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.

Perindopril for improving physical function in elderly people

A decline in physical function with age is strongly associated with disability in later life.

9 Oct 2007

Adding nitric oxide to blood in blood banks may preserve life giving properties

Researchers in the United States say one of the reasons why many patients do not do well after blood transfusions is because donated blood rapidly loses some of its life-saving properties.

8 Oct 2007

UF researchers test stem cell therapy for heart patients

University of Florida doctors on Wednesday (Oct. 3) treated their first patient enrolled in a new study designed to test whether injecting stem cells into the heart helps restore blood flow to the organ by prompting new blood vessels to grow.

4 Oct 2007

Good dental care, not antibiotics best for preventing dental-related heart problems

Since the 1950s, the American Heart Association (AHA) has urged a sizable group of people to take antibiotics before having dental work or other procedures that might flood the bloodstream with bacteria.

4 Oct 2007

Sex after chronic heart failure

Although medication can help extend the lives of men with chronic heart failure, several factors associated with this disease can interfere with a person's ability to engage in and enjoy sexual activities.

4 Oct 2007

Even mildly underactive thyroid doubles risk of heart conditions

Individuals with subclinical hypothyroidism - a mildly underactive thyroid only detectable by a blood test - are twice as likely to develop heart failure, compared to those with normal thyroid levels, according to a new study presented on Thursday, Oct. 4, at the 78th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in New York.

4 Oct 2007

When it comes to treatment for heart attacks white men get a better deal

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center (DCRI) in the United States say there is disparity in the treatment men and women receive for heart failure in hospitals.

4 Oct 2007

Microvascular disease mostly a concern for women

Coronary artery disease may take a different course in men and women, which may explain why the rate of death for women has declined more slowly than for men, according to the October issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

4 Oct 2007

New understanding of how brain controls blood pressure regulation

A discovery made 25 years ago about how the brain controls blood pressure regulation is only now being explored with the help of scientists from the Howard Florey Institute.

4 Oct 2007

Major gender gap in use of life-saving heart device

Women who might have benefited from the use of an implantable heart monitor following a cardiac arrest were far less likely than men to have one prescribed, according to experts at the Duke University Medical Center.

3 Oct 2007

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators underused in women, minorities with heart failure

Many Americans hospitalized for heart failure are coming up short when it comes to getting the therapy they need - especially women and minorities, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

3 Oct 2007

Rosiglitazone and Pioglitazone increase risk of congestive heart failure but not the risk of cardiovascular death

Patients with type 2 diabetes* or prediabetes* are more likely to develop congestive heart failure (CHF) when given rosiglitazone or pioglitazone, as compared with controls. However these drugs did not increase the risk of cardiovascular death (CVD) for these patients.

1 Oct 2007

About half of California adults diagnosed with high blood pressure take blood pressure-lowering drugs

About half of California adults diagnosed with high blood pressure, or hypertension, do not take medication to lower it, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

29 Sep 2007

AKAP18 protein helps heart beat faster

A protein, known as AKAP18, could help the heart to beat faster in response to adrenaline or noradrenaline, according to a study published online this week in EMBO reports.

27 Sep 2007

New guidelines for cardiac testing and treatments

People with heart disease should take special precautions before undergoing any kind of surgery, even noncardiac surgery, to reduce their risk of a cardiac event, according to new joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

27 Sep 2007

Rehabilitation significantly underused after heart attack and bypass surgery

Despite strong evidence that cardiac rehabilitation reduces disability and prolongs life, fewer than one in five people receive rehabilitation services after a heart attack or coronary bypass surgery, according to a Brandeis study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

26 Sep 2007

Care by a hospital-based general physician strongly associated with shorter length of hospital stay in patients

Patients at an academic medical center who are cared for by a hospital-based general physician may have a shorter length of hospital stay than those who are not, especially if the patients require close monitoring or complex discharge planning, according to a report in the September 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Sep 2007