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.

Passengers engaged in eight mitigating factors less likely to report allergic reaction, researchers find

Few situations can provoke more anxiety for people with peanut or tree-nut allergies than having an allergic reaction while flying on an airplane and being unable to get help.

16 Mar 2013

Catheter-delivered aortic valve durable at three years

All-cause and cardiovascular mortality were similar for transaortic valve replacement compared to open-heart surgery in high-risk older patients at three years with no increased risk of stroke after 30 days, according to results from the PARTNER study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

13 Mar 2013

New Sapien XT aortic valve reduces rate of death and strokes

The new Sapien XT aortic valve showed a non-significantly lower rate of death and strokes at 30 days than the original model, and both valves demonstrated notably better short-term outcomes than seen with the Sapien system in PARTNER I, according to the first results from the PARTNER II study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

12 Mar 2013

Importance of getting quality sleep

Regularly getting four hours or less of sleep isn't enough rest for most people, but sacrificing sleep to get it all done appears to be the new cultural norm.

7 Mar 2013

Study finds emergency departments provide not enough information about child passenger safety

Each year, more than 130,000 children younger than 13 are treated in U.S. emergency departments after motor-vehicle crash-related injuries.

6 Mar 2013

Study finds inconsistency in scoring methods that have been developed to evaluate NICUs

Scoring methods commonly used to evaluate Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU) are inconsistent, according to new research from the University of Michigan.

6 Mar 2013

Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics launches human trials for Streptococcus A vaccine

Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics has launched human trials for a vaccine against Streptococcus A, the germ that causes rheumatic fever.

1 Mar 2013

Isotretinoin does not increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease

Doctors should not be discouraged from prescribing isotretinoin to adolescents for inflammatory acne, according to a new study by Canadian and U.S. scientists showing the drug does not increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

22 Feb 2013

Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery: an interview with Thomas Cherry, Cook Medical

Cook Medical is the world’s largest privately held medical device manufacturer. The ENT division is Cook’s 10th business unit/clinical division and we are excited to meet the needs of ENT patients.

From COOK MEDICAL INC. 18 Feb 2013

Meridian Health, Bayshore Community Hospital announce $5 million charitable contribution

Bayshore Community Hospital and Meridian Health Affiliated Foundations today announced a $5 million charitable contribution from Mrs. Janice Mitchell Vassar, whose sole desire, in her words, is to "make my hospital the best hospital it can be."

16 Feb 2013

Patients undergoing major vascular surgery procedures are at increased risk of stroke

Patients undergoing major vascular surgery procedures are at increased risk of stroke, leading to a high mortality rate and prolonged hospitalization, according to a study in the February issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

6 Feb 2013

Performing angiography and cardiac surgery on the same day increases risk of acute kidney injury

Performing heart surgery on the same day as angiography is now confirmed as a risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI), and hospital policy limiting the practice for elective cardiac surgery has significantly reduced the rate of AKI, according to a study published in the February 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

31 Jan 2013

Sanofi introduces LeGoo gel to temporarily stop blood flow during cardiovascular surgery

Sanofi US announced the commercial launch of LeGoo, a biopolymer gel that allows surgeons to temporarily stop blood flow during surgery without the use of clamps, elastic loops or other conventional occlusion devices, which may increase risk of trauma to blood vessels.

30 Jan 2013

Abbott Vascular designates Montreal Heart Institute as a Center of Excellence

The Montreal Heart Institute has just been designated as a Center of Excellence by Abbott Vascular for the percutaneous treatment of mitral valve failure with their MitraClip system. The MHI has therefore become a reference centre for this procedure for all hospitals across Canada and many other hospitals in North America.

29 Jan 2013

Single dose of seasonal flu vaccine is safe for egg allergic children

Egg allergic children, including those with a history of anaphylaxis to egg, can safely receive a single dose of the seasonal influenza vaccine, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.

23 Jan 2013

Octapharma receives FDA approval for Octaplas to treat blood clotting disorders

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Octaplas, a pooled plasma (human) blood product for the replacement of clotting proteins (coagulation factors) in certain medical conditions where patients have insufficient levels.

18 Jan 2013

Preterm infants with slower growth have delayed development in the cerebral cortex

Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.

17 Jan 2013

Prompt smoking cessation important for patients to receive CABG

Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the surgery and may lead to later graft failure, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

2 Jan 2013

First Edition: December 19, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

19 Dec 2012

Workers, employers, elderly and hospitals all worried about effects of fiscal cuts

As negotiations drag on to cut federal debt, many groups are concerned about how potential changes in spending will affect them.