Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Calcium supplements may raise heart attack risk

Increased dietary calcium intake has no overall cardiovascular benefits, and calcium supplements appear to raise the risk for myocardial infarction, warn investigators.

30 May 2012

First study to look at link between vitamin D and onset of new mobility disability in older adults

Older adults who don't get enough vitamin D - either from diet, supplements or sun exposure - may be at increased risk of developing mobility limitations and disability, according to new research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

30 May 2012

Million Hearts, ACP aim to prevent heart attacks and strokes in five years

The American College of Physicians (ACP), the second-largest physician group in the United States, has joined Million Hearts, a public-private sector initiative that aims to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in five years. Million Hearts has two primary goals:

30 May 2012

Spectrum initiates enrollment in RenaZorb Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology and hematology, today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of RenaZorb in healthy volunteers.

29 May 2012

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly covers some of the biggest challenges facing public health

The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly concluded Saturday after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues. The six days of discussions involved nearly 3000 delegates, including health ministers and senior health officials from amongst the 194 WHO Member States, as well as representatives from civil society and other stakeholders.

28 May 2012

Results from Medtronic’s Resolute DES clinical study on CAD

According to study results to be featured in Sunday's late-breaking clinical trials session at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 21st Annual Scientific and Clinical Congress in Philadelphia, the Resolute drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. yields strong performance in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients both with and without diabetes through two years of follow-up.

From Medtronic 28 May 2012

ESRD patients with diabetes may benefit from Baxter’s low-glucose PD regimen

Baxter International Inc. today announced results from two large, international multicenter trials demonstrating that a low glucose peritoneal dialysis (PD) regimen favorably impacted metabolic measures important for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with diabetes, including blood glucose (sugar) control and selected lipids.

From Baxter International Inc. 28 May 2012

Research roundup: Do mandatory screening laws affect disparities?; Mass. health law, 6 years later

Since Massachusetts passed its own expansive health law, the state's uninsured rate has dropped and access to care has dramatically improved. But as this brief notes, two major issues remain. Massachusetts will have to find ways to contain health care costs -- now under discussion in the state legislature -- as well as align itself with the federal health law. In the process, other states "can draw on some of the state's early successes and challenges"

25 May 2012

RUB researchers gain new insights into mechanisms of cardiovascular disease

Malformed desmin proteins aggregate with intact proteins of the same kind, thereby triggering skeletal and cardiac muscle diseases, the desminopathies. This was discovered by researchers from the RUB Heart and Diabetes Center NRW in Bad Oeynhausen led by PD Dr. Hendrik Milting in an interdisciplinary research project with colleagues from the universities in Karlsruhe, Würzburg and Bielefeld. They report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

25 May 2012

PTH boosts AMPs to fend off infection-causing microbes

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.

24 May 2012

Children with obesity more likely to have idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Children who are overweight or obese -- particularly older, non-Hispanic white girls -- are more likely to have a neurological disorder known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a rare condition that can result in blindness, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

24 May 2012

Study uncovers new obesity genetic markers that may predict dietary intake

Blame it on your genes? Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center say individuals with variations in certain "obesity genes" tend to eat more meals and snacks, consume more calories per day and often choose the same types of high fat, sugary foods.

24 May 2012

Severity of nocturnal hypoxemia and SDB independently predict both T2DM and HbA1c levels

The severity of sleep disordered breathing and nocturnal hypoxemia independently predict both glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a new study.

24 May 2012

Astrocytes appear to retaliate against AD

When brain cells start oozing too much of the amyloid protein that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, the astrocytes that normally nourish and protect them deliver a suicide package instead, researchers report.

23 May 2012

Heart disease risk assessment tools often underestimate CVD danger faced by RA patients

Heart disease risk assessment tools commonly used by physicians often underestimate the cardiovascular disease danger faced by rheumatoid arthritis patients, a Mayo Clinic study has found. Inflammation plays a key role in putting those with rheumatoid arthritis in greater jeopardy for heart disease, yet many cardiovascular disease risk assessment methods do not factor it in, the researchers note.

22 May 2012

Study investigates link between BMI and cardiac function in obese adolescents

Obese adolescents with no symptoms of heart disease already have heart damage, according to new research.

21 May 2012

Nordic walking enables heart failure patients to exercise more intensely

Nordic walking enables heart failure patients to exercise more intensely than walking without poles.

21 May 2012

Statin therapy prevents cancer and reduces death risk in heart transplant recipients

Statins prevent cancer and reduce death from all causes in heart transplant recipients. The findings were independent of cholesterol levels.

21 May 2012

Sleep-disordered breathing may increase risk of cancer mortality

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), commonly known as sleep apnea, is associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality, according to a new study.

21 May 2012

POZEN presents data from PA32540 Phase 1 gastric acid reduction study at DDW 2012

POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, presented data today from a Phase 1 study that found that the investigational compound, PA32540, provides faster protection compared with delayed-release, enteric-coated omeprazole (40 mg), as measured by mean time to gastric pH.

21 May 2012