Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

First Edition: July 28, 2010

Today's headlines reflect developments regarding the health insurance marketplace and the implementation of the new health law.

28 Jul 2010

Sun Pharma reports first-quarter fiscal 2011 results

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported numbers for the quarter ending June 30, 2010.

28 Jul 2010

SCCT names recipients of fourth annual Young Investigator Award

The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT), the leading international professional society dedicated to research, education and clinical excellence in cardiovascular computed tomography (CT), has named Dr. Raman Dusaj and Dr. Thomas Smith the recipients of the fourth annual Young Investigator Award. The Young Investigator Award was announced at SCCT's 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas.

28 Jul 2010

Price of sun overindulgence and tanning misuse is not just skin deep

It's what marketers lead us to believe is the picture of glowing health - the ultimate tan. But sun overindulgence and tanning misuse does have a price. And it's not just skin deep.

28 Jul 2010

Gulf Coast Medical Center to implement ProVation MD for GI procedure documentation and coding

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that Gulf Coast Medical Center has selected its ProVation® MD software for gastroenterology procedure documentation and coding.

28 Jul 2010

U.S. sues Satilla Regional Medical Center over fraudulent claims to health care programs

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Dr. Najam Azmat and the Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross, Ga., the Justice Department announced today. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, alleges that the defendants submitted false or fraudulent claims to federal health care programs, such as Medicare.

28 Jul 2010

What steps should be taken when medicine can't save a life?

Writing for The New Yorker, Atul Gawande explores the central medical issues involved in treating patients with terminal conditions. He asks the question: "[I]f you were the one who had metastatic cancer—or, for that matter, a similarly advanced case of emphysema or congestive heart failure—what would you want your doctors to do? The issue has become pressing, in recent years, for reasons of expense.

28 Jul 2010

Obese seniors more likely to suffer from disabilities: UTMB study

Thanks to rising obesity rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, elderly people there are becoming more likely to suffer from disabilities, according to a paper recently published by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

28 Jul 2010

Teenage boys more likely to develop high blood pressure in early adulthood, researchers reveal

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers reveal in a new, large-scale study that "normal" blood pressure at age 17 can still predict hypertension at early adulthood and that teenage boys are three to four times more likely to develop high blood pressure in early adulthood than girls.

28 Jul 2010

Insurers test at-home technology, monitoring devices to help cut heart failure hospitalizations

Technology that aims to keep congestive heart failure patients out of the hospital is gaining traction. The idea is for heart patients to take readings like their weight, blood pressure and other key metrics using wireless and other technologies; the data are then transmitted to a case manager or medical care giver.

28 Jul 2010

U.S. Marshals seize FastSize Extender devices and FastSize EQM Erectile Quality Monitor devices

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals today seized $346,954.43 worth of FastSize Extender devices and FastSize EQM™ Erectile Quality Monitor devices, as well as component parts used in the manufacture of the FastSize Extender. The FastSize Extender and the FastSize EQM™ Erectile Quality Monitor are manufactured and distributed by FastSize, LLC of Aliso Viejo, Calif.

28 Jul 2010

Cancer survivor to celebrate 100th birthday

Loyola University Hospital cancer patient Mary Cipolla was 89 years old when she underwent one of the most extensive operations in surgery, known as the Whipple procedure.

28 Jul 2010

AirStrip Remote Patient Monitoring solution receives FDA marketing clearance

AirStrip Technologies, a pioneer in mobile medical software applications, today announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market the AirStrip Remote Patient Monitoring solution (RPM), including AirStrip RPM CRITICAL CARE and AirStrip RPM CARDIOLOGY.

28 Jul 2010

FDA approves addition of 10 sites to WorldHeart's Levacor VAD BTT clinical study

World Heart Corporation, a developer of mechanical circulatory systems, announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the addition of ten sites to the Levacor ventricular assist device (VAD) Bridge-to-Transplant (BTT) clinical study. WorldHeart's pivotal BTT study is now approved to enroll patients at 20 sites in the U.S.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists unveil new biomarkers for stroke, coronary heart disease

Analysis of blood protein data from the Women's Health Initiative cohorts has revealed new biomarkers for stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD). Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine found that beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) levels were significantly elevated in postmenopausal women with CHD, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 4 (IGFBP4) was strongly associated with stroke.

28 Jul 2010

Early weaning linked to chronic diseases later in life: Study

Lack of breastfeeding in infancy may lead to chronic diseases later in life say researchers. At present 90% of people aged between 35 and 40 were not breastfed as babies.

27 Jul 2010

ProTron Technologies creates Stethotron Intra-vascular Atherosclerotic Detector

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease are the major causes of death in the world. Atherosclerotic plaque, the narrowing of blood vessels, causes audible turbulence in the bloodstream. Standard and electronic stethoscopes are designed to listen to heart and lung signals between 10-300 Hz. But as these waves do not travel in straight paths, and this frequency is a physiological sound, this uncertainty of origin may cause diagnosis errors.

27 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 27, 2010

Today's health policy news includes reports about the continuing Senate backlash to Dr. Donald Berwick's appointment to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as findings from a new poll that reveal seniors really don't understand health reform.

27 Jul 2010

Process improvement program improves adherence to evidence-based CRT, ICD and drug therapy

Results of the largest U.S. outpatient heart failure clinical study show that implementation of a process improvement program significantly improved adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and drug therapy.

27 Jul 2010

Cardiac Science introduces Quinton 9500 Series cardiac stress systems

Cardiac Science Corporation, a global leader in automated external defibrillator and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices, today announced the introduction of two new products that extend its market-leading position in the cardiac stress test category.

27 Jul 2010