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.

Methamphetamine use and pulmonary arterial hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), in conjunction with leading pulmonary hypertension specialists, has announced the launch of an educational campaign to raise awareness of the association between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and stimulant use, particularly methamphetamine use.

24 Mar 2008

Taking correct medications on time easier with a pill card

Free, online instructions for creating a pill card -- an illustrated medication schedule -- using only a personal or laptop computer and printer are now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the US. Department of Health and Human Services.

24 Mar 2008

Bioheart awarded patent for heart repair method

Bioheart, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded U.S. Patent #: 7341062 (J. Chachques and H. Leonhardt) for a method to repair damaged myocardium (heart tissue) by a combination of cell transplantation and electrostimulation.

18 Mar 2008

MicroRNAs help zebrafish regenerate fins

Biologists have discovered a molecular circuit breaker that controls a zebrafish's remarkable ability to regrow missing fins, according to a new study from Duke University Medical Center.

17 Mar 2008

Discovery of new protein family that may play an important role in preventing inflammatory diseases

A University of Central Florida research team has discovered a new protein family that may play an important role in preventing inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, some forms of cancer and even heart disease.

11 Mar 2008

Cardiac effects associated with breast cancer treatment appear lower with dose-dense chemotherapy

A new pilot study by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) found that breast cancer patients can be treated safely with a "dose-dense" regimen of standard chemotherapy agents and the antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin), a drug that has previously been shown to cause cardiac toxicity.

11 Mar 2008

Cardiac effects associated with breast cancer treatment appear lower

A new pilot study by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) found that breast cancer patients can be treated safely with a “dose-dense” regimen of standard chemotherapy agents and the antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin®), a drug that has previously been shown to cause cardiac toxicity.

10 Mar 2008

Effect of tumor necrosis factor a inhibitors on heart failure risk in rheumatoid arthritis

A chronic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent inflammation of the synovial membrane and progressive joint destruction.

28 Feb 2008

URMC cardiac team celebrates 100th heart transplant

The Program in Heart Failure and Transplantation at the University of Rochester Medical Center has reached a milestone, performing its 100th cardiac transplant surgery.

27 Feb 2008

Hormones produced by the heart eliminate pancreatic cancer in mice

Hormones produced by the heart eliminated human pancreatic cancer in more than three-quarters of the mice treated with the hormones and eliminated human breast cancer in two-thirds of the mice, according to researcher David Vesely, a doctor at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa and a professor at the University of South Florida (USF).

27 Feb 2008

Number of Americans living with heart failure has increased

The number of elderly individuals newly diagnosed with heart failure has declined during the past ten years, but the number of those living with the condition has increased, according to a report in the February 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

26 Feb 2008

Abbott receives approval for HUMIRA (Adalimumab) for polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Abbott has announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market HUMIRA (adalimumab) as a treatment to reduce signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in patients four years of age and older.

26 Feb 2008

Heart failure declining among the very elderly

Conventional wisdom holds that as the U.S. population ages, the incidence of heart failure will continue to rise.

26 Feb 2008

Curcumin reduces heart enlargement and may prevent heart failure

Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure, researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital have discovered.

22 Feb 2008

CT scan can harm kidneys, but cheap drug can help

As more and more Americans undergo CT scans and other medical imaging scans involving intense X-rays, a new study suggests that many of them should take a pre-scan drug that could protect their kidneys from damage.

20 Feb 2008

One red wine good, two bad!, says study

One drink of either red wine or alcohol slightly benefits the heart and blood vessels, but the positive effects on specific biological markers disappear with two drinks, say researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital.

13 Feb 2008

What do marathoners and heart failure patients have in common?

The new study shows that the fatigue that marathoners and other extreme athletes feel at the end of a race is caused by a tiny leak inside their muscles that probably also saps the energy from patients with heart failure.

12 Feb 2008

Doctors uncertain about approaches to care for heart failure patients

Less than one fourth of physicians specializing in geriatrics, internal or family medicine or cardiology believe they can accurately predict the whether patients with heart failure are at risk of dying, new Saint Louis University research found.

12 Feb 2008

Boost for unique heart disease research

University of Queensland researchers are developing a new targeted approach to help combat one of Australia's biggest medical problems - cardiovascular disease.

5 Feb 2008

Enbrel shown to significantly reduced levels of C-reactive protein

Amgen and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth have announced findings from a retrospective analysis, which demonstrated that ENBREL reduced C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis following 12 weeks of treatment. Median reduction in CRP levels was 10 times greater in the ENBREL treated group compared to the placebo treated group.

5 Feb 2008