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.

Stem cells to repair heart tissue soon after a heart attack

Stem cells derived from human heart tissue develop into multicellular, spherical structures called cardiospheres that express the normal properties of primitive heart tissue, smooth muscle and blood vessel cells, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

20 Nov 2005

Animal-assisted therapy beneficial

When it comes to health care, "going to the dogs" is a good thing, according to new research reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

16 Nov 2005

Carvedilol may improve heart failure and help prevent sudden death

Research shows that Carvedilol, a cardiovascular drug, could be useful in reducing cardiac death in high risk patients with prior myocardial infarction and/or heart failure and also in reducing the incidence and/or preventing the occurrence of atrial fibrillation in a number of clinical situations.

16 Nov 2005

High fat, low carb diets could damage the heart

Scientists are now saying that high fat, low carbohydrate diets can reduce energy to the heart, and they suspect this could be damaging.

16 Nov 2005

Lack of aggressive treatment for clogged leg blood vessels means missed heart attack prevention opportunity

Despite the fact that clogged arteries in the legs usually mean clogged arteries near the heart, doctors often fail to give heart-protecting drugs to people with severe leg blood vessel blockages, a new University of Michigan-led study finds.

15 Nov 2005

Study suggests that some patients on beta blockers should not be

A Johns Hopkins study has raised doubts about a long-accepted notion of what's going on in many cases of heart failure, suggesting that nearly half of patients with the disorder may be getting the wrong treatment for their disease.

15 Nov 2005

Role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure

An advanced study launched at Yale School of Medicine is evaluating the role of statin therapy in patients with heart failure, one of the leading causes of hospitalization in people over age 65.

14 Nov 2005

Habitual coffee drinking is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension in women

Habitual coffee drinking is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension in women, although an association was found with the consumption of sugared or diet colas, according to a study in the November 9 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

13 Nov 2005

Sleep apnea sufferers have double the risk of stroke and death

Apparently as many as 4 percent of Americans suffer from extreme daytime fatigue because their sleep apnea forces them to repeatedly wake up if only for a second.

10 Nov 2005

Relax girls - it's not the coffee that's raising your blood pressure!

According to the latest study, having a coffee drinking habit is not going to increase your blood pressure if you are a woman, but knocking back the colas is a different kettle of fish!

9 Nov 2005

Canadian surgeons successfully implant a new kind of mechanical heart

Surgeons at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have successfully implanted a new kind of mechanical heart in two patients, the first time this new technology has been used in Canada.

1 Nov 2005

Risk of ischemic stroke increases with a rise in air pollution

The risk of ischemic stroke - which results when a blood clot travels to the brain - increases with a rise in particulate air pollution, according to a study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

30 Oct 2005

Early diagnosis and treatment of heart disease may lead to longer life in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients

Cardiac disease, particularly dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure, is the major cause of mortality in patients with muscular dystrophy and is present in most boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and approximately 70 percent of those with Becker muscular dystrophy. These are the two common forms of muscular dystrophy caused by defects in a gene called dystrophin.

30 Oct 2005

Cardiac regeneration using stem cells may heal hearts even years after heart attacks

Left ventricular function and exercise capacity increased, while the area of heart muscle damage shrank, in 18 patients given infusions of their own bone marrow stem cells up to eight years after a heart attack, according to a new study in the Nov. 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

27 Oct 2005

Gene therapy used to successfully treat heart failure

University of Pittsburgh investigators have for the first time used gene therapy to successfully treat heart failure and other degenerative muscle problems in an animal model that is genetically susceptible to a human muscular dystrophy.

25 Oct 2005

Wellcome Trust awards £8.1 million to tackle tropical diseases

The Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest medical charities, has awarded £8.1 million over 5 years to a team of six scientists at the University of Dundee to help discover new drugs to treat some of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases.

25 Oct 2005

Viagra significantly reduces stress on the heart

According to the results of a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins, Viagra, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in millions of men, reduces the stimulatory effects of hormonal stress on the heart by half.

25 Oct 2005

Viagra may be the next drug treatment for heart problems

Sildenafil citrate (Viagra), a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in millions of men, reduces the stimulatory effects of hormonal stress on the heart by half, according to results of a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.

24 Oct 2005

Atypical antipsychotic drugs slightly increase risk for death when used in people with dementia

Atypical antipsychotic drugs seem to confer a small increased risk for death when used in people with dementia, concludes a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in a meta-analysis of 15 clinical trials published in the October 19 issue of the JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Oct 2005

Study demonstrates feasibility of a revolutionary, minimally invasive approach to introducing an electrical lead to stimulate the heart

Correcting the timing of heart contractions through cardiac resynchronization therapy can be a lifesaver for people with advanced heart failure. But the procedure, as it is done today, fails in about 15 percent of patients.

18 Oct 2005