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.

Hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake may play role in stroke research

A Mayo Clinic research team is focusing on a hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake for the role it may play in a dangerous blood vessel narrowing in stroke patients that can lead to a second stroke, reduced blood flow and brain damage.

2 Aug 2004

Typical warning signs for sleep apnea

Twenty percent of Americans have trouble sleeping. Millions of them have a common condition called obstructive sleep apnea, a respiratory disorder marked by upper airway obstruction, which causes brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

31 Jul 2004

Left atrium neasurements may predict future for heart attack patients

Ultrasound measurements of the volume of the left atrium taken soon after a heart attack can help physicians predict a patient’s five-year mortality rate, according to a new study in the July 21, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

22 Jul 2004

New remote home care monitoring system

People who suffer from chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and heart problems should benefit from a new remote, home care monitoring system that could also bring an end to overcrowded waiting rooms.

22 Jul 2004

Benefits from diet lower in salt not limited to those with high blood pressure

It has long been established that people suffering from high blood pressure can benefit greatly by reducing their salt intake.

21 Jul 2004

Tinned tuna lowers the risk of an irregular hearbeat

A new study out today suggests that tuna or broiled/baked fish lowers the risk of an irregular hearbeat among elderly people.

19 Jul 2004

Ghrelin may help reduce obsesity in children with genetic disorder

What if your child’s overeating was so uncontrollable that it led to eating out of the garbage, ransacking the kitchen and getting arrested for stealing food?

15 Jul 2004

Findings alleviate concerns of physicians reluctant to prescribe beta-blockers because of cardiovascular adverse effects

Beta-blocker therapy in patients with heart failure is well tolerated and associated with fewer overall withdrawals and less heart failure deterioration than placebo, according to a new article in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Jul 2004

New guidelines for pulmonary arterial hypertension caution the use of calcium channel blockers

A new evidence-based guideline for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) cautions the use of calcium channel blockers, a commonly used treatment for high blood pressure, in unstable patients due to the potentially fatal side effects associated with the medication.

13 Jul 2004

Dexrazoxane reduces heart damage caused by childhood leukemia treatment with doxorubicin (Adriamycin)

A potent chemotherapy that is highly effective in treating the most common form of childhood leukemia can significantly harm the heart, but findings from a multi-center study

9 Jul 2004

Evidence is emerging that adult stem cells from bone marrow have therapeutic potential for restoring cardiac cells

Results of a randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that the transfer of adult stem cells derived from bone marrow could improve cardiac functioning after heart attack.

8 Jul 2004

Exercise found to be equally effective as diuretics in preventing high blood pressure and an enlarged heart

Only recently was a type of diuretic known as thiazides been found to be superior to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium antagonists (calcium channel blockers) in preventing one or more major types of cardiovascular disease.

30 Jun 2004

Chemotherapy agents as well as the newest biologic and targeted cancer therapy drugs, can harm a patient’s heart

Cancer treatments, including the most commonly used chemotherapy agents as well as the newest biologic and targeted therapy drugs, can harm a patient’s heart, sometimes fatally

29 Jun 2004

Immune modulation therapy, latest treatment for people with chronic heart failure

Here is the latest treatment for people with chronic heart failure: a nurse draws blood from the patient, runs that blood through a machine, superheating and “stressing” the blood, and then, injects it back into the patient.

29 Jun 2004

British government's new NHS improvement plan

People who need an operation will wait no more than 18 weeks by 2008, Health Secretary John Reid said today.

24 Jun 2004

Fewer Americans with Alzheimer’s and $149 billion in annual Medicare and Medicaid savings by 2025

A new Alzheimer’s Association report released today shows that medical research breakthroughs could result in nearly three million fewer Americans with the disease and $149 billion in annual Medicare and Medicaid savings by 2025.

24 Jun 2004

Over half of older adults hospitalized for heart disease also have reduced kidney function

Over half of older adults hospitalized for heart disease also have reduced kidney function, suggests a study in the July Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Jun 2004

First license to begin research involving therapeutic cloning

A special licensing committee of the UK Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority (HFEA) met on June 16 in London to decide whether to grant a license to scientists at The Center for Life at Newcastle University.

20 Jun 2004

Valsartan may reduce cardiac illness and death

Results of a study in this week's issue of THE LANCET provide further evidence that a class of drugs that lower blood pressure are a treatment option for older people at high cardiovascular risk. The study also emphasises the importance of early blood-pressure lowering after the start of treatment to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

17 Jun 2004

FDA panel to review results of Guidant's heart failure trial

Guidant Corporation has announced that the Circulatory System Devices Panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review Guidant’s submission to expand user labeling, including indications, for its cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators