Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Researcher finds that shape of misfolded proteins may contribute to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease may have more in common than their effects on the functions of the brain and spinal cord. And finding that common thread could lead to a treatment that could work for all three.

2 Apr 2018

Congenital heart defects in newborns may predict mother's post-pregnancy cardiovascular disease

Women who give birth to infants with congenital heart defects may have an increased risk of cardiovascular hospitalizations later in life, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

2 Apr 2018

High blood pressure before conception may increase risk for pregnancy loss

Elevated blood pressure before conception may increase the chances for pregnancy loss, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The authors conclude that lifestyle changes to keep blood pressure under control could potentially reduce the risk of loss. The study appears in Hypertension.

2 Apr 2018

Getting better prepared to treat in-flight medical emergencies

"Ladies and gentlemen, is there a physician on board?" The flight attendant on a flight from Rwanda to Turkey made the announcement no one wants to hear, and Rachel Zang, MD, an Emergency Medicine resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, jumped into action.

31 Mar 2018

UTA professor wins AHA grant to study biomechanical influences on ventricular development

A University of Texas at Arlington researcher is working to determine how blood flow and cardiac muscle contraction affects gene development that leads to ventricular chamber development in the heart.

31 Mar 2018

Shimmer3 GSR integrated to Tobii Pro’s software platform for eye tracking research

Tobii Pro, the global leader in eye tracking research solutions, has partnered with Shimmer and integrated their wearable wireless GSR (galvanic skin response) sensor into its software analysis platform, Tobii Pro Lab.

From Shimmer 31 Mar 2018

Christiana Care Health System’s hospitals designated as leader in LGBTQ healthcare

For the seventh year in row, Christiana Care Health System's Christiana and Wilmington hospitals have both been designated a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality, receiving a perfect score on the national Healthcare Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational branch of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization.

30 Mar 2018

Optimistic Latinos more likely to have better cardiovascular health

Latinos who are the most optimistic are more likely to have healthy hearts, suggests a new study of more than 4,900 people of Latino/Hispanic ancestry living in the U.S.

30 Mar 2018

Researchers discover major cause of treatment failure in Chagas disease

Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that dormancy of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi prevents effective drug treatment for Chagas disease, which kills more than 50,000 people each year in Central and South America and is a growing threat in the United States and Europe.

30 Mar 2018

‘Aggressive’ new advance directive would let dementia patients refuse food

Treading into ethically and legally uncertain territory, a New York end-of-life agency has approved a new document that lets people stipulate in advance that they don't want food or water if they develop severe dementia.

30 Mar 2018

Alfred Blalock’s medical breakthroughs have been saving many lives

The year was 1925, and Alfred Blalock was already a failure at age 26. The born-and-raised Georgian earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 1918, then a medical doctorate from Johns Hopkins University four years later. But he didn't get the surgical residency he coveted at Hopkins; he ended up interning in urology instead.

29 Mar 2018

Researchers reveal molecular structure of 'anti-aging' protein

Researchers from UT Southwestern's Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research and Internal Medicine's Division of Nephrology recently published work in Nature that reveals the molecular structure of the so-called "anti-aging" protein alpha Klotho (a-Klotho) and how it transmits a hormonal signal that controls a variety of biologic processes.

29 Mar 2018

Expert group presents framework to address physician burnout

Physician burnout continues to be a pervasive issue, with more than 50 percent of doctors reporting problems such as dissatisfaction, high rates of depression, and increased suicide risk.

29 Mar 2018

Natural dietary supplement tends to improve blood pressure and arterial health

Scientists have long known that restricting calories can fend off physiological signs of aging, with studies in fruit flies, roundworms, rodents and even people showing that chronically slashing intake by about a third can reap myriad health benefits and, in some cases, extend lifespan.

29 Mar 2018

Macrophages stimulated to produce potent anti-inflammatory molecule

Researchers have discovered that macrophages, which play a key role in inflammation, also produce an anti-inflammatory molecule called itaconate.

29 Mar 2018

Study identifies potential genetic link in sudden infant death syndrome

Rare genetic mutations associated with impairment of the breathing muscles are more common in children who have died from sudden infant death syndrome (also known as ‘cot death’) than in healthy controls, suggesting a possible genetic element of the disorder, according to a case-control study in the UK and USA published in The Lancet.

29 Mar 2018

Pitt scientists develop new emergency and trauma care referral map to improve health care quality

In response to repeated calls for an integrated and coordinated emergency and trauma care system in the U.S., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists and UPMC physicians rose to the challenge and divided the nation into hundreds of referral regions that describe how patients access advanced care, in a way that respects geopolitical borders.

29 Mar 2018

Thrill of hockey victory may raise heart attack risk in younger men

The thrill of a hockey victory may put younger men at an increased risk for heart attack. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology found an increase in hospital admissions for men under 55 presenting with symptoms of ST-elevation myocardial infarction or heart attack the day after a Montreal Canadiens win.

29 Mar 2018

Single high-fat meal can set the stage for cardiovascular disease

A single high-fat milkshake, with a fat and calorie content similar to some enticing restaurant fare, can quickly transform our healthy red blood cells into small, spiky cells that wreak havoc inside our blood vessels and help set the perfect stage for cardiovascular disease, scientists report.

29 Mar 2018

International researchers discover link between congenital heart defects and adrenal gland cancer

An international team led by Dr. Patricia Dahia, M.D., Ph.D., of UT Health San Antonio, discovered a genetic mutation that explains why adults with severe congenital heart defects--who live with low oxygen in their blood--are at dramatically high risk for adrenal gland cancer.

29 Mar 2018