Heart Surgery News and Research

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Heart surgery is done to correct problems with the heart. More than half a million heart surgeries are done each year in the United States for a variety of heart problems. Heart surgery is used to correct heart problems in children and adults. This article discusses heart surgeries for adults. For more information about heart surgeries for children, see the Diseases and Conditions Index articles on congenital heart defects, holes in the heart, and tetralogy of Fallot.

The most common type of heart surgery for adults is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During CABG, surgeons use healthy arteries or veins taken from another part of the body to bypass (that is, go around) blocked arteries. CABG relieves chest pain and reduces the risk of heart attack.

Impaired maternal-fetal environment associated with lower survival after surgery in newborns with CHD

Children who undergo surgery for congenital heart disease have lower survival rates by three years of age if there are specific problems during fetal development, such as hypertension in the mother or the newborn being born preterm or small for gestational age.

30 May 2018

Zinc and copper metabolism in baby teeth may help predict ASD risk

Using evidence found in baby teeth, researchers from the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report that cycles involved in zinc and copper metabolism are dysregulated in autism spectrum disorder, and can be used to predict who will later develop the disease.

30 May 2018

Researchers identify novel epigenetic mutations as cause of neurodevelopmental, congenital disorders

Researchers have identified a type of genetic aberration to be the cause of certain neurodevelopmental disorders and congenital diseases, such as autism and congenital heart disease, which are undetectable by conventional genetic testing.

25 May 2018

Acetaminophen use helps reduce acute kidney injury risk in pediatric heart surgery patients

Children who underwent cardiac surgery were less likely to develop acute kidney injury if they had been treated with acetaminophen in the first 48 hours after their procedures, according to a Vanderbilt study just published in JAMA Pediatrics.

15 May 2018

Simple walking test helps identify patients at high risk for postoperative cognitive dysfunction

The distance a patient can walk in 6-minutes before a heart operation may be a clue to whether that patient will develop problems with memory, concentration, and attention after the procedure, according to a study published online today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

10 May 2018

Study finds no connection between weekday for lung cancer operation and patient survival

The day of the week on which a patient has a lung cancer operation has no significance for their survival. This has been demonstrated by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in a new study published in the journal Chest.

3 May 2018

Palliative care associated with shorter hospital stays and lower costs, study shows

Palliative care - which better aligns medical treatments with patients' goals and wishes, aggressively treats distressing symptoms, and improves care coordination, - is associated with shorter hospital stays and lower costs, and shows its greatest effect among the sickest patients, according to a study published Monday, April 30, in JAMA Internal Medicine.

30 Apr 2018

New initiative launched to support goals of Human Cell Atlas

Uri Laserson, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomics Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and collaborators have been awarded one of 85 grants announced today from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF (CZI), an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

20 Apr 2018

New leadless pacemakers carry reduced risks of complications and are less invasive

Loyola Medicine is now offering select heart patients leadless pacemakers that are less invasive and cause fewer complications than standard pacemakers.

9 Apr 2018

Expert group presents framework to address physician burnout

Physician burnout continues to be a pervasive issue, with more than 50 percent of doctors reporting problems such as dissatisfaction, high rates of depression, and increased suicide risk.

29 Mar 2018

Minimally invasive surgical device may one day provide lasting heart repair

A minimally invasive surgical device to be commercialized by a newly launched startup could fundamentally transform the way doctors correct organ defects.

15 Mar 2018

Medicaid is rural America’s financial midwife

Brianna Foster, 23, lives minutes away from Genesis Hospital, the main source of health care and the only hospital with maternity services in southeastern Ohio's rural Muskingum County.

12 Mar 2018

Researchers show complex link between physical, behavioral characteristics and brain health

Mount Sinai researchers have shown, for the first time, the complex web of links between physical and behavioral characteristics, like age, body mass index (BMI), and substance use, and specific patterns of brain structure and function in patients with psychosis.

7 Mar 2018

Technology-based program increases cardiac rehab referral rates

Simply changing cardiac referral processes to opt-out rather than opt-in significantly increased referral rates, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's NCDR Annual Conference in Orlando.

7 Mar 2018

People 85 and older with high cholesterol have reduced risk for cognitive decline, study reports

People aged 85 and older whose total cholesterol had increased from their levels at midlife had a reduced risk for marked cognitive decline, compared with those a decade younger whose cholesterol was similarly elevated, Mount Sinai researchers report in a new study.

6 Mar 2018

Children from low-income areas have poor outcomes after heart surgery, study finds

Children from low-income neighborhoods had a higher mortality rate and higher hospital costs after heart surgery compared with those from higher-income neighborhoods, found a national study of more than 86,000 kids with congenital heart disease.

24 Feb 2018

Catheter-based procedure increases treatment options for mitral valve disease

Some heart patients haven't yet been able to access the growing trend toward minimally invasive procedures. A new clinical trial, though, makes a form of mitral valve repair an option without an open-heart surgery.

22 Feb 2018

Study reveals increased disease risk after early heart surgery

Infections and autoimmune diseases are more common among people who have undergone heart surgery as children and had their thymus removed at the same time, which is often done to get access to the heart. This is evident in a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

21 Feb 2018

Scientists explore connection between bad sleep habits and stiff blood vessels

What do bad sleep habits and stiff blood vessels have in common? Nothing good, say scientists exploring what appears to be a direct connection between a circadian clock that isn't working as it should and an enzyme that promotes inflammation working overtime.

20 Feb 2018

Participation of family members in basic care enhances healing of hospitalized patients

A voluntary program being spearheaded by Intermountain Healthcare that allows family members of hospitalized patients to participate in their care enhanced healing and reduced readmission rates, according to a new study published in the February issue of the medical journal, CHEST.

13 Feb 2018