Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Thickening of arterial walls causes branch retinal vein occlusion

Branch retinal vein occlusion - blockage of the blood vessels that channel blood from the retina - is a common eye disease. A type of blood clot in the eye, the disease causes reduced vision, and people with the disease also typically have an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes and other serious conditions. A young scientist from the University of Copenhagen has made a significant contribution to finding the cause of the disease.

21 Dec 2012

CAC test can identify diabetes patients at high risk of fatal cardiovascular disease

People with Type 2 diabetes have two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people without the disease. The best way for doctors to predict which diabetes patients are at the greatest risk for heart disease is to use a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test in addition to the most commonly used assessment tool, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

21 Dec 2012

Study shows dramatic underuse of basic medical therapy

Patients who quit smoking and took an aspirin and statin before undergoing treatment for blocked leg arteries were less likely to suffer a complication six months later, according to new research led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

21 Dec 2012

Maternal vitamin D deficiency could cause low birth weight

Women deficient in vitamin D early in their pregnancies are more likely to deliver babies with lower birth weights, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health research reveals.

20 Dec 2012

Merck’s TREDAPTIVE clinical study on high-risk CVD patients does not meet primary endpoint

Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced that the HPS2-THRIVE (Heart Protection Study 2-Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) study of TREDAPTIVE(extended-release niacin/laropiprant) did not meet its primary endpoint.

20 Dec 2012

Proteins detected in urine may enable diagnosis of Kawasaki disease

A set of proteins detected in urine by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital may prove to be the first biomarkers for Kawasaki disease, an uncommon but increasingly prevalent disease which causes inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to enlarged coronary arteries and even heart attacks in some children.

20 Dec 2012

Cancer-related mortality increased in psychiatric patients

The incidence of cancer is lower in psychiatric patients than the general population, but associated mortality rates are higher, researchers report.

20 Dec 2012

Disparities in HIV care in Ontario

Researchers have found significant disparities in hospital admission rates for certain groups of individuals living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

20 Dec 2012

Bipolar subtypes show neurobiologic differences

Results from a Taiwanese study show that there are significant neurobiologic differences between patients with bipolar I and II disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Palliative care consultation may benefit heart failure patients

Symptomatic heart failure patients experience a high prevalence of pain and symptom burden akin to the experiences of cancer patients, say researchers, who report that a palliative care consultation in this population could reduce these factors.

20 Dec 2012

Maneuvering toward a 'fiscal cliff' deal

Despite progress toward an agreement with the White House, House Republicans appeared to veer off course Tuesday with a "Plan B" if budget talks fail. Some media outlets suggested that both President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are attempting to quell backlash within their own parties -- Boehner for agreeing to tax increases, Obama for ceding some entitlement cuts.

20 Dec 2012

GW nursing professors receive three-year $790,000 gerontology grant from HHS

Beverly Lunsford, a George Washington University assistant professor of nursing, believes a health care crisis is brewing.

20 Dec 2012

Hospitals with good work environment have low readmission rates

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has found that Medicare patients treated in hospitals with a good work environment for nurses had up to ten percent lower odds of readmission than those treated in hospitals with a poor work environment.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Few alcohol-related story ideas from The Methodist Hospital

The holidays are a time to consume -- food, gifts, and spirits. Here are a few alcohol-related story ideas from The Methodist Hospital. Because alcohol's effects on human physiology are complex, advice about is often contradictory.

20 Dec 2012

Aspirin use may increase risk of age-related macular degeneration

People who regularly took aspirin 10 years prior to examination had a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of a subtype of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

20 Dec 2012

FDA allows marketing of Angiotech's Bio-Seal Lung Biopsy Tract Plug System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the Bio-Seal Lung Biopsy Tract Plug System, a device that seals punctures left by biopsies performed to confirm a diagnosis of suspected lung conditions.

20 Dec 2012

Cancer-related mortality increased in psychiatric patients

The incidence of cancer is lower in psychiatric patients than the general population, but associated mortality rates are higher, researchers report.

19 Dec 2012

Findings emphasize importance of counseling HIV patients on smoking cessation

Among HIV patients receiving well-organized care with free access to antiretroviral therapy, those who smoke lose more years of life to smoking than to HIV, according to a Danish study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation efforts in the long-term, integrated care of patients infected with HIV.

19 Dec 2012