Heart Failure News and Research

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Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. It should not be confused with cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction.

Acorda Therapeutics acquires Neuronex

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company has completed the acquisition of Neuronex, Inc., a privately held company developing a nasal spray formulation of diazepam. Under the terms of the agreement, Acorda paid $6.8 million to Neuronex to complete the acquisition.

21 Dec 2012

Updated U.S. prescribing information for Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. prescribing information for Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) capsules was updated to include a contraindication related to use in patients with mechanical prosthetic heart valve replacement.

21 Dec 2012

Study shows dramatic underuse of basic medical therapy

Patients who quit smoking and took an aspirin and statin before undergoing treatment for blocked leg arteries were less likely to suffer a complication six months later, according to new research led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

21 Dec 2012

Palliative care consultation may benefit heart failure patients

Symptomatic heart failure patients experience a high prevalence of pain and symptom burden akin to the experiences of cancer patients, say researchers, who report that a palliative care consultation in this population could reduce these factors.

20 Dec 2012

Hospitals with good work environment have low readmission rates

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has found that Medicare patients treated in hospitals with a good work environment for nurses had up to ten percent lower odds of readmission than those treated in hospitals with a poor work environment.

20 Dec 2012

Health care quality: Hospital readmission rates, innovations in patient care

Modern Healthcare reports on new research that raises questions about the relationship between shorter hospital stays and higher hospital readmission rates.

19 Dec 2012

Surgery poses cardiac risk to lupus women

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus are at significantly increased risk for short-term perioperative adverse cardiovascular events, find researchers.

17 Dec 2012

New research reveals music's health benefits

Music has been incorporated into medical practice since before the ancient Greeks. However, though practitioners have been convinced of music's health benefits for thousands of years, there had been little peer-reviewed research to back them up. But recent studies are providing an empirical backbone for the anecdotal evidence.

17 Dec 2012

FDA grants accelerated approval to ARIAD’s Iclusig for treatment of CML, Ph+ ALL

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that following a priority review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval of Iclusig (ponatinib) for the treatment of adult patients with chronic, accelerated or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) that is resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) that is resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy.

14 Dec 2012

Visual impairment and diabetes increase side by side

Visual impairment that is not explained by refractive error is increasing, as is the prevalence of diabetes – particularly diabetes lasting 10 years or longer, show US study results.

14 Dec 2012

Diuretic-based antihypertensive therapy touted for obese

Diuretic-based antihypertensive regimens may be preferable to calcium channel blocker-based therapy in patients who are obese, suggest researchers writing in The Lancet.

13 Dec 2012

New biocompatible patch can repair congenital heart defects

A painstaking effort to create a biocompatible patch to heal infant hearts is paying off at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital.

13 Dec 2012

Dantrolene may help combat Duchenne muscular dystrophy in boys

Drugs are currently being tested that show promise in treating patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an inherited disease that affects about one in 3,600 boys and results in muscle degeneration and, eventually, death.

13 Dec 2012

Link between CTNNA3 gene mutations and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

Unfortunately, newspaper articles about young athletes dying suddenly on the field are not unheard of. Such reports fuel discussions about compulsory screening, for example of young footballers, for heart failure. Research by scientists from Ghent (VIB/UGent) and Italy will benefit these screening methods.

12 Dec 2012

Cedars-Sinai first in Los Angeles County to achieve Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification

Cedars-Sinai is one of the first five medical centers in the nation and the first in Los Angeles County to achieve Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

11 Dec 2012

AMAG presents new data from two ferumoxytol phase III trials on IDA at ASH annual meeting

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that new data from two pivotal phase III clinical trials were presented at the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

11 Dec 2012

Janssen receives FDA approval for ZYTIGA to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Janssen announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a broader indication for the oral, once-daily medication ZYTIGA (abiraterone acetate).

10 Dec 2012

Heart-healthy diet may reduce recurrent stroke, MI risk

Eating a “heart-healthy” diet may lower the risk for recurrent cardiovascular disease events in middle-aged individuals with a history of such conditions, researchers report.

10 Dec 2012

New survival results from Genentech’s Perjeta Phase III combination study on HER2-positive mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced updated survival results from the Phase III CLEOPATRA study, which showed that the combination of Perjeta (pertuzumab), Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel chemotherapy significantly extended the lives (overall survival) of people with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC), compared to Herceptin, chemotherapy and placebo.

10 Dec 2012

BMI may influence which blood pressure treatments work best

According to new research published Online First in The Lancet, body mass index (BMI) may influence which blood pressure medications work best at reducing the major complications of high blood pressure (strokes, heart attacks, and death).

7 Dec 2012