Heart News and Research

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Discovery on human individuality and maternal and paternal DNA

Have you ever wondered why you inherited your mother's smile but not your father's height?

18 Oct 2007

Children who are obese or who are at risk for obesity show early signs of heart disease

Childhood obesity in the United States is an epidemic -- nationwide, 19 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 17 percent of those 12 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who are overweight during childhood also have an increased risk of obesity in adulthood and are at greater risk for complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, because obesity increases total blood volume, which leads to extra stress on the heart.

18 Oct 2007

Elderly Medicare, Medicaid patients not receiving quality care

If the care received by vulnerable older people concurrently enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid was evaluated on a grading scale, it would squeak by with a barely passing mark, a new UCLA study has found.

18 Oct 2007

Aspirin may really be a man's drug

First it was an apple, now it is an aspirin a day that may keep the doctor away.

18 Oct 2007

New therapy for chronic spasticity and rigidity

Research led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has identified a target with potential as an effective new therapy for chronic spasticity and rigidity, a painful condition that often results from spinal cord injury.

17 Oct 2007

Taxol-type drugs give slight boost to survival rates in early breast cancer

The breast cancer drugs called taxanes, which include Taxol (paclitaxel) and Taxotere (docetaxel), increase survival rates when used as part of chemotherapy following surgery for cancers that have not spread, according to a new review of the research.

17 Oct 2007

Bypass surgery more likely than angioplasty to relieve coronary artery disease pain

Patients with mid-range coronary artery disease are more likely to get relief from painful angina and less likely to have repeat procedures if they get bypass surgery rather than balloon angioplasty with or without a stent, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

17 Oct 2007

Little difference in risk rates for angioplasty, bypass procedures

Patients with heart disease who undergo coronary angioplasty have an equivalent risk of death and heart attack as patients who undergo coronary bypass surgery, according to Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

17 Oct 2007

Severely mentally ill at high risk for cardiovascular disease

A psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that although mortality from cardiovascular disease has declined in the United States over the past several decades, patients with severe psychiatric illness are not enjoying the benefits of that progress.

17 Oct 2007

Scientists reassess heart disease causes

Almost 3,000 Northern Ireland people are to take part in a Queen's study analysing their risks of developing heart disease in the future.

17 Oct 2007

Parenting interventions for the prevention of unintentional injuries in childhood

Teaching parenting skills could be an effective way to reduce childhood injuries, a new review of studies suggests, especially for disadvantaged families.

17 Oct 2007

Mental disorders are disorders of the brain

Depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia and Parkinson's disease are just a few examples of "disorders of the brain".

17 Oct 2007

Garlic boosts hydrogen sulfide to relax arteries

Eating garlic is one of the best ways to lower high blood pressure and protect yourself from cardiovascular disease.

17 Oct 2007

Findings could lead to new therapy for spinal cord injury

17 Oct 2007

Dietary advice for reducing cardiovascular risk

Diet is an important part of coronary heart disease prevention, and a new review of studies finds that dietary advice leads to modest improvement in risk factors such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, especially in people at higher risk.

17 Oct 2007

Carnegie Mellon, Pitt team use wrist-mounted instrument to measure psychosocial stress

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, led by Pitt Psychology Professor Thomas Kamarck, are studying the effectiveness of a wrist-mounted instrument for measuring psychosocial stress exposure during the course of daily life.

17 Oct 2007

Anti-fibrinolytics reduce blood loss during cardiac surgery

The amount of blood loss that occurs during major complex surgery is limited by the body's ability to form blood clots.

17 Oct 2007

Nanna naps prevent heart attacks

British researchers have discovered that a "nanna nap" or siesta in the afternoon can help lower the blood pressure and possibly ward off heart attacks.

17 Oct 2007

Risk of death following bariatric surgery

Approximately 1 percent of Pennsylvania residents who underwent bariatric surgery between 1995 and 2004 died within one year of the surgery and nearly 6 percent died within five years, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, a theme issue on bariatric surgery.

16 Oct 2007

Modafinil effective treatment for excessive sleepiness

A study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) finds that modafinil is well-tolerated in the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with disorders of sleep and wakefulness such as shift work sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and narcolepsy, and does not affect cardiovascular or sleep parameters.

16 Oct 2007