Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Turning off GSK-3α protein activity can prevent heart remodeling

When a person has a heart attack, portions of the heart muscle die in the next several days or even weeks if deprived of oxygen for long enough. The recovering heart slowly remodels itself, even fostering the growth of new blood vessels, in an attempt to regain some of its former function. But all too often, the remodeling is actually harmful, and the damaged heart is on an inevitable downward slide to heart failure.

6 Nov 2012

Positive results from POZEN's PA32540 Phase 3 trials presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2012

POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, presented positive results from two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials of the investigational product, PA32540, at The American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2012, as Poster #12057: Treatment Continuation and Cardiovascular Safety of Antiplatelet Therapy with PA32540, A Tablet with Enteric-Coated Aspirin and Immediate-Release Omeprazole: Results of Two 6-Month, Phase 3 Studies.

6 Nov 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Xeljanz to treat rheumatoid arthritis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xeljanz (tofacitinib) to treat adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to, or who are intolerant of, methotrexate.

6 Nov 2012

Low molecular weight agents heighten inhalation challenge risk

Asthmatic reactions needing drug treatment are more likely to result from specific inhalation challenges for occupational asthma with low molecular weight agents than high molecular weight agents, show the results of a Belgian study.

6 Nov 2012

Lupus may carry pregnancy complication risk

US researchers report that women with systemic lupus erythematosus have a twofold higher risk for developing preeclampsia than women without an autoimmune disease.

6 Nov 2012

Stressful life events linked to bipolar depression

Stressful life events, particularly independent severe, loss, and danger events, are significantly associated with depressive symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder, study results show.

6 Nov 2012

Traditional CV risk factors linked to peripheral artery disease

Smoking, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia are significantly associated with the risk for clinically significant peripheral artery disease in men, with each additional factor doubling the risk, conclude US and Dutch researchers.

6 Nov 2012

Receptor expression sheds light on nasal polyposis

The increased expression of a leukotriene receptor and a glucocorticoid receptor may contribute to the development of nasal polyposis, report researchers.

6 Nov 2012

Workout in the catheter lab gives clues to ‘warm-up angina’

Improved coupling of vascular and ventricular circulation during exercise appears to underlie the phenomenon known as warm-up angina, a UK study shows.

6 Nov 2012

Comprehensive overview of vascular risk factors to Alzheimer's disease

Over the last 15 years, researchers have found a significant association between vascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes type 2, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

6 Nov 2012

Paragonix files PMNA with FDA for Sherpa Pak Cardiac Transport System

Paragonix Technologies, Inc. today announced that it has successfully completed filing of a Pre-Marketing Notification Application (510(k)) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Paragonix Sherpa Pak Cardiac Transport System (CTS).

6 Nov 2012

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety linked to poorer adaptive behaviors

UC Davis researchers have found that for children with the genetic disorder known as chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety -- but not intelligence -- is linked to poorer adaptive behaviors, such as self-care and communication skills, that affect daily life. The developmental syndrome, which is associated with a constellation of physical, cognitive and psychiatric problems, usually is apparent at birth or early childhood, and leads to lifelong challenges.

6 Nov 2012

Racial differences in fatal coronary heart disease associated with risk factor burden

Despite treatment advances for coronary heart disease over the past 20 years, black men and women still have twice the risk of fatal coronary heart disease compared with white men and women, according to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham appearing in the Nov. 7, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 Nov 2012

State roundup: Examining health issues on state ballots

Sprinkled throughout ballots across the country are state initiatives that run the gamut from education to animal rights to marriage. And health care is well-represented, too. The National Conference of State Legislatures labels health a "key issue" in this cycle's roundup of state ballot questions.

6 Nov 2012

Comprehensive review article on baroreflex sensitivity after SCI

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can disrupt the body's sensitive signaling mechanisms that control blood pressure, breathing, and oxygen delivery to the heart and other organs during changes in body position. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading cause of illness and death following SCI, and changes in baroreflex sensitivity-the body's ability to detect and respond to changes in blood pressure-may be predictive of a CV event.

6 Nov 2012

Probiotic formulation can reduce cholesterol esters

Two daily doses of a probiotic lowered key cholesterol-bearing molecules in the blood as well as "bad" and total cholesterol, in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.

6 Nov 2012

ECG analysis may predict risk of death from all causes

Research by Johns Hopkins cardiologists suggests that electrocardiograms (ECGs), which are widely used tests to assess the heart’s electrical activity, may have a greater and more profound future role in predicting the risk of death from any cause, not just heart problems.

6 Nov 2012

Sorin Group’s Mitroflow Valsalva Conduit now available in the U.S.

Sorin Group, a global medical device company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today the U.S. commercial launch of the Mitroflow Valsalva Conduit, the only Valsalva conduit graft approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in combination with an aortic tissue valve.

6 Nov 2012

Low-dose aspirin effective at preventing serious blood clots

Low-dose aspirin is a cheap and effective way to prevent potentially deadly blood clots in the leg or the lungs in patients who have had a previous blood clot a new study shows.

6 Nov 2012

New tool helps prevent hospital readmission among heart attack patients

Some heart attack patients end up back in the hospital just weeks after going home. It can happen for a variety of reasons, but doctors haven't had a reliable way to predict which patients will return - until now.

6 Nov 2012