Heart Surgery News and Research

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Heart surgery is done to correct problems with the heart. More than half a million heart surgeries are done each year in the United States for a variety of heart problems. Heart surgery is used to correct heart problems in children and adults. This article discusses heart surgeries for adults. For more information about heart surgeries for children, see the Diseases and Conditions Index articles on congenital heart defects, holes in the heart, and tetralogy of Fallot.

The most common type of heart surgery for adults is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During CABG, surgeons use healthy arteries or veins taken from another part of the body to bypass (that is, go around) blocked arteries. CABG relieves chest pain and reduces the risk of heart attack.

National study will look at German-made heart pump for children needing heart transplants

Texas Children's Hospital has been named the national lead center for a 12-hospital, 36-month clinical trial of the German-manufactured pediatric heart pump called Berlin Heart EXCOR® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD).

21 Jan 2008

Stress causes whole body deterioration

Stress, to put it bluntly, is bad for you. It can kill you, in fact. A study now reveals that stress causes deterioration in everything from your gums to your heart and can make you more susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer.

9 Jan 2008

American women prefer overly aggressive treatments for breast cancer

Despite a 1990 consensus recommendation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that lumpectomy plus radiation was the treatment of choice for early stage breast cancer, the United States continues to have the highest rate of mastectomy surgery among industrialized countries.

9 Jan 2008

Elective surgery puts seniors at risk for long-term cognitive problems

According to new research from the U.S. patients over the age of 60 who opt to have elective surgeries put themselves at an increased risk for long-term cognitive problems.

3 Jan 2008

Elderly patients at greater risk for developing cognitive problems after surgery

Patients over the age of 60 who have elective surgeries such as joint replacements, hysterectomies and other non-emergency, inpatient procedures, are at an increased risk for long-term cognitive problems, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

3 Jan 2008

For babies with specific complex heart defects, death risk is far lower at most experienced hospitals

Each year, thousands of babies are born with severe heart defects that must be operated on within days or weeks of their birth.

17 Dec 2007

Blood transfusions linked to surgery complications in women

Women die and get infections more often than men after heart surgery because they tend to receive more blood transfusions, which boost the risks of bad outcomes, according to a study published in the December Journal of Women's Health.

13 Dec 2007

Study looks at blood transfusion outcomes in women

3 Dec 2007

Red blood cell transfusions under scrutiny - research reveals potential harm

Bristol scientists have found that red blood cell transfusions given to people having heart surgery could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

27 Nov 2007

Acute renal failure after non-cardiac operations

Patients undergoing major, non-cardiac surgery have a one percent risk of developing kidney failure, and those who do have kidney damage are at increased risk of death within a month after their operation.

26 Nov 2007

Non-smokers the big winners when it comes to smoking bans

American scientists have found that heart attacks decreased after a smoking ban was imposed but this only applied to non-smokers.

22 Nov 2007

People with no risk factors for heart disease can still experience heart attacks

An Indiana University study found that after a countywide smoking ban was implemented, hospital admissions for such heart attacks dropped 70 percent for non-smokers -- but not for smokers.

19 Nov 2007

Bayer Pharmaceuticals agrees to a marketing suspension of Trasylol

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that, at the agency's request, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. has agreed to a marketing suspension of Trasylol, a drug used to control bleeding during heart surgery, pending detailed review of preliminary results from a Canadian study that suggested an increased risk for death.

5 Nov 2007

Massage therapy helps patients recover after heart surgery

A new Mayo Clinic study shows that massage therapy decreases pain levels for patients after heart surgery.

1 Nov 2007

75% of hospital patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology

A study of 817 patients conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology at the University of Granada (UGR), in collaboration with the Unit of Nutrition and Dietetics at the hospital Virgen de las Nieves (Granada, Spain) of 817 patients, showed that 75% of hospitalised patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology.

24 Oct 2007

75% of hospitalised patients suffer from malnutrition regardless of their pathology

23 Oct 2007

Chemists turn carbon monoxide into potential cardiovascular therapy

During Carbon Monoxide Awareness week, EPSRC highlights how researchers are harnessing the gas for beneficial use.Despite its deadly reputation, the gas carbon monoxide (CO) could actually save lives and boost health in future as a result of leading-edge UK research.

16 Oct 2007

Heart disease of the left main coronary artery is often an inherited condition that clusters in families

Moreover, they discovered that initially healthy siblings of a person with the condition were 2.5 times more likely to go on to develop some form of heart disease than were siblings of a patient with heart disease that did not relate to the left main coronary artery.

4 Oct 2007

Cardiosolutions raises $7 million for minimally invasive system for repair of regurgitant mitral valves

Cardiosolutions, Inc. has closed a $7 million Series A Convertible Preferred Stock financing led by BioVentures Investors, the company announced.

25 Sep 2007

Validity of publishing hospital mortality rates questioned

A previous study of mortality rates for congenital heart surgery used routinely available hospital data that were misleading, according to a report published on bmj.com which questions the validity of such data being made public.

25 Sep 2007