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Tips for reducing LDL cholesterol

Cardiovascular disease is the No.1 killer in North America. And high cholesterol is one of the primary risk factors of coronary heart disease and stroke. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, almost 40% of Canadian adults are classified as having high blood cholesterol levels.

16 Mar 2010

Meditation and walking can help lower BP and heart rate

Simple, low-cost measures such as wearing a pedometer to inspire walking and spending a few minutes a day meditating can put adolescents on the track toward better health, researchers report.

16 Mar 2010

Glycolytic oscillations during ischemia can increase heart damage

Researchers in Germany show that a classical biological oscillator, the glycolytic oscillator, may increase damage to the heart during acute loss of oxygen (anoxia), and as may occur during ischemia.

16 Mar 2010

Concurrent use of proton-pump inhibitor and clopidogrel does not elevate cardiovascular risk

Heart patients who took a stomach acid-suppressing proton-pump inhibitor along with clopidogrel - a drug that prevents blood clots - were only half as likely to be hospitalized for upper digestive tract bleeding than those who used clopidogrel alone, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

16 Mar 2010

Studies demonstrate over-utilization of re-hospital emergency care

When people call for an ambulance, the personnel are expected to make a reasonable assessment of need within a few seconds. These assessments sometimes overestimate and sometimes underestimate the acute medical needs. Lena Marie Beillon in her thesis "To assess medical needs - a clinical dilemma" at the Nordic School of Public Health clearly demonstrates over-utilization of re-hospital emergency care.

16 Mar 2010

MAQUET's VASOVIEW EVH reduces rates of leg infection in CABG patients

MAQUET Cardiovascular LLC, a leading provider of cardiovascular technologies, today announced that study results published in the January 2010 Annals of Thoracic Surgery demonstrated that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients who undergo Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting (EVH) demonstrate similar long-term clinical outcomes as patients who undergo traditional "open" vein harvest (OVH) but have significantly reduced rates of leg infection.

16 Mar 2010

New cerebral protection device prevents stroke during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries

An important interventional radiology advancement-the use of a new cerebral protection device in combination with FDA-approved carotid stents in high-surgical-risk patients-provides a minimally invasive, safe and effective way to prevent stroke from occurring during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries, according to research released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

16 Mar 2010

PERSEUS clinical program comparing TAXUS Element Stent to prior-generation stents: 12-month results

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation, announced 12-month results from its PERSEUS clinical program that demonstrated positive safety and efficacy outcomes in workhorse lesions for the platinum chromium TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System compared to the TAXUS(R) Express(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System.

16 Mar 2010

Drug-eluting stents offer new hope to patients with critical limb ischemia

In the United States, more than 100,000 amputations are performed each year on individuals with critical limb ischemia, the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The number one priority in treating these patients is to re-establish blood flow to avoid limb amputation.

16 Mar 2010

CT scan of heart's epicardial fat provides better prognosis compared to standard diagnostic techniques

Imaging epicardial adipose tissue, or the layer of fat around the heart, can provide extra information compared with standard diagnostic techniques such as coronary artery calcium scoring, according to research by cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine.

16 Mar 2010

Global Nutrition Transition Conference: Physicians and nutrition scientists to discuss solutions for preventing obesity

Physicians and nutrition scientists from around the world gathered today in Orlando for the opening of the Global Nutrition Transition Conference in order to discuss emerging trends and grass roots solutions to the global obesity epidemic employing balanced nutrition and teaching healthy active lifestyles.

16 Mar 2010

GE Healthcare introduces OSA diagnostic tool for inpatient cardiac patients

GE Healthcare today introduced MARS® Virtual Sleep Lab (VSL), the first device to provide a streamlined view of quantitative cardiac and sleep apnea analysis from any GE-monitored inpatient bed, helping enhance speed of diagnosis.

16 Mar 2010

Boston Scientific announces results from HORIZONS AMI trial assessing Express bare-metal stent

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced results from an analysis of one-year subset data from the HORIZONS AMI trial assessing the impact of diabetes on clinical and angiographic outcomes in heart attack patients treated with the TAXUS® Express2™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System or the Express® bare-metal stent.

16 Mar 2010

Metabolic drugs top the list of prescription drug expenses for elderly Medicare beneficiaries

Purchases of cholesterol and diabetes prescription drugs by elderly Medicare beneficiaries reached nearly $19 billion in 2007 - about one-fourth of the approximately $82 billion spent for medications for the elderly, according to the latest AHRQ News and Numbers.

16 Mar 2010

CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent provides better outcome compared to Medtronic’s Endeavor Stent

Investigators reported the long-term follow-up of the largest randomized comparison between the CYPHER® Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent and Medtronic’s Endeavor® Stent highlighting significant and sustained clinical differences. These important findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting, (ACC 2010) in Atlanta and published on-line in the prestigious journal The Lancet.

16 Mar 2010

Genzyme, Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 study of mipomersen in hoFH patients meets primary endpoint

Genzyme Corp. and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that data from a phase 3 study of mipomersen in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH) were published in The Lancet. This study met its primary endpoint, resulting in an average LDL-C reduction of greater than 100 mg/dL in this very high-risk patient population.

16 Mar 2010

Cheetah Medical closes $20M financing round; plans to expand hemodynamic monitoring market

Cheetah Medical, a worldwide leader in noninvasive hemodynamic and cardiac output monitoring technology, announced today the closing of a $20 million financing round. The financing was led by Ascension Health Ventures (AHV) and also included Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), MVM Life Science Partners (MVM) and existing investors.

16 Mar 2010

High ABI may indicate risk for future heart attacks

The prevalence of abnormal ankle-brachial index (ABI) test results among individuals tested for peripheral arterial disease (PAD)—and who are not considered at high risk of a coronary heart event by Framingham-based risk factors—is high and provides another way to identify those who may be at risk for future heart attacks, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

15 Mar 2010

Surprise stimulus temporarily blinds subsequent events

Reading this story requires you to willfully pay attention to the sentences and to tune out nearby conversations, the radio and other distractions. But if a fire alarm sounded, your attention would be involuntarily snatched away from the story to the blaring sound.

15 Mar 2010

Medtronic announces positive STOP AF clinical trial data at 59th American College of Cardiology session

Medtronic, Inc. today announced data from the STOP AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation) clinical trial during late-breaking sessions at the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta. The data showed superiority over anti-arrhythmic drugs, with 69.9 percent of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) treated with the Arctic Front® Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter System remaining free of atrial fibrillation (AF) one year after cryoablation, compared to 7.3 percent on drug therapy.

15 Mar 2010

Heart News and Research

Tips for reducing LDL cholesterol

Meditation and walking can help lower BP and heart rate

Glycolytic oscillations during ischemia can increase heart damage

Concurrent use of proton-pump inhibitor and clopidogrel does not elevate cardiovascular risk

Studies demonstrate over-utilization of re-hospital emergency care

MAQUET's VASOVIEW EVH reduces rates of leg infection in CABG patients

New cerebral protection device prevents stroke during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries

PERSEUS clinical program comparing TAXUS Element Stent to prior-generation stents: 12-month results

Drug-eluting stents offer new hope to patients with critical limb ischemia

CT scan of heart's epicardial fat provides better prognosis compared to standard diagnostic techniques

Global Nutrition Transition Conference: Physicians and nutrition scientists to discuss solutions for preventing obesity

GE Healthcare introduces OSA diagnostic tool for inpatient cardiac patients

Boston Scientific announces results from HORIZONS AMI trial assessing Express bare-metal stent

Metabolic drugs top the list of prescription drug expenses for elderly Medicare beneficiaries

CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent provides better outcome compared to Medtronic’s Endeavor Stent

Genzyme, Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 study of mipomersen in hoFH patients meets primary endpoint

Cheetah Medical closes $20M financing round; plans to expand hemodynamic monitoring market

High ABI may indicate risk for future heart attacks

Surprise stimulus temporarily blinds subsequent events

Medtronic announces positive STOP AF clinical trial data at 59th American College of Cardiology session

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