Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Body rids itself of excess copper through urine: New study

Scientists have long known that the body rids itself of excess copper and various other minerals by collecting them in the liver and excreting them through the liver's bile. However, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published June 22 in PLoS One suggests that when this route is impaired there's another exit route just for copper: A molecule sequesters only that mineral and routes it from the body through urine.

14 Jul 2012

Health risks of egg donation for young females

News is just breaking in India about Sushma Pandey, a 17-year-old young woman who died in 2010, two days after her third "egg donation." Her death is being attributed to the procedures used to extract eggs from healthy, desirable young females like Ms. Pandey. These eggs are often resold to affluent westerners for use in commercial production of their children. Her post-mortem report states she had "one abrasion, four contusions and a blood clot in the head, plus six injection marks" as well as "congestion in the ovaries and uterus."

14 Jul 2012

Study shows why co-morbid conditions can result in impaired vision

Hypertension frequently coexists in patients with diabetes. A new University of Georgia study shows why the co-morbid conditions can result in impaired vision.

14 Jul 2012

Ajuba protein plays a central role in regulating function of heart stem cells

It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart.

14 Jul 2012

Scientists investigate new ingredients to produce food with less energy, more taste

Our attraction to foods bloated with energy has made excess body weight increasingly common, particularly in the West. Hence, people's health has been affected. Scientists are now investigating new ingredients to satisfy our taste buds without impacting our health

14 Jul 2012

Research roundup: Medication adherence, performance at community health centers

For people diagnosed with depression, it's important that they adhere to their medication regimen so that they avoid recurrent episodes. But because of Medicare's Part D coverage gap, financially burdened seniors might not take their prescriptions as recommended. This study looked at Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with depression in 2007.

14 Jul 2012

AHA statement addresses varied cardiac evaluation and management of transplant patients

As thousands of Americans await a life-saving kidney or liver transplant, medical teams are paying close attention to another organ: their hearts. This month the American Heart Association attempts to bring harmony to the varied cardiac evaluation policies created at U.S. hospitals that assess a patient's overall health before transplant surgery.

14 Jul 2012

Sandia researchers develop SpinDx medical diagnostic tool

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a lab-on-a-disk platform that they believe will be faster, less expensive and more versatile than similar medical diagnostic tools.

14 Jul 2012

WUSM receives NHLBI grant to study heart disease in patients with diabetes

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $4.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to investigate heart disease in patients with diabetes.

14 Jul 2012

New diabetes guidance ups prevention game

Identifying people who are at risk for Type 2 diabetes should become “a focus for everybody,” say new UK guidelines.

13 Jul 2012

More reason to restrict hormone therapy during menopause

Researchers have found further evidence to show that menopausal hormone therapy increases the risk for high blood pressure in postmenopausal women.

13 Jul 2012

Infants with food allergies exhibit high rate of reactions over time

Infants with documented or likely milk or egg allergies experience a high number of reactions caused by accidental and nonaccidental exposure, results of a three-year observational study demonstrate.

13 Jul 2012

Key risk features predictive for suicide in bipolar disorder identified

Study findings suggest that patients with bipolar disorder who present with mixed-states, melancholic depressive features, or have multiple antidepressant treatment episodes are at increased risk for suicide.

13 Jul 2012

Incident HF an ‘extreme high-risk’ condition

Patients have a markedly increased risk for stroke and death in the month following a new heart failure diagnosis, say researchers.

13 Jul 2012

The changing dynamics of doctors' offices

The New York Times reports on how some physicians are dispensing drugs in their offices. Meanwhile, CNN Money explores the "demise" of the solo practitioner.

13 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Rick Perry says Obama is selling a 'broken' Medicaid system; House GOP assailed for 'foolish' repeat of repeal vote

Not so meaningless, however, are recent decisions of several states to resist what ought to be some of the less controversial aspects of ObamaCare. They're refusing to set up easy-to-use exchanges that would help residents make insurance choices. And they're turning down a Medicaid expansion, which will deny insurance to millions who can't afford coverage and shift the cost of their care to people who have it (7/11).

13 Jul 2012

Scientists isolate new type of energy-burning fat cell

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans which they say may have therapeutic potential for treating obesity.

13 Jul 2012

Governors continue to mull, question Medicaid expansion

In the weeks since the Supreme Court ruling, several Republican governors opposed to the law have declared that they will opt out of its Medicaid expansion, which is set to take effect in 2014 and would cover those earning 133 percent or less of the federal poverty level.

13 Jul 2012

Heart disease risk in elderly could be lowered by drugs

More patients aged 75 and over should be prescribed drugs to help lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, a study published today on bmj.com suggests.

13 Jul 2012

Early surgery best for infective endocarditis

Compared with conventional treatment, early surgery for patients with infective endocarditis and large vegetations significantly reduces the risk for death or embolic events by reducing the risk for systemic embolism, show results from a randomized trial.

12 Jul 2012