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Dizziness, nausea and achiness are symptoms of heart attack in females

Dizziness, nausea and achiness – no, these are not symptoms of the flu but signs of a heart attack in females. While heart attacks affect both men and women, the symptoms of a heart attack are surprisingly different between the genders. Virginia Health Information (VHI) this week released its Cardiac Care Report which provides consumers information comparing heart healthcare in Virginia. This year's report reveals women undergoing open heart surgery continued a five year trend of higher than expected readmission rates.

25 Feb 2011

Scientists identify new cellular mechanism underlying hydronephrosis

One of the most common congenital defects in humans - it is detected in approximately 0.5% of fetuses analyzed by routine antenatal sonography - is a kidney abnormality known as hydronephrosis. Hydronephrosis arises because the flow of urine from the kidney to the bladder is impeded.

21 Feb 2011

Positive results from Medtronic CoreValve System study for treatment of aortic valve disease

Medtronic, Inc. today issued a statement on results from an independent study published online in the journal Circulation, which confirmed both early and sustained clinical benefits for patients receiving the Medtronic CoreValve® System for the treatment of aortic valve disease.

19 Feb 2011

Scottsdale Healthcare implants MRI-safe pacemaker

Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center is the first hospital in the southwestern United States to implant an MRI-safe pacemaker, a major technological breakthrough for patients who need MRI diagnostic scans, which can damage older style pacemakers or cause serious health complications.

18 Feb 2011

Spectranetics fourth quarter revenues decrease 1% to $29.3 million

Spectranetics Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010.

17 Feb 2011

Revo pacemaker receives FDA approval for use during certain MRI exams

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first heart pacemaker designed to be used safely during certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams.

9 Feb 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's new Revo MRI pacemaker

Medtronic, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Revo MRI SureScan pacing system, the first and only pacemaker in the U.S. specifically designed for use in an Magnetic Resonance Imaging environment and approved as MR-Conditional. Shipments of Revo MRI will begin immediately.

8 Feb 2011

Pediatric physicians present 12 research abstracts, posters at Cardiology 2011

Pediatric cardiology researchers and clinicians gather this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. for Cardiology 2011, the 15th Annual Update on Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Disease, sponsored by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Original research from more than 30 cardiac programs in the U.S. and abroad is being presented throughout the meeting.

7 Feb 2011

BIOTRONIK launches Reliaty pacing system analyzer in Europe

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, today announced the European launch of the Reliaty pacing system analyzer after CE approval and successful pre-market evaluation. The pacing system analyzer is used during an implantation of implantable pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy systems to ensure adequate lead placement, maintenance of basic cardiac functions, and to evaluate pacing parameters for customized device programming.

4 Feb 2011

AVANIR's NUEDEXTA for pseudobulbar affect now available by prescription

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that NUEDEXTA™ (dextromethorphan hydrobromide and quinidine sulfate) is now available by prescription in the United States. NUEDEXTA is the first and only treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pseudobulbar affect (PBA).

1 Feb 2011

Physicians suggest new target structure for deep brain stimulation

Nearly ten percent of all cases of depression are so severe that the patients do not respond to any established treatment method. Targeted stimulation of areas in the brain using a type of "brain pacemaker" has recently raised hopes: According to initial studies, half of patients with the most severe depression treated in this manner see a significant improvement in mood.

31 Jan 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

Scientists in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, have discovered a new mechanism that nerve cells (neurons) use to fine-tune their electrical output. The exciting discovery, published this week in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience, provides new insights about how the activity of the nervous system is regulated at the cellular level.

27 Jan 2011

Patients with chronic depression can benefit from pioneering neurosurgical treatment

Pioneering neurosurgical treatment, a world first in Bristol, which very accurately targets brain networks involved in depression, could help people who suffer with severe and intractable depression.

25 Jan 2011

Researchers discover new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure

Researchers were surprised to discover what may be a potential new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure, according to a case report published in the January 25, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Jan 2011

FDA approves Spectranetics PMA for manufacturing site change for CVX-300 laser system

Spectranetics Corporation today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company's premarket approval application (PMA) supplement requesting a manufacturing site change for the CVX-300® laser system.

20 Jan 2011

'Pacemaker' Hcn4 gene responsible for generation of repetitive activity in SAN tissue and heart rate regulation

The study of Dario DiFrancesco and his equipe identifies the "pacemaker" Hcn4 gene as the gene functionally responsible for the generation of repetitive activity in sinoatrial node tissue and for the regulation of heart rate. Hcn4 codes for HCN4 channels, the molecular components of "funny" ion channels of pacemaker cells of the sinoatrial node (SAN) tissue.

14 Jan 2011

European CE Mark approval for IntraPace's abiliti system

IntraPace, announced today that it has received European CE Mark approval for the abiliti system as a treatment for obesity. The CE Mark certifies that a product has met European Union requirements for commercial marketing in Europe.

11 Jan 2011

Unexpected discovery holds promise for PTSD, other anxiety disorders

An unexpected discovery by UCLA life scientists holds promise for the future development of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders, and potentially for Alzheimer's disease and other memory-impairment diseases.

7 Jan 2011

NHS wastes £1bn on supplier rates: Report

The head of a cost-cutting programme revealed that eight NHS trusts are routinely paying 19 different sums for the same pacemaker – a discrepancy that is wasting up to £750 a time.

4 Jan 2011

Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce inflammation, disease symptoms and cartilage degeneration

Omega-3 fatty acids from seafood may reduce inflammation, symptoms of gum disease and risk of abnormal heartbeats early after cardiac surgery. One type of omega-3, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), may also have lasting benefits in visual function for years in children whose mothers consume sufficient prenatal DHA.

30 Dec 2010