Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Study assesses post-coronary artery bypass graft surgery atrial fibrillation and long-term survival

Atrial fibrillation is a common complication of cardiac surgery, occurring in 10 percent to 40 percent of patients. Recent studies show it to be associated with poorer health following surgery and poorer long-term survival. Furthermore, development of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery leads to average additional health care costs of $15,000 to $20,000.

1 Sep 2012

Stanford engineers demonstrate feasibility of super-small, implantable cardiac device

A team of engineers at Stanford has demonstrated the feasibility of a super-small, implantable cardiac device that gets its power not from batteries, but from radio waves transmitted from outside the body. The implanted device is contained in a cube just eight-tenths of a millimeter in radius. It could fit on the head of pin.

1 Sep 2012

Dysfunctional RyRs play a role in stress-induced cognitive dysfunction

ARMGO Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative small molecule drugs known as "Rycals™," which act on the ryanodine receptor calcium-release channel (RyR), announced that a study published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cell reveals the underlying role of calcium leak through the RyR as an important contributor to stress-induced cognitive dysfunction.

1 Sep 2012

Roundup: Flurry of health bills as Calif. legislature winds down; Kansas City health data exchange opens up

The window to save the Healthy Families program is narrowing to a small slit, with just a single day left to pass bills. ... Today -- until midnight tonight -- is the last day for legislation to be passed this year. The governor has until the end of September to veto or approve bills.

1 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Readmission risks after surgery; Assessing Medicaid applicants' eligibility; Satisfaction among health plan types

General Surgeons Identify Postoperative Complications Posing Strongest Readmission Risks -- Researchers found that about 11 percent of patients in a study of 1,442 individuals who underwent general surgery were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days.

31 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 31, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations examine Mitt Romney's speech last night and the messages on health care at the Republican convention.

31 Aug 2012

Doubt cast on LABA withdrawal in combination asthma therapy

Researchers have urged doctors to be cautious over withdrawal of long-acting beta-2 agonist therapy in patients with asthma controlled by this type of bronchodilator in combination with an inhaled corticosteroid, after finding the approach often results in destabilization of their condition.

31 Aug 2012

Promising results with SLIT for childhood grass pollen allergy

High-dose sublingual immunotherapy effectively reduces allergic symptoms and medication use in children with grass pollen–allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, show study results.

31 Aug 2012

French data highlight women under 60 at risk for heart disease

An analysis of four French registries has shown a dramatic drop in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction mortality from 1995 to 2010, accompanied by a significant change in patient characteristics.

31 Aug 2012

TNF inhibitors best cardiac option for psoriasis patients

Use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors is associated with a significantly reduced risk for myocardial infarction in psoriasis patients compared with use of other medications, report researchers.

31 Aug 2012

Subsyndromal symptoms hasten relapse in BD

The presence of subsyndromal affective symptoms is associated with a significantly shorter time to relapse among euthymic patients with bipolar disorder, Spanish research shows.

31 Aug 2012

Excessive daytime sleepiness during pregnancy should raise the alarm

Excessive daytime sleepiness is a common occurrence in pregnant women, particularly during the third trimester, but researchers warn that it might not always be physiologically normal.

31 Aug 2012

Quitting could cut SAH risk for some smokers

Stopping smoking may help to attenuate people’s risk for subarachnoid hemorrhage, say researchers.

31 Aug 2012

LCZ696 could be of PARAMOUNT importance in heart failure

The first-in-class angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 could improve treatment of heart failure, report researchers who conducted a phase II trial of the drug and found it had superior results to an alternative therapy already in use.

31 Aug 2012

Tunes and T-shirts for cardiac rehabilitation

Two studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany, showed how researchers are developing innovative approaches to help patients get the most out of cardiac rehabilitation.

31 Aug 2012

Sleep apnea’s contribution to diabetic nephropathy needs attention

The effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on the development of diabetic nephropathy requires investigation, say researchers.

31 Aug 2012

Researchers identify several genetic factors linked to C-reactive protein

African Americans have higher blood levels of a protein associated with increased heart-disease risk than European Americans, despite higher "good" HDL cholesterol and lower "bad" triglyceride levels. This contradictory observation now may be explained, in part, by a genetic variant identified in the first large-scale, genome-wide association study of this protein involving 12,000 African American and Hispanic American women.

31 Aug 2012

Elan commences ELND005 Phase 2 study in Bipolar I Disorder

Transition Therapeutics Inc. today announced that its licensing partner, Elan Corporation, plc has commenced a Phase 2, placebo-controlled, safety and efficacy study of oral ELND005 as an adjunctive maintenance treatment in patients with Bipolar I Disorder (BPD 1) to delay the time to occurrence of mood episodes.

31 Aug 2012

S107 drug can prevent learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a potential medical treatment for the cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

31 Aug 2012

Type 2 diabetics with normoalbuminuria more likely to develop heart problems

In individuals with type 2 diabetes, any degree of measurable urinary protein excretion—even in what is considered the normal range—increases their risk of experiencing heart problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of new study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

31 Aug 2012