Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Viewpoints: Raising Medicare's entitlement age doesn't save money; New anti-fraud efforts

Looking for ways to slow the growth of entitlement programs, budget negotiators in Washington are considering making seniors wait two years longer to qualify for Medicare - from age 65 to 67. Many Republicans have endorsed the idea, noting that Medicare beneficiaries now live far longer on average than they did when Congress created the program in 1965.

18 Dec 2012

High AngII levels put stress on the ER and cause hypertension

When the heart works too hard, the brain may be to blame, says new Cornell University research that is changing how scientists look at high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in November, traces hypertension to a newfound cellular source in the brain and shows that treatments targeting this area can reverse the disease.

18 Dec 2012

AHA/ASA identify top cardiovascular and stroke research advances for 2012

Resuscitation, cell regeneration, a new high blood pressure treatment and developments in devices for treating stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research identified by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

18 Dec 2012

Klerokinesis may prevent some cancers from developing

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center have discovered a new form of cell division in human cells.

18 Dec 2012

Tbx18 gene directs conversion of cardiomyocytes to genuine pacemaker cells

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have reprogrammed ordinary heart cells to become exact replicas of highly specialized pacemaker cells by injecting a single gene (Tbx18)-a major step forward in the decade-long search for a biological therapy to correct erratic and failing heartbeats.

18 Dec 2012

Physicians should not prescribe cognitive enhancers to healthy people

Physicians should not prescribe cognitive enhancers to healthy individuals, states a report being published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

18 Dec 2012

ARCHITECT 2nd Generation Testosterone Assay from Abbott

Testosterone is an important androgen hormone in the health and well-being of men and women. Testosterone levels are associated with sexual development, libido, protection against osteoporosis, and cardiovascular health. In men, insufficient testosterone levels (hypogonadism) have been linked to obesity and low libido.

18 Dec 2012

UCSD Moores Cancer Center offers insights into flavorful healthy foods

What's round, red, full of holiday cheer, and (dare we say it) good for you? It's the cranberry. Its powerful goodness, coupled with cruciferous vegetables- such as broccoli, bok choy, and kale- and festive seasonal fruits like persimmons, can change attitudes about "healthy" eating during the holidays. Gain some flavorful food insights in Food for Thought: Healing Foods to Savor, authored by nutritional experts at University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

18 Dec 2012

Vero system can treat patients with recent diagnoses of metastatic cancer

University of Florida radiation oncologists are using a sophisticated medical device to treat patients who have recent diagnoses of metastatic cancer, where the disease has started to spread from one part of the body to another.

18 Dec 2012

First meta-analytic review of association of perceived stress and incident CHD

Are you stressed? Results of a new meta-analysis of six studies involving nearly 120,000 people indicate that the answer to that question may help predict one's risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) or death from CHD.

17 Dec 2012

Roundup: Some medical students forced to change course after Sandy; N.C. patients pay for more when docs employed by hospital

After completing a medical rotation in pediatrics, Hannah Kirsch was looking forward to starting another one in psychiatry at New York City's Bellevue Hospital -- but then Hurricane Sandy hit. Kirsch is among about 170 third-year and fourth-year medical students at New York University who were required to change their plans after two of NYU's academic training hospitals, NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue, temporarily closed due to extensive flood damage.

17 Dec 2012

Osteoporosis screening: an interview with Professor Cyrus Cooper

Osteoporosis is defined as a reduction in bone mass coupled with micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue which predisposes to fractures. Osteoporosis manifests through an increased risk of fracture, and age-related fractures are a major public health problem.

17 Dec 2012

Surgery poses cardiac risk to lupus women

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus are at significantly increased risk for short-term perioperative adverse cardiovascular events, find researchers.

17 Dec 2012

Sit–rise test may guide mortality risk stratification

Assessing how much support a middle-aged or elderly person requires to sit and rise from the floor could be an indicator of all-cause mortality risk, researchers say.

17 Dec 2012

Democrats wary of Medicare benefits cuts being discussed in fiscal talks

Talk of hiking costs for wealthier beneficiaries and increasing the program's eligibility age appear to make some Democrats nervous, and may be causing difficulties in the Democratic caucus.

17 Dec 2012

New research reveals music's health benefits

Music has been incorporated into medical practice since before the ancient Greeks. However, though practitioners have been convinced of music's health benefits for thousands of years, there had been little peer-reviewed research to back them up. But recent studies are providing an empirical backbone for the anecdotal evidence.

17 Dec 2012

UMCG enrolls and treats first patients in RENEW pivotal trial to evaluate RePneu LVRC

PneumRx, Inc., a leader in interventional pulmonology, announced today that University Medical Center Groningen has enrolled and treated the first patients in the FDA-approved RENEW pivotal trial to evaluate the RePneu Lung Volume Reduction Coil.

17 Dec 2012

Dyslipidaemia: an interview with Prof. Peter Kokkinos

Dyslipidemia is defined as abnormal levels of blood lipids (fats) and cholesterol. The most common dyslipidaemias are high blood cholesterol (Total Cholesterol) and triglyceride levels, high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (‘bad’ cholesterol) and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (‘good’ cholesterol).

17 Dec 2012

Children's Miracle Network Ambassador announces Fire Truck O'Toys charity toy drive

Today, 13 year-old Children's Miracle Network Ambassador Mackenzie Scott announced the second annual Fire Truck O'Toys charity toy drive sponsored by Boxing Clever, Children's Miracle Network, The St. Louis Rams and Build-A-Bear Workshop.

15 Dec 2012

Genesee Health Plan joins Disparities and Cardiac Health Program initiative

MPRO, Michigan's Quality Improvement Organization, announced that Genesee Health Plan is joining its Disparities and Cardiac Health Program, a special project headed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

15 Dec 2012