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Urban legend warns about dangers of snow shoveling

Urban legend warns shoveling snow causes heart attacks, and the legend seems all too accurate, especially for male wintery excavators with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. However, until recently this warning was based on anecdotal reports.

24 Nov 2011

Two-drug combination may alleviate radiation sickness in people

A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred, according to a study led by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.

24 Nov 2011

FDA takes legal action against dietary supplement manufacturer in Pennsylvania

The FDA today took legal action against a dietary supplement maker and owner for substituting ingredients and products without noting the changes on the final product labels. The permanent injunction, filed on behalf of the FDA by the U.S. Department of Justice, would stop the defendants from making and distributing more than 400 products for being in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

24 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 23, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include an examination of changes in Medicare that the Democrats have endorses and a Kansas abortion case.

23 Nov 2011

Imaging is about finding the most appropriate way to assess heart disease

"The idea is that we're using the most appropriate technology to address individual clinical questions rather than just focusing on one technique," explains EAE President Dr Luigi Badano, from the University of Padua, Italy.

23 Nov 2011

Asymmetric prototypes for mitral valve replacement

The heart's valves, which guarantee the unidirectional flow of blood from one chamber to another, are asymmetrical. For example, the two flaps of the heart's mitral valve - which regulates blood flow between the left atrium and the left ventricle - vary in size by up to 70 percent.

23 Nov 2011

Cancer medicine component could prevent heart attacks

A substance in medicines for cancer and epilepsy could also prevent heart attacks, according to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who have been using it to stimulate the body's own defence system against blood clots.

23 Nov 2011

BIOTRONIK announces first implantations of new Lumax 740 ICDs

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of innovative medical technology, announced today the first implantations of the new Lumax 740 implantable cardiac defibrillators—the world's first and only ICDs eligible for use with magnetic resonance imaging.

23 Nov 2011

Biofeedback optimal performance training can improve quality of life for athletes

Biofeedback optimal performance training can benefit not only the sports performance, but also the overall life functioning of an athlete. Individual athletes, teams, and coaches can gain from a multidisciplinary approach of cognitive and behavioral psychology, biofeedback, and neurofeedback. The U.S. Air Force Academy Peak Performance Center offers student-athletes this additional focus on their sports performance and quality of life.

23 Nov 2011

Study evaluates safety and effectiveness of Diamondback device for heart attacks

Drilling through concrete to create an opening may sound more like construction than medicine, but the approach is similar to what researchers at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) are doing in a clinical trial to evaluate a device that breaks through hardened coronary arteries, in an effort to prevent heart attacks and relieve chest pain.

23 Nov 2011

Moderate salt intake may lower risk of cardiovascular events

For years doctors have warned that too much salt is bad for your heart. Now a new McMaster University study suggests that both high and low levels of salt intake may put people with heart disease or diabetes at increased risk of cardiovascular complications.

23 Nov 2011

New study: Exercise improves sleep quality

People sleep significantly better and feel more alert during the day if they get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, a new study concludes.

23 Nov 2011

Pall applies patent with USPTO for disposable, closed cell collection and seeding system

Pall Corporation, a global leader in filtration, separation and purification, has applied for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a disposable, closed cell collection and seeding system that is being developed for use in ground-breaking vein regeneration procedures.

From Pall Corporation 23 Nov 2011

FDA approves Medtronic's iPro2 Professional continuous glucose monitoring system

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of iPro2, a next generation Professional continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system and the latest in a series of recent diabetes technology approvals and innovations from the company.

From Medtronic 22 Nov 2011

CWRU receives NHLBI grant to study sleep apnea as possible cause of AF

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $3.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study sleep apnea as a possible cause of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most commonly diagnosed type of arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm.

22 Nov 2011

Merck agrees to pay $950 million in Vioxx safety probe

Merck & Co. will pay $950 million and one of its units will plead guilty to a criminal charge to resolve a U.S. probe of its illegal marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.

22 Nov 2011

Post-surgery death risk high among thinner people: Study

A new study has found that thinner people are at a higher risk of dying within 30 days of an operation than heavier people. The cause behind this trend is not clear.

22 Nov 2011

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease does not appear to affect survival

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common condition associated with obesity and heart disease long thought to undermine health and longevity. But a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests the condition does not affect survival.

22 Nov 2011

U-M ranks sixth among all medical schools in NIH funding

Research at the University of Michigan Medical School brought hundreds of millions of dollars into the state of Michigan in the last year - and could have a total economic impact of nearly $1.2 billion, new data show.

22 Nov 2011

WSU receives NHLBI grant to develop new CF treatments

A Wayne State University research team led by Fei Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology in the School of Medicine, recently received a grant with an anticipated amount of nearly $1.9 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to better understand how this defective protein in cystic fibrosis patients is prematurely digested.

22 Nov 2011