Congenital Heart Disease News and Research

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Study examines effect of heart surgery on employment

A new studying appearing in Congenital Heart Disease compares the careers and long-term occupational successes of men and women who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease to those of the general population.

30 Mar 2009

Environment plays role in hypoplastic left heart syndrome

A congenital heart disease that often leads to death in newborns is significantly more common during the summer, leading researchers to believe that the environment, and not just genes that affect the heart, may play a role in causing "mini-epidemics" of this disease.

30 Mar 2009

Abnormal EKG can predict death in stroke patients

People who suffer an ischemic stroke and also have an abnormality in the heart's electrical cycle are at a higher risk of death within 90 days than people who do not have abnormal electrical activity at the time of emergency treatment, according to new research.

22 Mar 2009

Researcher develops method to combat congenital heart disease in children

Congenital heart defects account for five times more deaths annually than all childhood cancers combined.

9 Feb 2009

Higher mortality among unscreened children

Swedish researchers have previously shown that as maternity ward stays become shorter, more and more newborns leave the hospital with undetected life-threatening congenital heart disease.

19 Jan 2009

Fruit flies provide better understanding of human heart disease

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown in both fruit flies and humans that genes involved in embryonic heart development are also integral to adult heart function.

3 Dec 2008

Cardiopulmonary bypass for child heart surgery does not affect IQ

The use of cardiopulmonary bypass does not cause short-term neurological problems in children and teenagers after surgery for less complex heart defects, according to pediatric researchers.

11 Nov 2008

Medtronic announces U.S. trial data on transcatheter valve for congenital heart disease

Today at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association, the first U.S. clinical trial data on the Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve were presented. These findings also represent the first U.S. data on transcatheter valves in a population with congenital heart disease and the first reported U.S. data on the use of a transcatheter valve in the pulmonary position. The Melody valve is currently investigational in the U.S.

10 Nov 2008

New guidelines for congenital heart disease

These days most children born with congenital heart disease live well into adulthood, thanks to innovative surgical, interventional and medical treatments.

8 Nov 2008

Attacking heart failure in the young

Pediatric cardiology experts from around the world will gather at the Indiana University School of Medicine for the inaugural Riley Heart Center Symposium on Cardiac Development Sept. 8-9 at Riley Hospital for Children.

19 Aug 2008

Combining medical knowledge to save lives

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest killer among chronic diseases, claiming 17 million lives globally every year. Yet doctors can only attribute 50% of cardiovascular diseases to known risk factors.

9 Jul 2008

New evidence-based blood clot guidelines for pregnant women

New evidence-based guidelines address the prevention and management of thrombosis in key patient populations and reinforce recommendations related to the routine use of preventive therapies.

24 Jun 2008

NYT examines limited options for disabled children who reach age 18

The New York Times on Wednesday examined how as "medical advances have allowed patients who might have died as children to survive into adulthood, the patients are falling into a void in a health care system that has yet to develop institutions for the young and 'medically fragile.'"

19 May 2008

Non-surgical heart valve replacement procedure permits swift recovery and discharge from hospital

Interventional cardiologists at Rush University Medical Center now offer a minimally-invasive transcatheter valve replacement procedure for patients with congenital heart disease that doesn’t involve open heart surgery.

18 Apr 2008

Profoundly important discovery of differences in heart's precursor cells

Scientists have long thought that the cells that ultimately give rise to the heart all respond to the same cue before turning into the muscle tissue of this vital organ.

15 Apr 2008

Patient's exposure to radiation significantly lower when using prospective gated 64-channel cardiac CT

A new cardiac CT technique, prospective gated 64-channel cardiac CT, has a significantly lower radiation dose and produces CT coronary angiograms with better image quality when compared with the standard retrospective ECG gating, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington in Redmond, WA.

11 Apr 2008

For children with heart disease, a risk of attention and behavior problems

Schoolchildren who required surgery as infants for congenital heart disease (CHD) run a significant risk of having problems with inattention and hyperactivity, and often require remedial services in school.

7 Apr 2008

Study aims to improve treatment for children born with heart defects

Trying to understand and stop the collateral lung damage that can occur in babies with congenital heart disease is the focus of a new study.

11 Mar 2008

More needs to be done for preemie healthcare

A recent survey of 202 neonatologists and pediatricians, which examined current attitudes and practices when caring for the specialized health needs of preterm infants, revealed that most respondents (70 percent) feel the United States' healthcare system does not place enough emphasis on or dedicate enough resources to preventive healthcare for preemies.

20 Feb 2008

Asian women at risk for congenital aneurismal fistulas

A seemingly random arterial abnormality that can cause heart attack and sudden death in adults with no previous symptoms may not be so random after all.

8 Feb 2008