Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

AtriCure initiates enrollment in DEEP AF feasibility trial

AtriCure, Inc., a medical device company and a leader in cardiac surgical ablation systems and systems for the exclusion of the left atrial appendage, announced initial patient enrollment in its DEEP AF feasibility trial. The first procedure was performed in a new, state-of-the-art hybrid room at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia by Jonathan Philpott, M.D., Director of the Sentara Atrial Fibrillation Surgery Program, Ian Woollett, M.D., and John Onufer, M.D., Medical Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology.

3 Dec 2010

BMEYE signs licensing agreement with PULSION Medical Systems

BMEYE's Breakthrough Totally Noninvasive Blood Pressure and Cardiac Output Technology Will be Incorporated Into PULSION's Next Generation Patient Monitors

3 Dec 2010

New study offers hope for children with MPS I genetic disorder

A new study offers hope for children born with a rare genetic disease, according to a paper published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

3 Dec 2010

Arteriocyte launches Stem Cell Expansion System for research use

Arteriocyte, Inc., a leading clinical stage biotechnology company with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, and Hopkinton, Massachusetts, that develops proprietary stem cell and tissue engineering based therapies announced today the launch of its first commercially available Stem Cell Expansion System for research use.

2 Dec 2010

FDA approves IDE application to initiate Tryton Side Branch Stent System for coronary artery disease

Tryton Medical, Inc., the leading developer of stents designed to definitively treat bifurcation lesions, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional approval for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application to initiate the pivotal trial to evaluate the Tryton Side Branch Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

2 Dec 2010

FDA approves Abiomed to begin MINI-AMI trial to evaluate Impella 2.5

Abiomed, Inc., a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today announced it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin MINI-AMI, a prospective, randomized, controlled multi-site trial to assess the potential role of the Impella 2.5 in reducing infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

2 Dec 2010

Physician-led models of care benefit patients, health system

To best meet the goals of optimized, coordinated patient care and also help curb health care costs, physicians should be the heart of accountable care organizations (ACOs), an evolving model of patient care. The American Medical Association today outlined recommendations to make this a reality in comments provided to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

2 Dec 2010

Type 2 diabetics who consume alcohol at increased risk for blurry vision

A new study published in the journal Diabetic Medicine reveals that among patients with type 2 diabetes, alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of deterioration of visual acuity.

2 Dec 2010

Advent of HAART leads to decrease in mortality among people living with HIV/AIDS

During the decade since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), or 1996-2006, mortality among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) sharply decreased in the United States. So, too, did the percentages of PLWHA deaths attributable to AIDS-defining illnesses, just as there was a marked increase in the percentage of deaths attributable to heart, kidney, and liver disease.

2 Dec 2010

New pilot program to honor registered organ donors

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the New York Organ Donation Network today announced the launch of a new pilot program to honor the wishes of registered organ donors and help save lives.

2 Dec 2010

New analysis of stenting vs. endarterectomy for carotid occlusive disease

Doctors have long known that patients with carotid artery stenosis, narrowed blood vessels in the neck, are at significant risk for a stroke. The condition has severe implications. Annually, in the United States, 795,000 patients have strokes that often result in long-term disability or death. For years, however, researchers in North America and Europe have tried to determine the most effective method to treat narrowed or partially blocked carotid vessels.

2 Dec 2010

Aspirin decreases plaque formations that cause heart attacks and strokes

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., DrPH, the first Sir Richard Doll Research Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, has published the results of A Randomized Trial of Aspirin at Clinically Relevant Doses and Nitric Oxide Formation in Humans in the current issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

2 Dec 2010

People with mental health diagnoses receives poor quality of preventive mass screening

Dr Alex Mitchell, of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, led the study which has been published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. Dr Mitchell said preventive screening refers to population based medical tests such as mammography, colonoscopy, blood pressure testing or cholesterol levels to detect conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart conditions. These screening programmes are typically administered widely in order to help with early detection or prevention and have been credited with improving outcomes of several key medical conditions.

2 Dec 2010

Tel Aviv University uncovers muscle-stem cell mechanism in aging

Working out can help you shed pounds ― but that's just the beginning. New research from Tel Aviv University has found that "endurance exercises," like a Central Park jog or a spinning class, can make us look younger. The key, exercise, unlocks the stem cells of our muscles.

2 Dec 2010

Sleep plays a crucial role in post-infarction remission

The heart and the brain appear to be even more closely connected than previously imagined. The damaging effects of myocardial infarction are apparently not confined to the heart, but also affect the brain.

2 Dec 2010

Sleep HealthCenters enters agreement with U.S. HealthWorks to provide sleep medicine services

Sleep HealthCenters has entered into an agreement with U.S. HealthWorks to provide sleep medicine services as part of their occupational medicine programs.

2 Dec 2010

New cell-based assay for reliable testing of HIV inhibitors

EASY-HIT is a new cell-based assay system for simple and reliable testing of HIV inhibitors. This system was developed under the leadership of Professor Ruth Brack-Werner at the Institute of Virology.

2 Dec 2010

Maintaining ideal BMI reduces mortality risk in healthy non-smoking adults: Study

A study looking at deaths from any cause found that a body mass index (BMI) between 20.0 and 24.9 is associated with the lowest risk of death in healthy non-smoking adults.

1 Dec 2010

Noncancerous cells from primary site appear to facilitate tumor growth: Study

The process of metastasis requires that cancer cells traveling from a primary tumor find a hospitable environment in which to implant themselves and grow. A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers finds that circulating tumor cells prepare this environment by bringing along from their original site noncancerous cells that support tumor growth. The report has been published online in PNAS Early Edition.

1 Dec 2010

Study identifies new genes responsible for early menarche

University of Minnesota School of Public Health researcher Ellen Demerath, Ph.D., is among an international group of researchers that has identified 30 new genes responsible for determining the age of sexual maturation in women. Many of these genes are also known to influence body fatness, obesity, and energy metabolism. Prior to the multi-institutional study, only four genes had been identified as contributing to the process.

1 Dec 2010