Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

European guidelines for acute pulmonary embolism

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a relatively common cardiovascular emergency. Clots originating in the leg veins may become detached and obstruct the lung vessels. This obstruction may lead to a rise of pressure in the pulmonary circulation and possibly to life-threatening heart failure.

2 Sep 2008

New guidelines on heart failure

Heart failure is a leading cause of death and hospitalisation and represents a major burden on health services. It is estimated that over 15 million people in Europe suffer from heart failure and the syndrome accounts for over 2% of national expenditure on health. The new guidelines on heart failure from the European Society of Cardiology are eagerly awaited.

2 Sep 2008

Exercise on a treadmill helps stroke survivors years later

New research has found that exercising on a treadmill helped stroke survivors improve their mobility and physical conditioning.

2 Sep 2008

Researchers say heart bypass a better option than drug-eluting stents

Major clinical research has found that for many patients with clogged arteries, bypass surgery is a better option than drug-eluting stents.

2 Sep 2008

Stress of motherhood turning women to drink

According to a new poll in Britain the stress of motherhood is turning many women to drink and some are knocking back a bottle of wine most nights.

2 Sep 2008

MorphoSys announces publication of first MOR103 data

MorphoSys AG announced today the publication of a first data package for its most advanced proprietary drug development program MOR103, a fully human HuCAL antibody directed against GM-CSF, in the journal "Molecular Immunology".

2 Sep 2008

Heavy snoring a sign of early carotid atherosclerosis

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that objectively measured heavy snoring is an independent risk factor for early carotid atherosclerosis, which may progress to be associated with stroke.

1 Sep 2008

New diagnostic tools and biomarkers

Patients presenting shortness of breath on arrival at the emergency department (ED) can gain from improved diagnosis allowing physicians to distinguish congestive heart failure patients from those presenting pneumonia.

1 Sep 2008

Advances in the management of diabetes mellitus

The need for long term studies to establish the best means of treating Diabetes, was underlined by Prof John Cleland from the University of Hull at the ESC Congress in Munich. Prof Cleland listed the latest treatment available for patients and voiced his concern about the side-effects and efficacy of available anti-diabetic drugs.

1 Sep 2008

New biomarkers in acute cardiac care

In conjunction with clinical assessment and the ECG, simple and rapid blood tests have become the standard for the detection of myocardial infarction. Starting in the year 2000, recommendations by the European Society of Cardiology and other major cardiology societies worldwide have begun to state uniformly that a rise in cardiac troponins - sensitive and specific markers for dying cells in the heart - is a prerequisite for the clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

1 Sep 2008

Intima media thickness of the carotid artery

Both in the clinic and in the research area we look for a toll to identify subjects who will develop cardiovascular disease. Decades of silent arterial wall alterations precede vascular clinical events, which then reflect advanced atherosclerotic disease.

1 Sep 2008

Antiangiogenic and anti-inflammatory drugs: are they safe?

Since Rofecoxib (Vioxx) was withdrawn from the worldwide market based on the safety findings of the Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on Vioxx (APPROVe) study, the uncertainty around the cardiovascular safety of NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors remains and leaves practitioners with difficult management decisions for the hundreds of millions of patients worldwide who continue to require pain-relieving therapy to maintain an acceptable quality of life.

1 Sep 2008

Save your life by taking the stairs instead of the lift

Researchers say walking up the stairs at work instead of taking the lift could be a lifesaver.

1 Sep 2008

Sex hormones link to heart risk

Men are more prone to - and likely to die of - heart disease compared with women of a similar age - and sex hormones are to blame, according to a new University of Leicester led study.

1 Sep 2008

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement - a new frontier in cardiovascular medicine

Replacing heart valves without the substantial trauma of opening the chest and the heart were little known concepts until the groundbreaking pulmonary and aortic transcatheter valve replacements performed during 2000 and 2002, respectively by Philipp Bonhoeffer and Alain Cribier.

1 Sep 2008

Robotic navigation systems in electrophysiology

Catheter ablation is still associated with a substantial amount of complications, and more failure then sometimes reported. Perforation with catheters is especially important in atrial fibrillation. Robotic navigation could reduce these complications.

1 Sep 2008

Percutaneous mitral valve repair

The scope of percutaneous cardiac therapy has expanded from percutaneous coronary and peripheral intervention to percutaneous valve intervention, first used in the mid eighties.

1 Sep 2008

Transapical aortic valve implantation

Transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-AVI) is a new therapeutic strategy, which has been implemented successfully into clinical practice in several hundred patients suffering symptomatic aortic stenosis and an increase perioperative risk during the past two years. The Edwards SAPIEN prosthesis has been used.

1 Sep 2008

Does treatment of depression improve prognosis after heart attack?

Depression and heart disease are the two leading disorders with the strongest contributions to the global burden of disease. Depression and heart disease are also intertwined.

1 Sep 2008

Issues on cholesterol: diet, statins and genetics

Genetic lipoprotein disorders are frequently seen in patients with premature coronary artery disease (CAD). An example of strong genetic predisposition is the disorder: familial hypercholesterolemia, where a single gene defect (the low density lipoprotein receptor) contributes to most of the familial expression of CAD.

1 Sep 2008