Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Blocking myoferlin gene can reduce breast cancer cell migration

New research suggests that a protein only recently linked to cancer has a significant effect on the risk that breast cancer will spread, and that lowering the protein's level in cell cultures and mice reduces chances for the disease to extend beyond the initial tumor.

4 Mar 2014

Research discovery advances efforts to replace damaged heart muscle

In a study that began in a pair of infant siblings with a rare heart defect, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a key molecular switch that regulates heart cell division and normally turns the process off around the time of birth. Their research, they report, could advance efforts to turn the process back on and regenerate heart tissue damaged by heart attacks or disease.

4 Mar 2014

Protamine antidote can be effective in reversing low-molecular-weight heparin

Low-molecular-weight heparin is commonly used in surgeries to prevent dangerous blood clots. But when patients experience the other extreme - uncontrolled bleeding - in response to low-molecular-weight heparin, there is no antidote.

4 Mar 2014

Noninvasive imaging with MRI of carotid artery plaque accurately predicts future cardiovascular events

Noninvasive imaging of carotid artery plaque with MRI can accurately predict future cardiovascular events like strokes and heart attacks in people without a history of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

4 Mar 2014

New minimally-invasive procedure to treat jackhammer esophagus

Six weeks ago 67-year old John Galbreath welcomed death, rather than live one more day. Intense pain in his chest had left him nearly bedridden for four months. Galbreath had a condition called jackhammer esophagus, which made him feel like the name suggests—like a jackhammer was going off in his chest.

4 Mar 2014

Outbursts of anger may trigger heart attacks and strokes, shows study

Outbursts of anger may trigger heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems in the two hours immediately afterwards, according to the first study to systematically evaluate previous research into the link between the extreme emotion and all cardiovascular outcomes.

4 Mar 2014

Study finds significant reduction in hospital admissions with Medicare Part D prescription coverage

A new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that Medicare Part D prescription coverage significantly reduced hospital admissions and program expenditures totaling $1.5 billion annually.

4 Mar 2014

Doctors devise new way to treat atrial fibrillation

Doctors in the U.S. and Japan have devised a way to treat atrial fibrillation by adding a little alcohol to minimally invasive therapies that target a cluster of misbehaving nerves known to trigger arrhythmia. In the most recent Journal of the American College of Cardiology (online before print), the researchers say the new therapy may dull or stop the transmission of electrical impulses that cause atrial fibrillation.

4 Mar 2014

Angry outbursts increase heart attack risk

Call it what you will - getting red in the face, hot under the collar, losing your cool, blowing your top - we all experience anger. And while we know that anger is a normal, sometimes even beneficial emotion, we're also aware of the often harmful connection between anger and health. New research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical shows an even more compelling reason to think about getting anger in check - a nearly fivefold increase in risk for heart attack in the two hours following outbursts of anger.

4 Mar 2014

New theory on the causation of type 2 diabetes

At 85, Nobel laureate James D. Watson, the co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA, continues to advance intriguing scientific ideas. His latest, a hypothesis on the causation of type 2 diabetes, is to appear 7 pm Thursday US time in the online pages of The Lancet, the prestigious British medical journal.

4 Mar 2014

Intra-Cellular Therapies initiates Phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate pharmacokinetics in patients with dementia

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the initiation of ITI-007-200, a Phase I/II clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of low doses of its lead drug candidate, ITI-007, in healthy geriatric subjects and in patients with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

4 Mar 2014

OPKO Health consolidated revenues increase about 30% to $20.7 million in Q4 2013

OPKO Health, Inc., a multi-national biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company, today reported operating and financial results for its 2013 fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2013.

4 Mar 2014

People with sleep apnea appear to be at increased risk of pneumonia

People with sleep apnea appear to be at higher risk of pneumonia than people without, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

4 Mar 2014

Simple approach best for blood pressure risk stratification

Calculating blood pressure load does not increase physicians’ ability to predict a patient’s risk of cardiovascular events, research shows.

3 Mar 2014

Doctors offer ways to help protect kidneys

The kidneys, two very important organs located in your back, help to continuously clean out wastes and extra fluid from your body. One in 10 Americans develops kidney disease due to diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney failure.

3 Mar 2014

Research roundup: Medicaid peer support; doctor Jokes; ACA's asset rules for coverage

Since 2009, the eight states (Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Maximizing Enrollment program have worked to streamline and simplify enrollment systems, policies, and processes for children and those eligible for coverage in 2014. ... States [focused] on five key areas: 1) applications, 2) eligibility determinations, 3) renewals and transfers, 4) notices, and 5) business processes.

3 Mar 2014

Five women scientists to receive ‘L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards'

On March 19th the L'Oréal Foundation and UNESCO will present the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards to five outstanding women scientists.

3 Mar 2014

Same food may trigger both allergies, say experts

Some children who outgrow one type of food allergy may then develop another type of allergy, more severe and more persistent, to the same food. A new study by pediatric allergy experts suggests that health care providers and caregivers carefully monitor children with food allergies to recognize early signs of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe and often painful type of allergy that has been increasing in recent years.

3 Mar 2014

Cardiologist offers 3 tips for men and women to help improve heart health

Forty-nine percent of the adult population will have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States The good news? It can be prevented.

3 Mar 2014

Higher intake of fish increases number of large HDL particles, says study

Increasing the intake of fatty fish increases the number of large HDL particles, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. People who increased their intake of fish to a minimum of 3-4 weekly meals had more large HDL particles in their blood than people who are less frequent eaters of fish.

3 Mar 2014