Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

First study to explore the use of biofeedback as a complementary treatment to asthma medication

For the estimated 20.3 million adults and 6.3 million children in the U.S. who suffer from asthma, the primary treatment is the use of medications to help reduce the underlying inflammation in the airways.

22 Feb 2005

People who live with migraine headaches show a riskier profile for cardiovascular disease

People who live with migraine headaches show a "riskier" profile for cardiovascular disease than those without migraines, according to a new study published in the February 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

22 Feb 2005

Computer imaging and web-based 3D tools help surgeons predict patient outcomes

People are as different on the inside as they are on the outside, making it difficult to predict how an individual will respond to a surgical intervention without resorting to statistics and educated guesses.

22 Feb 2005

Increased risk of urinary incontinence with hormone therapy

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), consisting of oral estrogen plus progestin or estrogen alone, considered in the past as treatment for urinary incontinenc, was until recently, credited with many benefits well beyond the indications for symptomatic relief of hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. One of the benefits of MHT was to improve the symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI), and it has often been prescribed to treat UI.

21 Feb 2005

82 percent of women have at least one factor that puts them at risk for a future heart attack

In the second year of a Northern California-based survey conducted by Sutter Health on women and heart disease, results show that more women are aware of heart attack warning signs and the need to take action quickly.

21 Feb 2005

New clues to amyloidoses

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a hereditary disease characterised by abnormal deposits of insoluble protein in the organs, results from a mutation in a single gene (the transthyretin or TTR gene). Nevertheless, disease incidence and age of onset can vary significantly between patients what have always puzzled scientists.

21 Feb 2005

Beta blocker lowers blood pressure and wards off repeat heart attacks

A form of beta blocker, a drug commonly used to lower blood pressure and ward off repeat heart attacks, may provide the answer to preventing osteoporosis, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher.

20 Feb 2005

Prozac, Xenical and Meridia may help type 2 diabetes patients lose weight

Three commonly used drugs - Prozac, Xenical and Meridia - may help type 2 diabetes patients lose small amounts of weight, although long-term benefits are not clear, a new review of 22 studies suggests.

20 Feb 2005

Air pollution thickens the blood and boosts inflammation

Air pollution, and especially particulate matter, thickens the blood and boosts inflammation, finds experimental research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

20 Feb 2005

Cannabis use may increase risk of stroke

Regular users of cannabis could be putting themselves at risk of stroke, while they are still young, indicates a case report, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

20 Feb 2005

Shedding new LIGHT on disease

New drugs for the 270,000 people who suffer heart attacks every year in the UK will be among the projects in Leeds' new research institute. The Leeds Institute of Genetics Health and Therapeutics (LIGHT) was opened by head of the Medical Research Council chief executive Professor Colin Blakemore yesterday.

17 Feb 2005

Study aims to help heart patients adapt to implanted defibrillators

Professor Jane Irvine, of York University’s psychology department, is helping those heart patients who must use miniature implanted defibrillators to cope with the psychological stress caused by these devices. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) are programmed to electrically shock the heart in the event of a life threatening heart rhythm incident.

17 Feb 2005

Olmesartan improves blood supply to kidneys

How do medications that block the renin-angiotensin system (RAS blockers) work to protect against kidney disease in people with diabetes? At least partly by improving the blood supply to the kidneys, suggests a study in the April Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

17 Feb 2005

Are hormone therapy drugs safe?

The history of hormone therapy drugs – once thought of as almost magic pills to keep women healthy, vital and young – shows why it is so important to conduct research studies to identify the risks and benefits of drugs, say researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

17 Feb 2005

Link between muscle movement and breathing rhythms may shed new light on SIDS and sleep apnea

Between 2,000 and 3,000 infant deaths each year are attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, approximately 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a respiratory ailment that can lead to death in some cases.

17 Feb 2005

Blood tests improve within two weeks of quitting smoking

Long-term smokers who quit may benefit from almost immediate improvements in blood platelet function, which could potentially reduce their risk of heart attacks or strokes caused by blood clots, according to a new study in the Feb. 15, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Feb 2005

Heart repair linked to migraine relief

Migraine headache patients reported the painful attacks eased or even vanished after they underwent procedures to close abnormalities that allow blood to flow between the atria of their hearts, according to the results of two new studies in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Feb 2005

Clinical trial of newest technology to treat thoracic aortic aneurysms

A clinical trial is underway at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) to study the safety and effectiveness of an endovascular medical device to treat life-threatening thoracic aortic aneurysms. Ronald Fairman, MD, Chief of Vascular Surgery at HUP, is leading the study at Penn and is one of 35 principal investigators in North America to participate in this landmark trial.

16 Feb 2005

Changing chemistry helps explain estrogen threat to the heart

A piece of the topical puzzle of how estrogen goes from protecting women from heart disease to apparently increasing their risk later in life may have been found.

16 Feb 2005

Early epidurals do not increase risk of Cesarean delivery

A study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital refutes the popular belief that getting an epidural early in labor increases a woman's risk of cesarean delivery.

16 Feb 2005