Sudden Cardiac Death News and Research

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The term sudden cardiac death refers to natural death from cardiac causes, heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms.

Women with healthy lifestyle may face lower risk of sudden cardiac death

Adhering to a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, exercising regularly, having a low body weight and eating a healthy diet, appears to lower the risk of sudden cardiac death in women, according to a study in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2011

New guide indicates when and how genetic testing is useful for inherited cardiac conditions

While genetic inheritance is known to play a role in the multifactorial development of most diseases of the heart, there are also a number of clearly diagnosed cardiac conditions which owe their development to quite specific genetic abnormalities. When these genetic disorders affect the integrity of the heart's muscle they are known as a "cardiomyopathy"; when the disorder affects the heart's "excitability", it is known as a "channelopathy".

27 Jun 2011

Johns Hopkins cardiology chief becomes American Heart Association President

Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D., professor and director of the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will become president of the American Heart Association (AHA), the nation’s leading voluntary health organization focused on cardiovascular disease and stroke, on July 1.

22 Jun 2011

UTHealth receives $1M FEMA grant to examine link between Ad-36 infection, obesity

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have been awarded nearly $1 million to investigate Adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) infection as a novel risk factor for obesity.

17 Jun 2011

UCSF study seeks to discover true causes of sudden cardiac death

A new study by the University of California, San Francisco's Cardiac Electrophysiology Service seeks to discover for the first time the true causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD), why it is more prevalent in some demographic populations, and whether it is too often inaccurately cited as a cause of death.

16 Jun 2011

Preparticipation cardiac screening required for college athletes

Sudden cardiac death in young athletes who had not previously exhibited symptoms is a relatively rare yet tragic event. This occurs in around 60-80 young athletes annually in the United States.

27 May 2011

MKK4 enzyme may prevent arrhythmias linked with cardiac hypertrophy

Scientists have discovered an important enzyme molecule that may prevent fatal cardiac disorders associated with cardiac hypertrophy - the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

25 May 2011

HDL to acquire Harris Scientific

Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc., a CAP accredited leader in health management, announced today that it will expand its comprehensive test menu of risk factors and biomarkers for cardiovascular and related diseases through the acquisition of Harris Scientific, Inc., a company providing omega-3 fatty acid testing based on the research of Dr. William Harris.

25 May 2011

Researchers discover quarky calcium release in heart cells

Three years of microscopic experiments on heart cells has led to a discovery by a team of University of Maryland researchers and collaborators of the workings of faint calcium signals in the heart cells, a discovery that may translate into new therapies for heart disease.

12 May 2011

Scientists unravel how genetic defects can help predict risk of sudden cardiac death

Sudden cardiac death is always a shocking, tragic event, especially when it occurs at a young age. But, for the first time, scientists are unraveling how genetic defects can help predict the risk of dying suddenly in individuals with one of the leading causes of this unfortunate phenomenon.

11 May 2011

NYU Langone researchers present recent findings at The Heart Rhythm Society 32nd annual sessions

Cardiologists from the Cardiac & Vascular Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center presented new research at The Heart Rhythm Society's 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions, May 4 -7 in San Francisco, California.

9 May 2011

New cardiac genetic testing guidelines for health care professionals

An international panel of experts from The Heart Rhythm Society and the European Heart Rhythm Association issued new guideline recommendations for all health care professionals about cardiovascular genetic testing at the Heart Rhythm Society's 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions.

7 May 2011

BSX announces international launch and first implant of new cardiac devices

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the launch and first implants of its ENERGEN and PUNCTUA cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators and implantable cardioverter defibrillators in Europe and other international markets.

6 May 2011

ICD therapy can improve ischemic cardiomyopathy survival rates

Most patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy who have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator now live more than seven years and those ICD patients with hereditary heart disease can live for decades, based on a scientific paper that will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, April 1-3.

6 Apr 2011

Cardioxyl's CXL-1020 preclinical data against heart failure presented at ACC meeting

Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it is presenting two abstracts from studies of its lead clinical candidate, CXL-1020, at the American College of Cardiology's 60th Annual Scientific Session & Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana.

5 Apr 2011

New guidelines highlight genetic testing use in heart arrhythmia clinical management

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Heart Rhythm Society have produced the first-ever comprehensive guidelines on the use of genetic testing in the clinical management of inherited heart rhythm disorders, released in the March/April issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology published by Elsevier.

29 Mar 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's Protecta implantable defibrillators

Medtronic, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the Protecta portfolio of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators.

29 Mar 2011

Episodic physical and sexual activity associated with short-term increase in risk of acute cardiac events

An analysis of previous studies that examined whether episodic physical activity and sexual activity can act as a trigger for cardiac events found an association between these activities and a short-term increased risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death, although the absolute risk was small and lessened among persons with high levels of regular physical activity, according to an article in the March 23/30 issue of JAMA.

23 Mar 2011

Pilot study shows feasibility of heart screening for risk of SCA in children

A pilot study in healthy children and adolescents shows that it is feasible to screen for undiagnosed heart conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

18 Mar 2011

Sports medicine physician suggests cardiac screening for young athletes requires augmentation of existing diagnostics to achieve greater accuracy, become cost-effective

Sports medicine physician Steve Watts says cardiac screening for young athletes is useful in preventing sudden cardiac death and suggests new diagnostics have the potential to add value and change the debate about the viability of cardiac screening for young athletes in the United States.

17 Mar 2011