Pulmonary Artery News and Research

RSS

Home-monitoring interventions may benefit patients with heart failure

Heart failure affects 5.8 million people in the U.S. alone and is responsible for nearly 1 million hospitalizations each year, most resulting from a build-up of body fluid in the lungs and other organs due to the heart's inability to pump effectively. The disease needs to be closely tracked in order to avoid such hospitalizations, and home-monitoring interventions may be especially useful, UCLA researchers say.

4 Jan 2012

First Total Artificial Heart implant performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the first Total Artificial Heart implant in the New York City area to replace a patient's dying heart.

15 Dec 2011

FDA committee votes against CardioMEMS' Champion Heart Failure Monitoring System

CardioMEMS announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Circulatory Systems Devices advisory panel voted against the Champion Heart Failure Monitoring System, the first wireless, permanently implantable device that allows cardiologists to monitor heart failure patients from their homes.

9 Dec 2011

The 11th Annual Race Against PH at Stanford University Stadium

The Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease at Stanford today announced that it will host the 11th Annual Race Against PH in conjunction with the Pulmonary Hypertension Association's 6-Minute Marathon. These events provide patients with an opportunity to walk or jog alongside their families and friends, to help increase awareness of the disease, and to help raise money to find a cure.

5 Nov 2011

LA BioMed's lead investigator hopes to bring PAH awareness this November

As the month of November kicks off PH Awareness Month, Dr. Ronald Oudiz - lead investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) - hopes to bring greater awareness to this disorder that has affected the lives of so many. Dr. Oudiz is a pioneer in this field, having received the 2011 Award for Excellence earlier this year from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association for his dedication to find new ways to treat this often fatal disease.

1 Nov 2011

Estrogen therapy can reverse progression of pulmonary hypertension

UCLA researchers have found that the hormone estrogen may help reverse advanced pulmonary hypertension, a rare and serious condition that affects 2 to 3 million individuals in the U.S., mostly women, and can lead to heart failure.

16 Sep 2011

FDA accepts MAP Pharmaceuticals' LEVADEX NDA for filing

MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its New Drug Application (NDA) for LEVADEX® orally inhaled migraine drug for the potential acute treatment of migraine in adults has been accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with a goal date of March 26, 2012 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA).

2 Aug 2011

Transcatheter valve replacement safe and effective alternative to open-heart surgery

An innovative approach for implanting a new aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery is being offered at Rush University Medical Center to patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high-risk or not suitable candidates for open heart valve replacement surgery.

27 Jun 2011

First artificial lung transplantation in toddler performed at St. Louis Children's Hospital

Two-year-old Owen Stark came to St. Louis Children's Hospital in the summer of 2010 near death from heart failure and dangerously high blood pressure in his lungs.

17 Jun 2011

Only 35% of anaesthesiologists carry out cardiac output monitoring during high-risk surgery

Only 35% of anaesthesiologists are carrying out a simple procedure during high-risk surgery that can make a significant impact on how well patients recover from their operations, according to new research presented today at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam.

13 Jun 2011

MAP Pharmaceuticals submits LEVADEX NDA to FDA for treatment of migraine in adults

MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application to the United States Food and Drug Administration for LEVADEX orally inhaled migraine drug for the potential acute treatment of migraine in adults.

27 May 2011

Aspirin, simvastatin not effective in combating pulmonary artery hypertension

Despite their beneficial effects in treating heart disease, neither aspirin nor simvastatin appear to offer benefit to patients suffering from pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study conducted at four U.S. medical centers. This was the first NIH-funded randomized clinical trial (RCT) in PAH.

19 May 2011

Viewpoints: Boehner, Mcconnell, Thune, major new organizations opine on health law

We now know that lawmakers who promised that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan" were wrong. The president likes to say Americans aren't interested in revisiting the debates of the past. No one would accept an answer like that from an electronics store manager who refused to offer a refund on a defective television.

24 Mar 2011

The Lancet publishes CHAMPION trial results against heart failure

The CHAMPION clinical trial was published online today in The Lancet. CHAMPION demonstrated a 30% reduction in the primary efficacy endpoint of heart failure hospitalization rates at 6 months, and a 39% reduction in heart failure hospitalization rates at 15 months for heart failure patients whose treatment was guided by pulmonary artery pressures obtained through a miniature, wireless sensor, compared to control patients receiving standard heart failure treatment.

14 Feb 2011

New replacement valve can help patients to avoid multiple open-heart surgeries

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of major birth defects in the U.S., affecting about 34,000 babies each year. Twenty percent of these patients are born with a malformation of the pulmonary valve, which is a flap-like opening on the right side of the heart that is responsible for regulating the blood flow to the lungs. Now, a new replacement valve being used at Rush University Medical Center can help patients with damaged heart valves delay or avoid multiple open-heart surgeries.

3 Feb 2011

Covidien announces limited release of Endo GIA curved tip and black reloads with Tri-Staple technology

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that its new Endo GIA curved tip and black reloads with Tri-Staple technology are available in limited release with a full U.S. roll out expected by mid-year.

1 Feb 2011

FDA to review Lantheus' DEFINITY sNDA for use in stress echocardiography

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medical imaging, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company's supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for DEFINITY® (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension for use in stress echocardiography.

14 Dec 2010

Exergen's TemporalScanner demonstrates accuracy in temperature assessment for surgical patients

Temperatures taken orally or by temporal artery thermometry "are an accurate means of temperature assessment for adult patients undergoing colorectal or gynecology surgery," according to analysis published by the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. Accurate temperature readings are necessary to determine when to intervene for patients at all stages of their hospitalizations but especially during and immediately after surgical procedures to avoid post-operative complications.

9 Dec 2010

Screening for CCDC40 gene mutations may help determine risk for congenital heart defects

A gene that can cause congenital heart defects has been identified by a team of scientists, including a group from Princeton University. The discovery could lead to new treatments for those affected by the conditions brought on by the birth defect.

7 Dec 2010

Caprini Risk Model helps predict VTE risk in patients undergoing plastic surgery

Patients undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery should receive a risk assessment before their procedure to predict whether they'll develop potentially fatal blood clots in the legs or lungs, according to research at the University of Michigan Medical School. Researchers also found that 1 in 9 patients at highest risk based on that assessment will develop clots if not given clot-preventing medications after surgery.

19 Nov 2010