Heart News and Research

RSS

MGH scientists develop new microfluidic tool for accurate isolation of neutrophils

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) scientists has developed a new microfluidic tool for quickly and accurately isolating neutrophils - the most abundant type of white blood cell - from small blood samples, an accomplishment that could provide information essential to better understanding the immune system's response to traumatic injury. The system, described in a Nature Medicine paper that received advance online release, also can be adapted to isolate almost any type of cell.

31 Aug 2010

Increasing trend seen in hospital admissions due to atrial fibrillation

A growing epidemic of the world's most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.

31 Aug 2010

Research on trypanosomes can open way for African sleeping sickness drug development

Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals.

31 Aug 2010

Peripheral arterial disease increases cardiovascular disease risk: Study

Most patients don't suspect a thing, and yet they are seriously ill: hardening of the arteries - peripheral arterial disease PAD - doubles the risk of premature death and serious cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

31 Aug 2010

LESSON I trial provides evidence of benefits of everolimus-eluting stent over sirolimus-eluting stent

Results from the LESSON I trial presented today provide preliminary evidence for the therapeutic benefit of the newer generation everolimus-eluting stent over the previous gold standard, the early generation sirolimus-eluting stent. Moreover, LESSON I provides evidence that the formation of blood clots (stent thrombosis) - the principal shortcoming of early generation drug-eluting stents - may be diminished with the newer generation everolimus-eluting stent.

31 Aug 2010

Using clopidogrel, PPIs increases cardiac damage risk: Study

Patients with coronary artery disease undergoing stent implantation are often prescribed the antiplatelet drug, clopidogrel. This drug prevents blood clots, but is known to have a side-effect that can cause stomach bleeding. Consequently, many users are also prescribed a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Now, however, a meta-analysis of almost 160,000 patients carried out at the Medical University of Vienna and Wilhelminenhospital, Vienna, has shown that simultaneous use of these drugs can increase the risk of cardiac damage.

31 Aug 2010

Cardiac adaptations in elite triathletes not associated with sudden cardiac death: Study

A study of triathletes published in the online edition and October issue of Radiology reveals that the heart adapts to triathlon training by working more efficiently.

31 Aug 2010

Disruption of structural component in heart muscle cells occurs before decline in heart function

The disruption of a structural component in heart muscle cells, which is associated with heart failure, appears to occur even before heart function starts to decline, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

31 Aug 2010

Advanced Cell Technology updates transdifferentiation plans to enhance regenerative medicine

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. provides an update today on its plans to utilize its transdifferentiation platform to enhance regenerative medicine.

31 Aug 2010

Hospital admissions in Australia due to atrial fibrillation triples

A growing epidemic of the world's most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.

31 Aug 2010

African-Americans at higher risk of developing stent thrombosis

African-American race is a distinct risk factor for developing life-threatening blood clots after receiving a drug-coated stent, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

31 Aug 2010

Cell Therapy Foundation analysis calls for funding in medical research

Some of the most promising medical research conducted to treat diseases of the brain, heart, and circulatory system is moving too slowly to help millions of patients, according to the Cell Therapy Foundation, which advocates the use of adult stem cells to dramatically impact and improve the condition of patients who suffer from a variety of conditions.

31 Aug 2010

VA's liabilities grow as agency expands list of diseases linked to Agent Orange

Politico looks at a new fight brewing over Agent Orange and how it affects programs for Vietnam Veterans. "It's a world turned upside-down from decades ago when returning soldiers had to fight to get attention for deadly lymphomas linked to the herbicide. Now the frailties of men in their 60s — prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease — lead the list of qualified Agent Orange disabilities, and the result has been an explosion in claims — and the government's liability.

31 Aug 2010

MRI recordings at one fiftieth of a second

"Please hold absolutely still": This instruction is crucial for patients being examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is the only way to obtain clear images for diagnosis. Up to now, it was therefore almost impossible to image moving organs using MRI. Max Planck researchers from G-ttingen have now succeeded in significantly reducing the time required for recording images - to just one fiftieth of a second.

30 Aug 2010

Canada hosts 13th World Congress On Pain

The Canadian Pain Society (CPS) eagerly welcomes leading pain experts from across Canada and around the globe to the 13th World Congress on Pain in Montreal, Quebec, from August 29 to September 2. Hosted by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), more than 6,000 pain professionals will gather to share their thoughts, research and best treatment practices concerning this throbbing public health issue.

30 Aug 2010

Perfadex improves survival in lung tranplant patients: Study

A recently published study in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation shows that the patients who are most seriously ill before lung tranplantation have better one-year survival when Perfadex is used as the preservation solution for donor lungs compared with UW solution. Furthermore, the patients who received lungs preserved in Perfadex ran a significantly lower risk of being affected by rejection reactions requiring treatment.

30 Aug 2010

Positron to host special ASNC 2010 symposium focusing on cardiac PET

Positron Corporation is pleased to announce K. Lance Gould M.D. as the keynote speaker for their upcoming cardiac PET symposium, held at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology annual meeting, September 23-26 in Philadelphia, PA.

30 Aug 2010

Patients with atherothrombosis are at increased risk of ischemic events: Study

Clinical descriptors can assist clinicians in identifying patients with various stages of atherothrombosis (abnormal fatty deposits in an artery) who are at high-risk of future cardiovascular events, according to a study that will appear in the September 22 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm.

30 Aug 2010

Royal Philips Electronics launches new iE33 xMATRIX cardiac ultrasound system

Royal Philips Electronics today announced the enhanced iE33 xMATRIX cardiac ultrasound system featuring a new ergonomic solution for more efficient adult echocardiograms, the X5-1 transducer. With this enhanced technology, Philips continues its tradition of simplified, patient-focused healthcare solutions by providing a more complete imaging solution.

From Philips Healthcare 30 Aug 2010

Closing ceremony of heart transplant recipient's 700 km bicycle tour across Canada

Media representatives are invited to join us for the closing ceremony of heart transplant recipient Sylvain Bédard's bicycle tour, to take place at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI). Dr. Michel Pellerin, the cardiac surgeon who performed the operation, will present him with an official MHI shirt as well as a bouquet of flowers to mark his accomplishment: a tour across Canada, 700 kilometres of which were done on bicycle.

30 Aug 2010