Congenital Heart Disease News and Research

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Mortality after cardiac surgery: an interview with Dr. Bryan G. Maxwell, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The last decade has seen a strong movement towards the use of various quality measurements to grade medical care. In surgery, 30-day mortality is one of the most common benchmarks. We wanted to determine if patterns of postoperative mortality showed any signs that the process of measuring medical care might actually alter how (and when) care is provided or withdrawn.

6 May 2014

Loyola offers new type of implantable defibrillator that prevents sudden cardiac death

Loyola University Medical Center has begun offering patients a new type of implantable defibrillator that prevents sudden cardiac death with an electric shock to the heart.

29 Apr 2014

Fibroblasts could offer alternative to heart transplants for patients with heart disease

Fibroblasts, cells long thought to be boring and irrelevant, could offer an alternative to heart transplants for patients with heart disease.

25 Apr 2014

Endogenous tissue growth: an interview with Laurent Grandidier, CEO, Xeltis

ETG or Endogenous Tissue Growth is a new therapeutic category in which surgeons use implants designed to allow the body to repair itself by spontaneously growing natural, healthy tissue from the inside without the use of stem cells or animal-derived products.

25 Mar 2014

More compassion, resources required to help guide treatment choices for congenital heart disease

Based on a survey of parents of children with congenital heart disease, physicians delivering the diagnosis need to do a better job of showing compassion, ensuring parents understand all their options and providing easily understandable information, according to a new study published in the February edition of the journal, Pediatric Cardiology.

18 Mar 2014

Elsevier launches medical reference and learning platforms for clinicians, students

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the launch of the fully redesigned Expert Consult and Student Consult, its two medical reference and learning platforms, now powered by Inkling, the creator of engaging, intuitive digital books for some of the world's most respected publishers.

6 Mar 2014

Waiting room time helps in effective screening for depression and anxiety

A new study in General Hospital Psychiatry finds patients visiting the hospital for a variety of ailments can be easily screened for depression and anxiety as they wait for care, information that can then be sent immediately to their doctor to address.

27 Feb 2014

Costs of care differ significantly across hospitals for children born with heart defects

Costs of care differ significantly across hospitals for children born with heart defects, according to new research led by a University of Michigan researcher. Congenital heart defects are known to be the most common birth defects, impacting nearly 1 in every 100 births.

25 Feb 2014

Researchers find new drug compound that treats laboratory mice with congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease is the most common form of birth defect, affecting one out of every 125 babies, according to the National Institutes of Health. Researchers from the University of Missouri recently found success using a drug to treat laboratory mice with one form of congenital heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - a weakening of the heart caused by abnormally thick muscle.

23 Feb 2014

Admedus obtains FDA clearance to market CardioCel in the US

Admedus today announced it has received FDA clearance to market CardioCel in the US. CardioCel is the group's lead regenerative tissue product to repair and treat a range of cardiovascular and vascular defects. The Company will now look to complement its existing product launch in Europe with preparation for initial sales in the US.

10 Feb 2014

Special publication details breakthrough research on causes of vascular disease

The world's leading voices in the fight against Pulmonary Hypertension have compiled a special publication detailing the breakthrough research into the causes of this debilitating vascular disease.

6 Jan 2014

Further boost for copy number variant role in schizophrenia

A large study confirms that 11 previously identified copy number variants are likely associated with schizophrenia.

20 Dec 2013

Copenhagen scientists study link between congenital arrhythmia and hypoglycemia

In a new study, scientists from University of Copenhagen document a connection between congenital arrhythmia and the bodies' ability to handle sugar. The results can be of vital importance for patients with the disease and for the future treatment of diabetes. The new study has just been published in the scientific journal Diabetes.

19 Dec 2013

New guidelines to manage heart failure in children

Heart failure in children is an important cause of childhood health problems and death. The Children's Heart Failure Study Group of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, in collaboration with the Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association, has developed new guidelines to assist practitioners in primary care and emergency departments to recognize and successfully manage heart failure in children with undiagnosed heart disease and symptoms of possible heart failure.

12 Dec 2013

New guidelines developed to manage heart failure in children with undiagnosed heart disease

12 Dec 2013

Study recommends cut point for clinical experience in pediatric ICUs

Nursing leaders from 38 children's hospitals, led by Patricia Hickey, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, vice president of critical care and cardiovascular services at Boston Children's Hospital, demonstrated that nursing education and experience significantly impact outcomes for patients who underwent cardiac surgery. The researchers recommend that there be no more than 20 percent of nurses with less than two years of clinical experience in pediatric ICUs to decrease mortality rates. Nurse education preparation at the baccalaureate level or higher also improved mortality rates in these hospitals.

15 Nov 2013

New recommendations for patients with congenital heart disease

The diagnosis and treatments of congenital heart disease have improved so much that many babies now born with heart defects can still look forward to a long and fulfilling life. Just two generations ago, the majority of babies born with heart defects died before their first birthday, but today many of these conditions can be corrected.

8 Nov 2013

Lone atrial fibrillation in children has substantial symptomatic burden, recurrence rate

Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms.

8 Oct 2013

Vera and Paul Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program to be established in Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute

In an effort to lengthen the life span and improve the quality of life for those born with heart defects, longtime Cedars-Sinai supporters Vera and Paul Guerin have donated $10 million to establish the Vera and Paul Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program in the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

20 Sep 2013

North Carolina professor receives 2013 New Scholar in Aging Award from Ellison Medical Foundation

Li Qian, PhD, an assistant professor in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, has received a 2013 New Scholar in Aging Award from the Ellison Medical Foundation.

12 Sep 2013