Jul 2011

State roundup: Protests over plans to close Brooklyn hospital

A stream of hospital administrators, a state assemblyman, doctors and advocates for immigrants took the microphone at a sometimes raucous hearing in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday to plead with state officials not to close, merge or shrink troubled hospitals in the borough.

30 Jul 2011

Book examines impact of new racial science

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called BiDil as a therapy for heart failure specifically for African-American patients, claiming in a press release that this was a step toward personalized medicine.

29 Jul 2011

Antioxidants may help treat infertility problems in both women and men

A growing body of evidence suggests that antioxidants may have significant value in addressing infertility issues in both women and men, including erectile dysfunction, and researchers say that large, specific clinical studies are merited to determine how much they could help.

29 Jul 2011

Ivabradine effective in reducing risk of cardiac fibrosis, diastolic heart failure

The findings of a Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) study published in the scientific journal Cardiology suggest that ivabradine, a heart rate reduction medication, is also effective in reducing the risk of diastolic heart failure and cardiac fibrosis.

29 Jul 2011

Britain’s prescription drug use statistics revealed

According to latest NHS figures number of prescriptions dispensed has soared by 70 per cent over the last decade. Every man, woman and child in the country received on average 17.8 prescription items in 2010. The vast majority went to those aged over 60, who received 42.4 items each in 2007.

27 Jul 2011

Merck secures worldwide rights to vernakalant i.v.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Astellas US LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the investigational intravenous formulation of vernakalant (vernakalant i.v.) in Canada, Mexico and the United States from Astellas.

27 Jul 2011

Special panel votes in favor of HDE approval for EXCOR Pediatric VAD

At the request of Dr. Bram Zuckerman, Director, Division of Cardiovascular Devices, Center for Devices and Radiologic Health of the United States Food and Drug Administration, a special panel was convened on Thursday July 21 in Gaithersburg, Maryland to review the results of the EXCOR® IDE clinical trial.

27 Jul 2011

Health Canada issues notice of compliance for OCPI's SAMSCA to treat hyponatremia

Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc. (OCPI) announced today that Health Canada has issued a notice of compliance for SAMSCA (tolvaptan), the first medicine approved in Canada for the treatment of hyponatremia.

27 Jul 2011

Hormone therapy may be hazardous in men with pre-existing heart conditions

Adding hormone therapy to radiation therapy has been proven in randomized clinical trials to improve overall survival for men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. However, adding hormone therapy may reduce overall survival in men with pre-existing heart conditions, even if they have high-risk prostate cancer according to a new study just published online in advance of print in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology·Biology·Physics, the official scientific journal of ASTRO.

26 Jul 2011

Volunteers needed in worldwide study to help people breathe easier

Australian sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), one of the most important causes of breathlessness and difficulty performing tasks of normal daily life, have the opportunity to participate in a worldwide study, starting this month, assessing a potential new treatment.

26 Jul 2011

Key risk factors for death, transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy

Researchers have identified important risk factors for death and transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy, according to results from a study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

26 Jul 2011

Symposium papers highlight role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease

Recent years have seen major advances in understanding of the health effects of oxidative stress—including its potential to cause injury to the cardiovascular system. A series of expert updates on the role of oxidative stress in heart failure, atherosclerosis, and other cardiovascular diseases appears in a special symposium in the August issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

26 Jul 2011

Sunshine Heart to sell 115 million shares of common stock in private placement

Sunshine Heart, Inc., today announced it has entered into definitive agreements with new and existing institutional investors in the United States and Canada to sell approximately 115 million shares of common stock in a private placement.

25 Jul 2011

Janssen receives FDA Complete Response letter for SIMPONI sBLA to treat RA

Janssen Biotech, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Complete Response letter for its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for SIMPONI.

25 Jul 2011

Rats, fish oil and beetroot juice could lead to health breakthroughs for aging populations

Though rats, fish oil and beetroot juice read like ingredients in a witch's brew, to a Kansas State University research team, information from this combination could lead to health breakthroughs for aging populations and people suffering from heart failure and diabetes.

22 Jul 2011