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.

Use of blockers and statins to prevent heart complications during surgery questioned

The use of drugs to prevent heart complications during surgery is called into question in this week's BMJ.

23 Jun 2007

Strong work ethic and sense of place delays elderly heart patients from seeking care

A strong work ethic and sense of place appear to influence how elderly rural Albertans with congestive heart failure manage their illness, in that these values may delay them from seeking help at critical times, a University of Alberta study shows.

23 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

In the first trial of its kind in the world, 60 patients who have recently suffered a major heart attack will be injected with selected stem cells from their own bone marrow during routine coronary bypass surgery.

22 Jun 2007

Why excessive body weight increases the risk for heart disease

New research from The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center helps explain why excessive body weight increases the risk for heart disease.

20 Jun 2007

Which exercise for heart failure?

Countless exercise programs claim to trim the thighs, abs and buttocks, but how many offer to reshape a flabby heart? According to new research, aerobic exercise does just that for patients with stable heart failure, literally turning an enlarged heart into a trimmer, more efficient organ for pumping blood throughout the body.

14 Jun 2007

Metabolic syndrome may be associated with compromised heart structure and function

Typified by high blood pressure, weight gain around the waist and problems regulating blood sugar, metabolic syndrome may also be associated with compromised heart structure and function, according to a paper published in the online open access journal BMC Cardiovascular Disorders.

8 Jun 2007

Low potassium levels linked to increased mortality in heart failure patients

New research from University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that patients with heart failure who have low to low-normal serum potassium levels are at increased risk of death.

8 Jun 2007

Heart disease deaths fall, as obesity and diabetes increase

Epidemiologists at the University of Liverpool and the Heart of Mersey have found that approximately half the recent fall in coronary heart disease deaths in the US is due to positive life style changes and a further half to medical therapies.

8 Jun 2007

Herceptin does not increase heart failure in patients long-term

Risk of congestive heart failure in women treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and combination chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer did not increase over time according to a five-year follow-up of National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial B-31, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

5 Jun 2007

Benefits of Herceptin are lasting

An updated analysis of two large randomized clinical trials has found that breast cancer patients who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy are living longer and with less risk of recurrent disease, compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone.

5 Jun 2007

Simple exercise test predicts mortality risk in heart failure patients

A simple exercise test may help predict mortality risk in patients with heart failure and help doctors to better tailor treatment strategies, according to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

1 Jun 2007

More considered approach to the safety of rosiglitazone needed

A calmer and more considered approach to the safety of rosiglitazone (Avandia) - the GlaxoSmithKline treatment for type 2 diabetes - is needed to avoid unnecessary panic among patients, says an Editorial published online and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet.

28 May 2007

Heart-assist device gives Culver City man a better quality of life

Mark Heiner of Culver City reads books, paints artistically, takes walks and does laundry – activities that would be considered routine except for the fact that a four-pound disk implanted in his abdominal cavity is keeping his blood flowing.

28 May 2007

Gene therapy used to reverse heart failure in animals

Heart researchers at the Center for Translational Medicine at Jefferson Medical College have used gene therapy to reverse heart failure in animals.

24 May 2007

Study of VentrAssist heart support device as a bridge to transplantation

Doctors at UPMC have begun a study using an investigational cardiac device, the VentrAssist, Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAD) to see whether it can be used safely and effectively in patients with end-stage heart failure.

23 May 2007

Combination of medicines best for blood pressure control

Millions of Americans take medications for hypertension but do not achieve control of their blood pressure.

22 May 2007

FDA in trouble over widely used diabetic drug Avandia

A diabetes pill which has been widely used since 1999 is now suspected of increasing the risk of heart attacks for those taking it.

22 May 2007

First beating heart transplant procedure in the US

Protected by its own nutrients and blood supply, a beating heart supported by an investigational organ preservation device was successfully transplanted into a 47-year-old man with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension on Sunday, April 8.

18 May 2007

Quality improvement effort pays off in diabetes care

Spending money to improve diabetes care at federally qualified community health centers is a sound investment, according to one of the first studies to examine the clinical and economic impact of quality improvement on diabetes care.

18 May 2007

Pycnogenol natural pine bark extract reduces heart failure

A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the journal of Cardiovascular Toxicology reveals Pycnogenol natural pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, helps prevent damage that high blood pressure causes to the heart.

17 May 2007