Heart News and Research

RSS

Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage is barrier for smoking cessation: Study

As a new year and decade begin, many Pennsylvanians have made an important resolution to quit smoking. Wanting to quit is a good first step, but it's not nearly enough. Smoking, we now know, is not just a "habit"; it's a true physical addiction, and, on average, most smokers try at least five times to quit.

16 Feb 2010

Safety scientist urges medical colleagues to better safety checklist

In the wake of Johns Hopkins' success in virtually eliminating intensive-care unit bloodstream infections via a simple five-step checklist, the safety scientist who developed and popularized the tool warns medical colleagues that they are no panacea.

16 Feb 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia awarded two grants to research into cellular therapies for blood disorders

The new decade may herald an era of cell therapy -- treating human diseases by delivering highly specific beneficial cells. In the wake of an NIH decision late last year permitting federally funded researchers to use new lines of human embryonic stem cells, the door has opened more widely to stem cell research.

16 Feb 2010

Research findings highlight the vital need for better secondary stroke prevention

New research finds that one out of 12 people who have a stroke will likely soon have another stroke, and one out of four will likely die within one year. Researchers say the findings highlight the vital need for better secondary stroke prevention. The study is published in the February 16, 2010, issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Feb 2010

UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

UCSF researchers have discovered that a protein called B1N1 is necessary for the heart to contract. The findings, published in the Feb. 16 issue of the open access journal PLoS Biology, shed light not only on what makes a heart beat but also on heart failure, a disease where cardiac cells are no longer able to contract and pump blood through the body.

16 Feb 2010

Podesta says Obama White House 'lost the narrative' on health bill

"John Podesta, the president of the Center for American Progress who led Barack Obama's presidential transition, acknowledges the White House has been unable to successfully drive the debate on health care reform," Politico reports.

15 Feb 2010

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Cancer Research UK scientists have deciphered the first structure of 'a DNA repair engine' that reverses the beneficial effects of chemotherapy, according to research published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology* today.

15 Feb 2010

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals.

15 Feb 2010

Two families having premature baby visit White House to share their inspiring stories with President Obama

Two families who know all too well the trauma of having a baby born prematurely visited the White House today to share their inspiring stories with President Obama. The Hall family from Leesburg, Va., and the Hoffman family from Weston, Fla., are ambassadors for the March of Dimes, a nonprofit foundation that works to prevent premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality.

15 Feb 2010

High-resolution still images alongside high-speed video footage for detailed scientific imaging

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the British Heart Foundation at the University of Oxford have developed a revolutionary way of capturing a high-resolution still image alongside very high-speed video - a new technology that is attractive for science, industry and consumer sectors alike.

15 Feb 2010

Members of interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery

Members of the interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery following his recent hospitalization for angioplasty and stenting.

15 Feb 2010

Discharged VAD implanted pediatric patient receives successful heart transplant after eight months

The wait is over for 16-year-old Francesco "Frank" De Santiago. On January 29, De Santiago received a donor heart in a nine-hour transplant operation at Texas Children's Heart Center De Santiago made news last October as the first child ever discharged from a pediatric hospital with an implanted mechanical heart pump, or ventricular assist device (VAD). Until then, pediatric patients with VADs remained in the hospital, often in ICU, while awaiting a donor heart.

15 Feb 2010

Surgical outcomes for hip and knee replacement better at specialized hospitals

The more specialized a hospital is in orthopedic surgical care, the better the outcomes appear to be for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery, University of Iowa researchers report in a new study of Medicare patients.

15 Feb 2010

Effective smoking cessation treatments

With the national trend toward quitting smoking flat, psychologists are finding some success with treatments aimed at helping smokers from underserved groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and those with psychiatric disorders.

15 Feb 2010

Any new pressure in upper body can signal heart attack

Not everyone who suffers a heart attack clutches their chest and falls to the floor. "I woke up and felt like a pill was stuck in my throat," says Betsy, a 68-year-old patient from Upper Providence. "I was taking antibiotics at the time and really didn't think much of it," she adds. "So I tried drinking water and when the "stuck" feeling didn't go away after 45 minutes, I thought something might be wrong."

15 Feb 2010

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), in collaboration with international partners in Spain and Switzerland and colleagues in California, have found that exposure to air pollution accelerates the thickening of artery walls that leads to cardiovascular disease.

15 Feb 2010

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Lancaster Online: "Most Americans who have health insurance are pleased with their coverage, a new national Franklin & Marshall College poll shows. But many of those same people are worried about those who can't afford insurance, and overwhelmingly believe the health care system needs to be reformed, according to a survey of 920 adults. ... The survey found that 75 percent of Americans who have insurance rate their coverage as good or very good — the same percentage who believe the health-care system is in need of reform.

15 Feb 2010

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

Republican leaders are now saying they will not participate in the meeting unless the president takes his health reform plan off the table to start over. I understand their concerns with a variety of issues in the current bills, but where you start is not nearly as important as where you finish. After all, fees continue to skyrocket and millions remain uninsured, costing our country in many ways. ... There is no time like the present for Washington to show America that it is interested in governing, not just in campaigning. The cameras will be rolling, and we will be watching (Christine Todd Whitman, 2/12).

14 Feb 2010

White rye flour bread leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels than wheat bread with rye bran

Wholegrain bread is good and good for you, as most people know. But it is not only the fiber-rich bran, the outer shell of the grain, that is healthful. On the contrary, research at the Lund University Faculty of Engineering shows that bread baked with white rye flour, which is flour made from the inner, white part of the rye kernel, leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels compared with wheat bread with rye bran. White rye flour thus leads to much better values than both regular wheat flour and rye bran. At the same time, much of the bread that is sold in stores today in most countries is in fact baked with wheat flour and bran from various grains.

12 Feb 2010

President Bill Clinton undergoes stent insertion procedure: American Heart Association comments

Volunteers and staff of the American Heart Association extend their thoughts and well wishes to former President Bill Clinton upon the reports that he has undergone a procedure to insert stents to widen narrowed coronary arteries. President Clinton, who underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in 2004, partnered with the Association through his Foundation to jointly form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States.

12 Feb 2010

Heart News and Research

Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage is barrier for smoking cessation: Study

Safety scientist urges medical colleagues to better safety checklist

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia awarded two grants to research into cellular therapies for blood disorders

Research findings highlight the vital need for better secondary stroke prevention

UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

Podesta says Obama White House 'lost the narrative' on health bill

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Research findings may open door to new therapeutic strategies for serious health problems

Two families having premature baby visit White House to share their inspiring stories with President Obama

High-resolution still images alongside high-speed video footage for detailed scientific imaging

Members of interventional cardiology community wish former President Bill Clinton a quick recovery

Discharged VAD implanted pediatric patient receives successful heart transplant after eight months

Surgical outcomes for hip and knee replacement better at specialized hospitals

Effective smoking cessation treatments

Any new pressure in upper body can signal heart attack

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

White rye flour bread leads to better insulin and blood sugar levels than wheat bread with rye bran

President Bill Clinton undergoes stent insertion procedure: American Heart Association comments

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest News