Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

British government's new NHS improvement plan

People who need an operation will wait no more than 18 weeks by 2008, Health Secretary John Reid said today.

24 Jun 2004

Stubbing out smoking in all American workplaces would save more than 2,420 lives and $280 million

Making workplaces smoke-free would prevent an estimated 610 stroke and heart attack deaths in the first year alone, mostly among non-smokers. Over seven years, the study projects that more than 2,420 lives and $280 million would be saved – not including the costs associated with other smoking-related illnesses or lost productivity.

24 Jun 2004

A new single pill is available for treating both high blood pressure and high cholesterol

Caduet, which was recently approved by the FDA, is the first medication that treats high blood pressure and high cholesterol in one pill.

24 Jun 2004

Fewer Americans with Alzheimer’s and $149 billion in annual Medicare and Medicaid savings by 2025

A new Alzheimer’s Association report released today shows that medical research breakthroughs could result in nearly three million fewer Americans with the disease and $149 billion in annual Medicare and Medicaid savings by 2025.

24 Jun 2004

Only 23 percent of Americans currently eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day

Eat your vegetables - good advice when we were kids, and it's good advice for adults. Only 23 percent of Americans currently eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

23 Jun 2004

Staying stress free in your twenties reduces high blood pressure risk later on

Avoiding stress in your 20's could reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure in middle age, according to a report in today's issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

22 Jun 2004

Estrogen therapy may increase the risk for dementia

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that estrogen therapy does not decrease, but may increase, the risk for dementia in older, postmenopausal women.

22 Jun 2004

New computer cluster will help understanding of how human cells and organs work

A new computer cluster funded by the University of Sheffield and located within the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, will help scientists to improve their understanding of how human cells and organs work.

22 Jun 2004

Xuezhikang cuts risk of coronary heart disease by a third

Chinese herbal medicine could cut the rate of coronary heart disease by about 33 percent.

22 Jun 2004

Erectile dysfunction and type 2 diabetes could mean heart disease

Men who had silent, or symptomless, coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes were nine times as likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED) as were diabetic men who did not have silent heart disease.

22 Jun 2004

Report shows the health of Australians continues to improve

A comprehensive report shows the health of Australians continues to improve and as a nation we are healthier than we’ve ever been.

21 Jun 2004

Class of molecules that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, arthritis, and heart disease

By making use of model compounds in drug design, chemists at the University of California, San Diego identified a class of molecules that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, arthritis, and heart disease.

21 Jun 2004

Promising new method for the assessment of ischemic heart disease

Despite recent decreases in mortality, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States.

21 Jun 2004

Over half of older adults hospitalized for heart disease also have reduced kidney function

Over half of older adults hospitalized for heart disease also have reduced kidney function, suggests a study in the July Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Jun 2004

Cornelia de Lange syndrome gene discovered

An international team of researchers has discovered the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a disabling, multisystem genetic disease that affects an estimated one in 10,000 children.

20 Jun 2004

First license to begin research involving therapeutic cloning

A special licensing committee of the UK Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority (HFEA) met on June 16 in London to decide whether to grant a license to scientists at The Center for Life at Newcastle University.

20 Jun 2004

Exposure to excess hormones in the womb increases risk of heart disease and diabetes

Babies exposed to excess hormones in the womb are not only at increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes in later life but can pass these risks to their children.

17 Jun 2004

Valsartan may reduce cardiac illness and death

Results of a study in this week's issue of THE LANCET provide further evidence that a class of drugs that lower blood pressure are a treatment option for older people at high cardiovascular risk. The study also emphasises the importance of early blood-pressure lowering after the start of treatment to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

17 Jun 2004

Statins could be effective in relieving symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

Results of a UK study in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of statins (a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs) could be effective in relieving symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

17 Jun 2004

FDA panel to review results of Guidant's heart failure trial

Guidant Corporation has announced that the Circulatory System Devices Panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review Guidant’s submission to expand user labeling, including indications, for its cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators

17 Jun 2004