Coronary Heart Disease News and Research

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The more a man sits at his desk, the more likely he is to be overweight

...says a new Australian study suggesting that the workplace may play an important role in the growing obesity epidemic.

19 Jul 2005

Abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression's effects in heart patients

Scientists have known for years that depression increases the risk of dying in the months after a heart attack, but they haven't understood how depression raises that risk.

13 Jul 2005

Call for greater use of angiograms in Canada

More tests need to be prescribed to save and prolong the lives of Canadians living with coronary artery disease, says a study released from the University of Alberta.

6 Jul 2005

Vitamin E supplements do not protect healthy women against heart attacks and stroke

Vitamin E supplements do not protect healthy women against heart attacks and stroke, according to new results from the Women's Health Study, a long-term clinical trial of the effect of vitamin E and aspirin on both the prevention of cardiovascular disease and of cancer.

5 Jul 2005

Diuretics work better than newer and more costly medicines for diabetics with high blood pressure

Diuretics (water pills) work better than newer and more costly medicines in the treatment of high blood pressure and prevention of some forms of heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes, according to results from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT).

28 Jun 2005

Scientists have discovered how C-reactive protein is able to access endothelial cells

For the first time, scientists have discovered how C-reactive protein, or CRP, is able to access endothelial cells. The UC Davis researchers' findings will be published in the July issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, one of the American Heart Association's leading journals.

27 Jun 2005

Obesity is associated with an impairment of coronary circulatory function

A team of University of California, Los Angeles researchers found that positron emission tomography (PET) can provide important information on the relationship between heart function and obesity. Their findings were reported at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

20 Jun 2005

Cyr61 gene transfer appears potent in stimulation of myocardial angiogenesis

French scientists, examining the possibility of using nuclear medicine with gene therapy to fight heart diseases, reported their findings at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

20 Jun 2005

National Service Framework for chronic heart failure is urgently needed

A new National Service Framework for chronic heart failure is urgently needed, because patients with heart failure are getting a raw deal, despite the availability of effective treatment, say leading cardiologists in Heart.

15 Jun 2005

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. One variant increases risk and the other decreases risk with a similar effect in whites, African-Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

14 Jun 2005

New study supporting the importance of aggressive cholesterol-lowering

New clinical data shows that intensive cholesterol-lowering to targets below currently recommended levels significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke for people with diabetes and heart disease.

14 Jun 2005

US specialists call for heart patients to be screened for psychological distress

Heart patients should be screened for psychological distress and, if necessary, referred for help from mental health professionals, according to the authors of research published today (Thursday 9 June) in the European Heart Journal.

9 Jun 2005

Much more needs to be done to tackle heart disease in South Asians in the United Kingdom

Health inequality between ethnic groups in the United Kingdom is widening. Death rates from coronary heart disease in South Asians (immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) have declined at a slower rate than in the indigenous population, while evidence shows that second and third generation South Asians seem to be displaying many of the same risk characteristics that make them prone to coronary heart disease as their parents and grandparents.

26 May 2005

Within six months, one in three patients fail to take cardiovascular risk-lowering medications as prescribed

Therapy that includes medications to reduce high blood pressure and to lower lipid levels can reduce risk for heart disease, but within six months, more than a third of patients fail to take one or both medications as prescribed, according to a study in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 May 2005

Hypertension drug combination yields high rate of blood pressure control in hard-to-treat patients

The study, conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and 118 other sites, was focused on bringing down systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, which is the more difficult number to bring down.

18 May 2005

Testosterone appears to benefit, not harm, cardiovascular health of middle-aged men

Although men suffer more coronary heart disease than women, the blame should not be placed on testosterone, according to a new study in the May 17, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 May 2005

New trend in treating heart disease in diabetics - angioplasty using the Cypher Sirolimus-eluting coronary stent

The World Health Organisation has predicted an increase in the worldwide prevalence of diabetes of epidemic proportions . Eighty percent of people with diabetes will die from cardiovascular complications -- stroke and/or coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2005

Polypill improves survival rates for heart disease sufferers

A ‘polypill’ made up of a combination of drugs could extend the lives of thousands of patients with coronary heart disease, say researchers at The University of Nottingham.

10 May 2005

Metabolic syndrome costing four times that for all other patients

It is well known that hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are each taking a toll on Americans' health, but according to a new analysis, metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized by a combination of these and/or other risk factors, is fast becoming one of the nation's costliest health concerns.

9 May 2005

Drug combinations improve survival for patients with heart disease

Patients with coronary heart disease who take a combination of three specific drugs have a better chance of survival than those taking single drugs, finds a study in this week's BMJ.

5 May 2005