Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Hospitals that participate in clinical trials may provide better patient care

Hospitals that participate in clinical trials appear to provide better care for patients with heart attacks or other acute heart events and have lower death rates than hospitals that do not participate in clinical trials, according to a report in the March 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

25 Mar 2008

Dieting and medication may reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension

Adults with hypertension may be able to lower their weight and their blood pressure by following a weight-loss diet or using the medication orlistat, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies reported in the March 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Mar 2008

Birth of an enzyme

Mankind triumphed in a recent 'competition' against nature when scientists succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved.

25 Mar 2008

Methamphetamine use and pulmonary arterial hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), in conjunction with leading pulmonary hypertension specialists, has announced the launch of an educational campaign to raise awareness of the association between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and stimulant use, particularly methamphetamine use.

24 Mar 2008

Happily married adults have lower blood pressure than singles

New research shows that happily married adults have lower blood pressure than singles with supportive social networks, suggesting marriage may literally be a matter of the heart.

24 Mar 2008

Are dual cord blood banks the answer to increasing stem cell demand?

In this week's BMJ, two senior doctors, Professors Nicholas Fisk and Rifat Atun, analyse the UK's growing cord blood banking industry and the potential impact of a new bank that provides blood for both personal and public use.

24 Mar 2008

A polyphenols-rich diet keeps the heart younger

This finding comes out from a study by the University of Grenoble in collaboration with the other Centres participating to the FLORA Project, a European Commission funded research studying the effects of flavonoids, a variety of polyphenols, on human health.

24 Mar 2008

Taking correct medications on time easier with a pill card

Free, online instructions for creating a pill card -- an illustrated medication schedule -- using only a personal or laptop computer and printer are now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the US. Department of Health and Human Services.

24 Mar 2008

Cholesterol-associated gene variants can predict cardiovascular events

A study appearing in this week's New England Journal of Medicine confirms that a combination of gene variants previously associated with cholesterol levels does reflect patients' cholesterol levels and can signify increased risk of heart attack, stroke or sudden cardiac death.

20 Mar 2008

Low levels of dietary folate linked to sperm abnormalities

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

20 Mar 2008

Parental observations and perceptions important in detecting sleep problems in children

A new study from the University of Rochester has found that parental observations and perceptions of their childrens' sleep habits are a valuable supplement to objective laboratory tests in detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

20 Mar 2008

Hispanics with clogged arteries at greatest risk of stroke, heart attack

Hispanics who have even a small amount of plaque build-up in the neck artery that supplies blood to the brain are up to four times more likely to suffer or die from a stroke or heart attack than Hispanics who do not have plaque, according to a study published in the March 19, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Mar 2008

Genomas awarded $1.2 million to develop DNA-guided system for management of statin therapy

Genomas, a biomedical company advancing DNA-guided medicine and personalized healthcare, has announced the award of a Fast-Track Phase I-II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant totaling $1.2 million.

20 Mar 2008

Russell Berrie Foundation donates $28 million for diabetes research

The Russell Berrie Foundation has donated $28 million to Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, as part of a focused effort to provide comprehensive care to diabetes patients while working, through concentrated research initiatives, toward a cure, the Medical Center gratefully announced today.

20 Mar 2008

Cell therapies for diabetes, cancer

Therapies using stem cell transplants are advancing promising treatments for such conditions as Alzheimer's Disease, neurological diseases and spinal cord injury, and heart disease.

20 Mar 2008

New medical series for BBC ONE

Medical Frontiers (working title) presented by Professor Robert Winston, is a new medical series for BBC ONE, examining the life and death decisions made every day on the edge of medicine.

20 Mar 2008

Asthma medicines often not prescribed as guidelines recommend

More than a decade after national guidelines were issued for asthma treatment, some patients still don't receive prescriptions for the inhalers that experts say offer the safest and most effective long-term control of the disease, a new study suggests.

20 Mar 2008

African-American women less likely to reduce drinking during pregnancy

New Saint Louis University research found that although white women are more likely to drink or binge drink prior to pregnancy, African-American women are less likely to reduce drinking during pregnancy, which may be linked to a higher rate of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) among the population.

20 Mar 2008

Women's sexual disorders get medical attention in new Stanford program

Medicine is finally opening the bedroom door to women. When the male erectile dysfunction drug Viagra was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998, many middle-aged men experienced a new lease on life, or at least on life in the bedroom.

19 Mar 2008