Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Common diabetes treatment may cause bladder cancer

A commonly used diabetes treatment may increase patients’ risk for bladder cancer, show US study findings.

22 Aug 2012

Ventricular factors linked to early and late post-cardiac surgery mortality

Increased left ventricular mass index predicts perioperative mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, while a decreased fractional area of contraction in the left ventricle is linked to 1-year mortality, US scientists have found.

22 Aug 2012

Non-righthandedness increased in BD patients

Patients with bipolar disorder are around twice as likely to be non-righthanded as mentally healthy individuals, study results show.

22 Aug 2012

Evidence stacks up against bisphenol A

High levels of urinary bisphenol A may be linked to severe coronary artery stenosis, report researchers in PLoS One.

22 Aug 2012

CKD may raise stroke, bleeding risk in AF patients

Danish study results show that the presence of chronic kidney disease appears to raise the risk for stroke, systemic thromboembolism, and bleeding among patients with atrial fibrillation.

22 Aug 2012

Blood cells returned to stem cell state by Johns Hopkins researchers

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body.

22 Aug 2012

Miniaturized wireless sensors can save lives of wounded soldiers

Early detection of blood loss to save the lives of soldiers wounded on the battlefield is the goal of a three-year research and development project to be launched this fall at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Funded by a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Army, the research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS).

22 Aug 2012

FDA warns consumers about potential health risks of two natural dietary supplements

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a new warning to consumers about the potential health risks of two products marketed as natural dietary supplements for treating arthritis, muscle pain, osteoporosis, bone cancer, and other conditions.

22 Aug 2012

Study uses cardiac CT to detect presence of blocked arteries in older marathoners

A study of marathon participants older than 50 years of age has found similar temporary effects as those found in runners between 18 and 40 years of age. Any cardiac abnormalities during a marathon disappear within a week after completing a race.

22 Aug 2012

UI Hospital receives Medtronic Foundation grant to coordinate Illinois Heart Rescue

The University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System has received a $2.5 million grant from the Medtronic Foundation to coordinate Illinois Heart Rescue, an ambitious statewide all-volunteer effort to more than double survival from sudden cardiac arrests in Illinois.

From Medtronic 22 Aug 2012

Coronary artery calcium tool proves effective in detecting risk of cardiovascular disease

Heart calcium scans are far superior to other assessment tools in predicting the development of cardiovascular disease in individuals currently classified at intermediate risk by their doctors, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

22 Aug 2012

ICUS applauds FDA's decision to modify U.S. product label for OPTISON ultrasound contrast agent

The International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) today applauded the FDA's decision to modify the U.S. product label for OPTISON, an ultrasound contrast agent used to improve the accuracy of radiation-free ultrasound scans.

22 Aug 2012

OBI’s Oxycyte improves imaging of penumbra following acute ischemic stroke

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc., announced today that recent research conducted by its partner, Aurum Biosciences, Glasgow, Scotland, has shown that Oxycyte, OBI's proprietary perfluorocarbon-based intravenous emulsion, improves imaging of the penumbra following acute ischemic stroke in a rat model.

22 Aug 2012

Corporate power presents a major threat to public health

Professor Gerard Hastings from the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling argues that marketing by multinational corporations "threatens our mental wellbeing, exacerbates inequalities, and encourages unsustainable consumption."

22 Aug 2012

CIRT to determine whether methotrexate can reduce heart attacks, strokes and CVD deaths

An international multi-site trial has launched to determine whether a common anti-inflammatory drug can reduce heart attacks, strokes, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease in people at high risk for them. This study is being supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Aug 2012

Sotera Wireless receives FDA 510(k) clearance for ViSi Mobile System

Sotera Wireless, Inc. announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its full ViSi Mobile System and is commencing sales to hospitals nationwide.

22 Aug 2012

RasGas establishes heart safe workplace with installation of LIFEPAK CR Plus AEDs

Physio-Control, Inc., a provider of emergency medical response solutions worldwide, today announced that global energy supplier RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) has established a heart safe workplace with the installation of LIFEPAK CR Plus automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

22 Aug 2012

Healthcare announces important changes to the U.S. product label for Optison

GE Healthcare today announced important changes to the U.S. product label for Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres Injectable Suspension, USP), a contrast agent that may improve the visualization of the left ventricular border - an area of the heart that is critical to see in order to diagnose certain heart diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

22 Aug 2012

PhaseBio commences Glymera Phase 2b study in type 2 diabetes

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing drugs to treat diabetes, metabolic disease and cardiovascular disease, announced today that it has initiated dosing in a multicenter (USA), randomized, placebo and active comparator controlled Phase 2b study that will enroll approximately 600 patients with type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1c 7% - 11%) inadequately controlled with diet and exercise, metformin, a sulfonylurea or a combination of metformin/sulfonylurea.

22 Aug 2012

HDL cholesterol benefits reduced with high C-reactive protein

The cardioprotective effects of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are compromised in the presence of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, report researchers.

21 Aug 2012