Heart Failure News and Research

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Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. It should not be confused with cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction.

Russia's first implant of SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart performed on 60-year-old female

On March 23, the Bakoulev Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery (BSCCS) in Moscow performed Russia's first implant of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart. The patient, a 60-year-old female suffering from biventricular heart failure, is the world's 850th recipient of the Total Artificial Heart.

9 Apr 2010

Researchers identify major indicator of heart failure and aortic aneurysms

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers have identified a major indicator of two deadly diseases of the heart and blood vessels: heart failure and aortic aneurysm. The absence of the Kruppel-like Factor 15, when combined with stress, leads to both heart failure and aortic aneurysms.

8 Apr 2010

Obstructive sleep apnea more than doubles stroke risk in men

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, according to new results from new research supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. Overall, sleep apnea more than doubles the risk of stroke in men.

8 Apr 2010

HeartWare's ADVANCE bridge-to-transplant clinical trial: FDA approves additional enrollment under CAP

HeartWare International, Inc., a leading innovator of less invasive, miniaturized circulatory support technologies revolutionizing the treatment of advanced heart failure, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an IDE Supplement that allows HeartWare to enroll up to an additional 54 patients in its "ADVANCE" bridge-to-transplant clinical trial under a Continued Access Protocol (CAP).

8 Apr 2010

Obstructive sleep apnea associated with increased risk of stroke in men

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, according to new results from a landmark study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

8 Apr 2010

BIOTRONIK receives European approval for new ProMRI Pacing Systems

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices and pioneer of wireless remote monitoring technologies, announced today the European approval of its new ProMRI Pacing Systems — Evia pacemaker series and Safio S pacing leads — providing European patients the first portfolio of bradycardia systems that are compatible with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans under specific conditions.

8 Apr 2010

Thomson Reuters ranks UC San Diego Health System as one of nation's top 15 major teaching hospitals

UC San Diego Health System was recently listed as one the nation's top 15 major teaching hospitals by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance, and operational efficiency. This is first time UC San Diego Health System has been recognized with this honor.

7 Apr 2010

Implementation of electronic health record systems may not be enough to improve health quality

The implementation of electronic health record systems may not be enough to significantly improve health quality and reduce costs. In the April 2010 issue of Health Affairs, researchers from the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital report finding that currently implemented systems have little effect on measures such as patient mortality, surgical complications, length of stay and costs.

7 Apr 2010

Nile Therapeutics to fund ongoing Phase II clinical trial of CD-NP with proposed public offering

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for heart failure patients, announced today that it intends to offer units consisting of shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in a public offering. Maxim Group LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager for this offering, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Ltd. as co-manager.

7 Apr 2010

AHRQ: Women accounted for nearly 60% of 39.4M admissions to U.S. hospitals in 2007

Women accounted for nearly 60 percent of the 39.4 million admissions to U.S. hospitals in 2007, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

7 Apr 2010

ESC heart failure meeting encourages audience interaction

"Delegates attending the meeting will get real insights into what's new in heart failure," said Professor Stefan Anker, chairman of the Heart Failure Congress Scientific Committee. "In what's the biggest international stand-alone meeting dedicated to heart failure, there'll be lots of hot of the press news. The very fact that 12 late breaking clinical trial updates are being presented at the meeting demonstrates how bright the future is in heart failure."

7 Apr 2010

Antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone less effective and causes fewer side effects

In a rigorous new review of the antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq), researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute conclude that the controversial drug is only modestly effective and has no clear safety benefits.

6 Apr 2010

Menstrual stem cells may help in treatment of stroke and central nervous system disorders

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. today announced results of a study published this month in the cover article of Stem Cells and Development showing that stem cells found in menstrual blood may one day be a potential source for stem cell therapies in stroke and other central nervous system disorders.

5 Apr 2010

Juventas Therapeutics commences enrollment in Phase I trial of JVS-100 for treatment of Class III heart failure

Juventas Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage regenerative medicine company announced it has started enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial for JVS-100 to evaluate safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with Class III heart failure. JVS-100 encodes Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1 (SDF-1) and has been shown in pre-clinical studies to significantly increase cardiac function by promoting cell survival and increasing new blood vessel formation in the damaged organ.

5 Apr 2010

Rebirth of the cursed drug Thalidomide

Thalidomide was once a dreaded name in the Pharmaceutical industry. It was initially marketed in some European countries nearly 5 decades back as a sedative and after millions of pregnant women took it for morning sickness it had devastating results on the babies. The babies were born with flippers instead of limbs a condition known as phocomelia. Since then it has been under strict control.

5 Apr 2010

Desert Valley Hospital, Montclair Hospital Medical Center named winners of Top 100 Hospitals

Thomson Reuters announced today that Desert Valley Hospital and Montclair Hospital Medical Center are among the winners of its prestigious Top 100 Hospitals® in the Nation award. Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, CA, is now among an elite group of hospitals who have received this award five times in the category of small community hospitals. Montclair Hospital Medical Center, Montclair, CA. received the award for the first time in the class of medium size community hospitals.

5 Apr 2010

Aetna HealthFund study shows sustained cost savings for Aetna members

Aetna today announced the results of a study of health care claims and utilization for members in its Aetna HealthFund® consumer-directed plans. The study of two million Aetna members shows sustained savings over time and increased member engagement in their health.

3 Apr 2010

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced a Sermo Event Report titled "Is there any Threat to Anti-TNFs from Newer Biologic DMARDs?" In the past year, the FDA has approved four new biologic DMARDs – Actemra (Genentech), Orencia (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Simponi (Centocor Ortho Biotech), and Cimzia (UCB). According to the report, Orencia leads the pack among physicians as the next line of treatment for patients who fail two or more TNF antagonists.

2 Apr 2010

UMDNJ-University Hospital among top five academic medical centers for heart failure treatment

Patients treated at UMDNJ-University Hospital for heart failure receive some of the best care in the nation, according to newly released rankings. The data, from the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), place the hospital among the top five academic medical centers in the nation for treating heart failure patients with recommended care. This care was measured in the areas of discharge instructions, appropriate prescriptions of heart failure medications at discharge, evaluation of left heart function, and adult smoking cessation advice/counseling.

2 Apr 2010

Study shows imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

For a patient with heart failure, checking whether the heart could benefit from bypass surgery or a stent is critical to ensuring survival. One imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET) with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), may provide doctors with the information they need to make more informed treatment decisions, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM).

2 Apr 2010

Heart Failure News and Research

Further Reading

Russia's first implant of SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart performed on 60-year-old female

Researchers identify major indicator of heart failure and aortic aneurysms

Obstructive sleep apnea more than doubles stroke risk in men

HeartWare's ADVANCE bridge-to-transplant clinical trial: FDA approves additional enrollment under CAP

Obstructive sleep apnea associated with increased risk of stroke in men

BIOTRONIK receives European approval for new ProMRI Pacing Systems

Thomson Reuters ranks UC San Diego Health System as one of nation's top 15 major teaching hospitals

Implementation of electronic health record systems may not be enough to improve health quality

Nile Therapeutics to fund ongoing Phase II clinical trial of CD-NP with proposed public offering

AHRQ: Women accounted for nearly 60% of 39.4M admissions to U.S. hospitals in 2007

ESC heart failure meeting encourages audience interaction

Antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone less effective and causes fewer side effects

Menstrual stem cells may help in treatment of stroke and central nervous system disorders

Juventas Therapeutics commences enrollment in Phase I trial of JVS-100 for treatment of Class III heart failure

Rebirth of the cursed drug Thalidomide

Desert Valley Hospital, Montclair Hospital Medical Center named winners of Top 100 Hospitals

Aetna HealthFund study shows sustained cost savings for Aetna members

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

UMDNJ-University Hospital among top five academic medical centers for heart failure treatment

Study shows imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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