Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Cardiac arrhythmias: an interview with Dr Andrew Grace

Cardiac arrhythmias are disturbances of the heartbeat. The heart can either go too slowly, which might make people collapse or exhausted; or too quickly.

8 Nov 2012

Pay-for-performance schemes may help save lives of NHS patients

New research into controversial pay-for-performance schemes has suggested they may help to save the lives of NHS patients.

From The University of Manchester 8 Nov 2012

Better understanding of clotting dynamics in atherosclerosis could lead to more effective drugs

The disease atherosclerosis involves the build up of fatty tissue within arterial walls, creating unstable structures known as plaques. These plaques grow until they burst, rupturing the wall and causing the formation of a blood clot within the artery. These clots also grow until they block blood flow; in the case of the coronary artery, this can cause a heart attack.

8 Nov 2012

Destruction of newborn screening left over samples may be detrimental to medical research

The tremendous potential public health benefits of research with blood samples left over after routine newborn screening must not be lost amidst controversy and litigation, say medical and bioethics experts in a commentary published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

8 Nov 2012

Atherotech VAP Lipid Panel demonstrates accuracy in personalized heart disease risk assessment

Researchers using the Atherotech VAP Lipid Panel demonstrated the comprehensive lipid profile's accuracy in risk stratification through subclass measurement in two abstracts presented today at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2012.

8 Nov 2012

Autologous stem cells do not improve heart function when given three weeks after heart attack

Administering stem cells derived from patients' own bone marrow either three or seven days after a heart attack is safe but does not improve heart function six months later, according to a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

8 Nov 2012

Landmark study could lead to fewer inappropriate shocks from implanted defibrillators

Loyola University Medical Center is among the centers participating in a landmark study that could lead to fewer inappropriate shocks from implanted defibrillators.

8 Nov 2012

Most patients taking common blood-thinning drugs may be receiving wrong dosage levels

Cardiology researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have found that approximately 75 percent of patients taking two common blood-thinning drugs may be receiving the wrong dosage levels, according to a new study.

8 Nov 2012

Reduce intensity of exercising when sick

Stuffy noses, hacking coughs and aches all over—cold and flu season has arrived. Though your body may be aching and your nose running like a faucet, it can be difficult to decide if you should continue your exercise routine or take a temporary break.

8 Nov 2012

Simple biomarker model to predict heart failure risk

The most widely used models for predicting heart failure rely on a complex combination of lifestyle, demographic, and cardiovascular risk factor information.

8 Nov 2012

African leaders must do more to ensure continent meets farming potential

"Images of starving children, epitomized in news coverage from Ethiopia in the 1980s, have given Africa a reputation for famine that does an injustice to the continent's potential," Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria and a member of the Africa Progress Panel, writes in a CNN opinion piece.

8 Nov 2012

AHA honors Children's National pediatrician with Meritorious Achievement Award

Children's National Medical Center is pleased to announce that David L. Wessel, MD, has received the prestigious Meritorious Achievement Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular Disease of the Young. The award is a national career achievement award recognizing an individual who has made a significant impact in the field of pediatric cardiovascular disease.

8 Nov 2012

U-M to improve disease diagnosis through metabolic profiling

The University of Michigan Health System has earned a $9.1 million core grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve disease diagnosis through metabolic profiling.

8 Nov 2012

Studies provide first clues of balanced de novo chromosomal rearrangements

Whole genome sequencing of the DNA code of three prenatal samples provided a detailed map of the locations of their chromosomal abnormalities in 14 days, scientists reported today at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2012 meeting in San Francisco.

8 Nov 2012

EUROECHO 2012 reveals how imaging improves early diagnosis of atherosclerosis

"Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and the leading killer in Europe," said Professor Patrizio Lancellotti, President-Elect of the EACVI and Chairman of the EUROECHO Scientific Programme Committee. "Many of these deaths could be averted by diagnosis at a preclinical stage or early after the onset of symptoms."

8 Nov 2012

BMI may not be best measure for estimation of cancer risk

A study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that body mass index (BMI)-the most commonly used weight-for-height formula for estimating fatness-may not be the best measure for estimating disease risk, and particularly the risk of certain types of cancer. The study was published today in the online edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

8 Nov 2012

Metformin more effective than sulfonylurea in controlling type 2 diabetes

A Vanderbilt study examining the impact of the two most commonly prescribed oral diabetes medications on the risk for heart attack, stroke and death has found the drug metformin has benefits over sulfonylurea drugs.

8 Nov 2012

Calcium intake does not increase risk of coronary artery calcification

Researchers at the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), have published a study that shows no evidence of a link between calcium intake and coronary artery calcification, reassuring adults who take calcium supplements for bone health that the supplements do not appear to result in the development of calcification of blood vessels.

8 Nov 2012

Washington University, SRI investigators launch Global Metabolomic Initiative

Investigators at Washington University and The Scripps Research Institute have announced the launch of a "Global Metabolomic Initiative" to facilitate meta-analyses on studies of the metabolism of bacteria, yeast, plants, animals and people.

7 Nov 2012

WU researchers to study blood-clotting disorders

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $9 million grant to investigate blood-clotting disorders. From heart attacks and strokes to uncontrolled bleeding, clotting disorders cause more deaths each year in the United States than all types of cancer combined.

7 Nov 2012