Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Prior contralateral amputation predicts outcomes after LEB for critical limb ischemia

Researchers from the Vascular Study Group of New England (VSGNE) report that prior contralateral amputation predicts worse outcomes for lower extremity bypasses (LEB's) performed in the intact limb.

6 Aug 2012

Montefiore launches first fellowship program in Women's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Montefiore Medical Center has launched the nation's first fellowship program in Women's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (WPM&R), and established a new clinical program in this specialty.

6 Aug 2012

Researchers make major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts

Researchers have made a major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts. Grafts of human cardiac muscle cells, grown from embryonic stem cells, coupled electrically and contracted synchronously with host muscle following transplantation in guinea pig hearts.

6 Aug 2012

Similar molecular pathways involved in intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes

Intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes involves similar molecular pathways report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The two disorders share disturbances in the molecular events that regulate the way nerve cells develop dendritic spines, the small extensions found on the surface of nerve cells that are crucial for communication in the brain.

3 Aug 2012

'Fight' between bacteria in the intestines linked to chronic disease

Results from a study conducted at Georgia State University suggest that a "fight" between bacteria normally living in the intestines and the immune system, kicked off by another type of bacteria, may be linked to two types of chronic disease.

3 Aug 2012

TAT-ARC fusion protein helps treat acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening disease, characterized by a sudden, massive death of liver cells. Unfortunately, few treatment options exist, especially for advanced-stage liver failure. As a last resort a liver transplant may be the only remaining option.

3 Aug 2012

Survey results of adoption and implementation of therapeutic hypothermia in hospitals

National guidelines recommend the use of therapeutic hypothermia to improve outcomes in patients who suffer a heart attack outside of a hospital. The results of a survey of all 73 acute care hospitals in New Jersey evaluating the adoption and implementation of this life-saving treatment from 2004-2011 is published in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

3 Aug 2012

Mild mental health problems increase risk for death

Even mild psychologic distress increases the risk for death, the results of a large meta-analysis show, raising questions about the treatment of subclinical depression and anxiety.

3 Aug 2012

Allergy alerts in patient records help improve clinical practice

Allergy alerts in patient records have the potential to significantly improve clinical practice, say Spanish researchers.

3 Aug 2012

Child abuse has repercussions for menarche

Researchers have found an association between childhood abuse and age at menarche onset, they report in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

3 Aug 2012

Corpus callosum abnormalities in BD patients

Patients with bipolar disorder show area reductions in the genu and isthmus subregions of the corpus callosum compared with mentally healthy controls, researchers report.

3 Aug 2012

Exercise benefits influenced by sRAGE levels in diabetes

Increased levels of the soluble form of the receptor for advanced glycation end products may underly the beneficial effects of exercise in patients with Type 2 diabetes, research shows.

3 Aug 2012

Novel integrase inhibitor dolutegravir shows promise for HIV-1 treatment

The once-daily integrase inhibitor dolutegravir has shown promise in a phase III noninferiority study comparing it with twice-daily raltegravir for treatment of HIV-1, indicate study results presented at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington DC, USA.

3 Aug 2012

Home is where the heart is for congenital defect children

The American Heart Association recommends that children with a congenital heart defect deemed as being at high risk for developmental disorders are treated under a “medical home” model of care.

3 Aug 2012

‘Fifth link’ improves outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Neurologic outcomes for survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are significantly improved after implementation of the 2010 American Heart Association's fifth link in the chain-of-survival concept for postresuscitation care, show Japanese study results.

3 Aug 2012

Diabetes impairs women’s sex life

Women with diabetes are less likely to find sex satisfying than those without the condition, despite having similar levels of interest and engagement in sexual activity, show study findings.

3 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Orszag on CAP cost-control proposals; High-tech and health costs

The Center for American Progress proposals thus wisely recognize that there is no single strategy to continue the recent progress in slowing the growth in health-care costs. In contrast, the Republican budget plan put forward by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin seems based on a belief that all that's needed is to shift risks: from Medicare to beneficiaries through a premium-support program, and from the federal government to state governments by turning Medicaid into block grants.

3 Aug 2012

UI Hospital implants NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in a patient with ALS

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is one of only a dozen hospitals nationwide to implant the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

3 Aug 2012

Researchers discover surprising and unexpected plasticity in the embryonic endothelium

UCLA stem cell researchers have found for the first time a surprising and unexpected plasticity in the embryonic endothelium, the place where blood stem cells are made in early development.

3 Aug 2012

Foods high in sugar and fat could have addictive properties

Overweight and obese individuals can achieve a decade's worth of important health benefits by losing just 20 pounds, even if they regain the weight later that decade, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. With a focus on psychology's role in overcoming the national obesity epidemic, the session also examined research that indicates foods high in sugar and fat could have addictive properties.

3 Aug 2012