Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Five USF faculty members named AAAS Fellow

Five faculty members from the University of South Florida in Tampa have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

24 Nov 2014

Endo announces acquisition of rights to Natesto (testosterone nasal gel)

Endo International plc, announced today the acquisition of rights to Natesto (testosterone nasal gel), the first and only testosterone nasal gel for replacement therapy in adult males diagnosed with hypogonadism, from Trimel BioPharma SRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

24 Nov 2014

UL professor awarded HRB grant to improve understanding of Acute Kidney Injury

It is estimated that at least 1 in 5 hospitalised adults develop Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). Emerging evidence suggests that AKI: is under-recognised in clinical practice; predicts an accelerated risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and may be a risk amplifier for many other chronic diseases with death rates in excess of 20%.

24 Nov 2014

Researchers say that promoting healthy gut microbiota can help treat metabolic syndrome

Promoting healthy gut microbiota, the bacteria that live in the intestine, can help treat or prevent metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increases a person's risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke, according to researchers at Georgia State University and Cornell University.

24 Nov 2014

New hope for premature babies with breathing troubles

Babies start breathing in the womb, inhaling and exhaling irregularly at first, and then gradually more and more, until the day when they're born and have to do it all the time. But premature babies sometimes have trouble. They stop breathing periodically, sometimes for 20 or 30 seconds at a time.

24 Nov 2014

Surgery simulator app: an interview with Jean Nehme

Touch Surgery is a mobile surgical simulation app that allows surgeons to learn and rehearse surgical procedures. It provides a cognitive map for operations on a virtual patient.

23 Nov 2014

BIDMC's George Tsokos receives two prestigious awards at 2014 ACR Annual Scientific Meeting

George Tsokos, MD, Chief of Rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a national leader in the field of lupus research was honored by both the Lupus Foundation of America and the American College of Rheumatology with two prestigious awards presented during the 2014 ACR Annual Scientific Meeting recently held in Boston.

23 Nov 2014

Hydroxyurea therapy offers safe, effective disease management of SCA

Conclusive data show that hydroxyurea therapy offers safe and effective disease management of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and reduces the risk of stroke, prompting early termination by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of a key clinical trial studying the drug's efficacy.

23 Nov 2014

Digoxin drug associated with higher risk of death, hospitalization among adults with atrial fibrillation

Digoxin, a drug commonly used to treat heart conditions, was associated with a 71 percent higher risk of death and a 63 percent higher risk of hospitalization among adults with diagnosed atrial fibrillation and no evidence of heart failure, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online issue of Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

21 Nov 2014

Study sheds light on how HIV medications cause significant damage to fetal hearts

A study by a Wayne State University and Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit Medical Center research team is shedding new light on the troubling question of whether the drugs often given to HIV-positive pregnant women can cause significant long-term heart problems for the non-HIV-infected babies they carry.

21 Nov 2014

Investigational drug maintains normal potassium levels in patients with chronic kidney disease

Research published today found that the investigational drug patiromer decreased high potassium levels and maintained normal potassium levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. The results of a multicenter trial appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

21 Nov 2014

Women with symptoms of serious psychological distress less likely to receive routine cancer screenings

Women with symptoms of serious mental illness are significantly less likely to receive three routine cancer screenings - Pap tests, mammograms and clinical breast exams - than women in the general population, despite being at elevated risk for medical comorbidities and early death, a new study indicates.

21 Nov 2014

Study explores ethnic group differences in overweight children living in Canada

South Asian boys are three times as likely to be overweight compared to their peers, according to a new Women's College Hospital study.

21 Nov 2014

New app directly connects single ventricle heart defect patients to doctors

A powerful new app is directly connecting single ventricle heart defect patients to their doctors, dramatically improving their monitoring while they recover from heart surgery at home. Girish Shirali, MBBS, FACC, FASE, Co-Director of the Ward Family Heart Center at Children's Mercy Kansas City, will report today on how the technology is changing patient care at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2014.

21 Nov 2014

High-quality U.S. hospitals also provide low-cost care for children undergoing heart surgery

U.S. children's hospitals delivering the highest-quality care for children undergoing heart surgery, also appear to provide care most efficiently at a low cost, according to research led by the University of Michigan and presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

21 Nov 2014

Excessive alcohol intake is not just the realm of alcoholics

Excessive alcohol consumption, which is responsible for 88,000 deaths annually in the US, is commonly assumed to occur in people who are alcohol-dependent. However, of these deaths only 3,700 were due to alcohol dependence. A study published yesterday found that in 9 out 10 cases, adults who drink too much alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol-dependent.

21 Nov 2014

Surgical membrane delivers healing action of vitamin A

When blood vessels are damaged through surgery, it can trigger an endless cycle of scarring and repair.

21 Nov 2014

New treatment for Marfan syndrome works as well as beta blockers

A new treatment for Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disease that can lead to heart problems, works as well as the currently recommended medical therapy, beta blockers, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

21 Nov 2014

Kidney disease patients can benefit from simple and structured exercise

Simple yet structured exercise can significantly improve kidney disease patients' quality of life as well as decrease their pain, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

21 Nov 2014

Obese people experience silent cardiac damage that fuels risk for heart failure

Using an ultrasensitive blood test to detect the presence of a protein that heralds heart muscle injury, researchers from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have found that obese people without overt heart disease experience silent cardiac damage that fuels their risk for heart failure down the road.

21 Nov 2014