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.

FDA approves Herceptin with chemotherapy for HER2-positive metastatic cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Herceptin (trastuzumab) in combination with chemotherapy (cisplatin plus either capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil [5-FU]) for HER2-positive metastatic (cancer that has spread) cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction, in men and women who have not received prior medicines for their metastatic disease.

21 Oct 2010

Beryl Institute awards $1,000 grants to health care organizations

As part of its commitment to supporting efforts to improve the patient experience in healthcare, The Beryl Institute has awarded $1,000 grants to ten health care organizations that are exploring effective methods for addressing patient experience issues.

20 Oct 2010

Hospital mortality rates decline by 7.98% from 2007 to 2009

A new independent study by HealthGrades of patient outcomes at America's hospitals found that patients at 5-star rated hospitals had a 72% lower risk of dying when compared with patients at 1-star-rated hospitals -- an enormous gap that has held steady over the past years even as overall mortality rates have improved.

20 Oct 2010

Study reveals sex hormones can influence structure and function of heart's right ventricle

In the largest human study to date on the topic, researchers have uncovered evidence of the possible influence of human sex hormones on the structure and function of the right ventricle (RV) of the heart.

20 Oct 2010

Acorda announces data of GGF2 preclinical studies for focal ischemic stroke

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc, today announced that data from preclinical studies show that Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) promoted functional recovery following a permanent focal ischemic stroke.

19 Oct 2010

AHRQ analysis finds hospital charges for patient stay averaged $18,000 per day

Hospital charges for the most expensive patient stays at U.S. hospitals in 2008 averaged about $18,000 per day, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These patients were most likely to be in the hospital for treatment of septicemia, or blood infection, hardening of the arteries, and heart attacks.

19 Oct 2010

UCB presents P3, P4 clinical trial data for Crohn's disease at ACG Scientific Meeting

Findings from the PRECiSE 3 (P3) open label extension study for Cimzia, demonstrating the longest continuously running maintenance trial for an anti-TNF in Crohn's disease, will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20. Additionally, long-term efficacy data from the PRECiSE 4 (P4) clinical trial also will be presented at the meeting.

19 Oct 2010

ACG meeting to exhibit Cimzia data for Crohn's disease treatment

Studies and analyses of the Crohn's disease (CD) treatment Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20.

18 Oct 2010

Researchers discover blocking beta-arrestin 1 protein can reduce severity of heart failure

A Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researcher has announced a breakthrough discovery to block a protein that can contribute to heart failure. His discovery will appear in an upcoming issue of the prestigious medical journal, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 Oct 2010

Medtronic CoreValve System IDE for transcatheter aortic valve implantation receives FDA approval

Medtronic, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional approval for its Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application and pivotal clinical trial protocol to begin evaluating the Medtronic CoreValve System for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

15 Oct 2010

Cheetah Medical launches new NICOM System with integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality in Europe

Cheetah Medical today announced the European launch of its new NICOM(R) System which offers an integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality (OxiMax(R) Covidien plc). In addition to core hemodynamic parameters including Cardiac Output (CO), Stroke Volume (SV), Noninvasive Blood Pressure (NIBP), Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR) and Stroke Volume Variation (SVV), the new system provides a new important parameter, Oxygen Delivery Index (DO2I).

15 Oct 2010

Costs for end-of-life care rising, hospice care may be an antidote

Health care costs at the end of life show no signs of leveling off, according to new research from the United States and Canada published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Oct 2010

BIOTRONIK announces European release of TI Trend Chart

BIOTRONIK SE Co. & KG, leading manufacturer of cardiovascular devices, has announced the European release of its Thoracic Impedance (TI) Trend Chart via its pioneering BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring technology and Lumax 540 implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) series.

15 Oct 2010

Studies examine risk factors for hospital readmission

In two studies published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the risk factors for readmission to the hospital are examined based upon general medicine inpatients and those with at least two admissions in a six-month period. Alongside clinical factors such as having cancer, chronic diseases such as heart failure or lung disease, or being on high-risk medications, the studies identified other factors which increase the likelihood of a patient being readmitted which could help hospitalists focus in on these groups.

13 Oct 2010

Study examines health-care costs among heart failure patients in Canada

As the population ages, health care epidemiologist Padma Kaul and cardiologist Paul Armstrong, researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, want health-care professionals to talk to their patients about their options on places to die, whether it be at home, in hospital or a palliative care facility like hospice.

13 Oct 2010

New, longer lasting LVAD implanted in Canadian heart-failure patient

In a Canadian first, the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre used a new kind of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to treat a patient with advanced heart failure. The new device is longer lasting than older generation LVADs and may eliminate the need for a second LVAD - a major drawback with the old technology.

13 Oct 2010

VNSNY adopts advanced information technology to improve patient care

Unlike most home healthcare agencies, which have restricted the use of computer programs to such non-patient-care items as billing, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York has adopted advanced information technology in order to improve patient care. One of the results, documented in a new publication, is a significant 10% reduction in patient episodes ending in hospitalization, from 37% to 27% over the years 2001-2009.

12 Oct 2010

NCKU develops novel stem cell therapy for heart repair

Assistant Prof. Patrick C. H. Hsieh of Institute of Nanotechnology and Microsystems Engineering, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has led a research team of myocardial regeneration to conduct an experiment on pigs and has proved that by combining self-assembling peptide nanofiber hydrogel with autologous bone marrow stem cell, myocardial protection after acute myocardial infarction, vascular regeneration and heart functions can be improved.

12 Oct 2010

Lundbeck, Merck announce commercialization agreement for SYCREST sublingual tablets

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced a commercialization agreement for SYCREST (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5 mg, 10 mg). Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck will pay an undisclosed fee as well as product supply payments in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to SYCREST in all markets outside the United States, China and Japan. Lundbeck expects to launch SYCREST in the European Union (EU), where it is already approved, at the beginning of 2011.

12 Oct 2010

Challenges in provision of high-quality health care at end of life

Health care in the last six months of life has become progressively more expensive for patients with heart failure both among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States and older adults in Canada, with a high rate of hospitalizations in the final six months of life in both countries, according to two reports posted online today that will be published in the February 14 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010