Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Tips to prevent ‘holiday heart’ syndrome

The holiday season is supposed to be joyous, fun and happy. But it can also be stressful. The nation's emergency physicians want to remind all Americans to keep your stress in check.

10 Dec 2012

Amgen signs definitive agreement to acquire deCODE Genetics

Amgen and deCODE Genetics today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Amgen will acquire deCODE Genetics, a global leader in human genetics, headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland.

10 Dec 2012

Communication and checklists may lead to fewer surgical complications

An article published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgery found decreases in some postoperative complications when surgical teams were trained in communication and to use a procedure check list.

10 Dec 2012

Roundup: Texas Medicaid funding fight looms; Minn. facing federal Medicaid scrutiny; health care jobs 'boom'

If the Texas Legislature is in session, there must be a fight about Medicaid going on. The health care program for the disabled, the elderly poor and the impoverished raises hackles every two years, mostly because the number in need keeps rising alongside health care costs.

10 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news about yesterday's "fiscal cliff" meeting between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, as well as other health policy reports.

10 Dec 2012

New survival results from Genentech’s Perjeta Phase III combination study on HER2-positive mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced updated survival results from the Phase III CLEOPATRA study, which showed that the combination of Perjeta (pertuzumab), Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel chemotherapy significantly extended the lives (overall survival) of people with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC), compared to Herceptin, chemotherapy and placebo.

10 Dec 2012

Study examines association between ischemic-hypoxic conditions and ADHD

Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life as compared to unexposed children, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Pediatrics.

10 Dec 2012

Maintaining weight loss may improve cardiometabolic profile in postmenopausal women

When you're postmenopausal and overweight, losing weight is a good thing, but gaining back just a few pounds may actually be detrimental to your cardiovascular health.

10 Dec 2012

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore announces opening of new geriatric surgery center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a LifeBridge Health center, is proud to announce the opening of the Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery, the nation's first surgical center dedicated exclusively to providing specialized surgical and pre and postoperative care for elderly patients.

10 Dec 2012

IDSA guidelines describe best methods for diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections

Of the one million people each year who get hips and knees replaced, as many as 20,000 will get an infection in the new joint, a number that is expected to skyrocket in the next 20 years. Multispecialty physician teams need to work together to reduce disability, death and costs associated with the ever-growing number of these prosthetic joint infections, note the first guidelines on the topic being released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

9 Dec 2012

Treadmill test can accurately predict coronary artery disease in women over 65

Although there is a widespread belief among physicians that the exercise treadmill test (ETT) is not reliable in evaluating the heart health of women, UC Davis researchers have found that the test can accurately predict coronary artery disease in women over the age of 65. They also found that two specific electrocardiogram (EKG) indicators of heart stress during an ETT further enhanced its predictive power.

8 Dec 2012

Research Roundup: Medicare Advantage Plan beneficiaries may get more appropriate use of services; CHIP participation grows; College students' flu vaccination rates weak

Analysis Of Medicare Advantage HMOs Compared With Traditional Medicare Shows Lower Use of Many Services During 2003-09 – Researchers compared the utilization rates of Medicare Advantage health maintenance organizations (HMOs) with those of traditional Medicare beneficiaries, 2003-09, "to ascertain whether the HMO enrollees demonstrated different levels of use of services, which can be a hallmark of more integrated care."

7 Dec 2012