Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Study compares stress levels in individuals across the U.S.

Until now, comparing stress levels in individuals across the United States over time was not possible due to a lack of historical data that tracks stress using accepted comparable measures.

13 Jun 2012

Caspase-11 enzyme plays an important role in Legionella infection

New research shows that an enzyme that has long been considered relatively useless to the immune response instead has an important role in setting up immune cells to kill infection-causing bacteria.

13 Jun 2012

Two studies report sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background

Two studies scheduled for presentation today at SLEEP 2012 are reporting sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background.

13 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Praise for insurers' move to keep consumer protections; Supreme Court's reputation falters

UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation's largest health insurers, announced this week that it would keep some of the popular benefits and consumer protections required by the federal health care law even if the Supreme Court strikes down all or part of it. ... But such voluntary actions are not a substitute for the broader mandatory reforms that will take effect after 2014 under the law.

13 Jun 2012

Long-term insulin use does not increase risk of heart disease in people with diabetes

Researchers at McMaster University have discovered that long-term insulin use does not harm people with diabetes or pre-diabetes or put them at risk of heart attacks, strokes or cancer.

13 Jun 2012

Billions of specific gut bacteria may play a role in autoimmune diseases

The billions of bugs in our guts have a newfound role: regulating the immune system and related autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

13 Jun 2012

Depression, obesity two main culprits of excessive daytime sleepiness

Wake up, America, and lose some weight - it's keeping you tired and prone to accidents. Three studies being presented today at sleep 2012 conclude that obesity and depression are the two main culprits making us excessively sleepy while awake.

13 Jun 2012

Ischemic stroke on the rise among N.J. children

Stroke is one of the top 10 causes of death among children according to the National Stroke Association. A new study published today shows that in New Jersey, the diagnosis of ischemic stroke in children, resulting from a loss or obstruction of blood to the brain, is on the rise.

13 Jun 2012

Risk score may aid emergency heart failure decisions

A novel risk score may help physicians decide whether to admit or discharge patients who present to the emergency department with an acute episode of heart failure, say its developers.

12 Jun 2012

Guideline update for infective endocarditis successful

The incidence of infective endocarditis did not increase after American guidelines for antibiotic use before dental procedures were updated in 2007, a report in Circulation shows.

12 Jun 2012

Stress troubles women’s hearts

Women experience more myocardial stress than men, regardless of arterial hemodynamic function and cardiac geometry and output, research shows.

12 Jun 2012

Organized rallies around U.S. decry contraception coverage mandate

More than 100 organized rallies in states around the nation this weekend decried the Obama administration decision to require insurers and employers to cover contraception in their health plans as an attack on their religious freedom.

12 Jun 2012

Smoking may increase risk of death in older patients

An analysis of available medical literature suggests smoking was linked to increased mortality in older patients and that smoking cessation was associated with reduced mortality at an older age, according to a report published in the June 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

12 Jun 2012

Thiazolidinedione drugs linked with increased risk of DME in patients with Type 2 diabetes

Treatment with glucose-lowering thiazolidinedione drugs in patients with Type 2 diabetes appears to be associated with an increased risk of diabetic macular edema (a complication that may affect vision) at 1-year and 10-year follow-up evaluations, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

12 Jun 2012

Increased risk of brain aneurysm linked to early menopause

The younger a woman is when she goes through the menopause, the greater may be her risk of having a brain (cerebral) aneurysm, suggests research published online first in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

12 Jun 2012

New set of computer models predicts negative side effects in current drugs

A new set of computer models has successfully predicted negative side effects in hundreds of current drugs, based on the similarity between their chemical structures and those molecules known to cause side effects, according to a paper appearing online this week in the journal Nature.

12 Jun 2012

Routine screening with echocardiogram can detect more cases of RHD

Routine screening with echocardiogram can detect three times as many cases of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as clinical examinations, offering a novel approach in preventing this common disease, according to a new study in Circulation.

12 Jun 2012

Individuals on statins more likely to experience fatigue with exertion

In a study of more than 1,000 adults, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are more likely than non-users to experience decreased energy, fatigue upon exertion, or both. The researchers suggest that these findings should be taken into account by doctors when weighing risk versus benefit in prescribing statins.

12 Jun 2012

Bedside cardiac ultrasound could be taught during residency

Incorporating cardiovascular limited ultrasound exam training for bedside use into the internal medicine residency curriculum is feasible, report US researchers.

11 Jun 2012