Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

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

First Edition: December 19, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

19 Dec 2012

Ion channel acts as powerful ‘brake’ after epileptic seizures

Given that epilepsy impacts more than 2 million Americans, there is a pressing need for new therapies to prevent this disabling neurological disorder. New findings from the neuroscience laboratory of Mark S. Shapiro, Ph.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, published Dec. 20 in the high-impact scientific journal, Neuron, may provide hope.

19 Dec 2012

Cholesterol plays a key role in regulating proteins involved in cell signaling

Cholesterol plays a key role in regulating proteins involved in cell signaling and may be important to many other cell processes, an international team of researchers has found.

19 Dec 2012

Workers, employers, elderly and hospitals all worried about effects of fiscal cuts

As negotiations drag on to cut federal debt, many groups are concerned about how potential changes in spending will affect them.

19 Dec 2012

Loyola physicians highlight the dangers of snow shoveling

Each year, thousands of people are treated in emergency departments across the United States for heart attacks, broken bones and other injuries related to snow shoveling.

19 Dec 2012

Health care quality: Hospital readmission rates, innovations in patient care

Modern Healthcare reports on new research that raises questions about the relationship between shorter hospital stays and higher hospital readmission rates.

19 Dec 2012

Obama, Boehner trade 'fiscal cliff' offers, express optimism about possible deal

President Barack Obama's latest offer does not include a Republican proposal to increase the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports on how health care spending is driving the nation's debt, while USA Today details a new poll showing the public favors the president in the fiscal talks.

19 Dec 2012

Clopidogrel pretreatment for PCI does not reduce risk of overall mortality

Among patients scheduled for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), pretreatment with the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel was not associated with a lower risk of overall mortality but was associated with a significantly lower risk of major coronary events, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the December 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Dec 2012