Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Left ventriculography being routinely performed during coronary angiogram

An invasive heart test used routinely to measure heart function is being dramatically overused, especially among patients who recently underwent similar, more effective tests, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

7 Apr 2012

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

Both radiation and many forms of chemotherapy try to kill tumors by causing oxidative stress in cancer cells. New research from USC on a protein that protects cancer and other cells from these stresses could one day help doctors to break down cancer cells' defenses, making them more susceptible to treatment.

7 Apr 2012

Research roundup: Effects of health exchanges; Improving provider performance; Governors' 2013 budgets and Medicaid

Authors analyzed the cost and coverage implications of various scenarios of the health insurance exchanges that are called for in the health law. They predicted that about 1 million uninsured people in the state would get insurance through the exchanges and said that premiums in the small group and individual market would be lower than if the health law was not in effect.

7 Apr 2012

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

In the largest multicenter clinical trial of children undergoing early-stage surgery for single-ventricle heart defects, differences in intraoperative management did not significantly affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 14 months of age. Instead, the strongest influences were innate patient characteristics and general medical morbidity during the child's first year of life.

6 Apr 2012

NIH to award $20M over 5 years to support global health training for scientists

"A network of global health research training institutions will increasingly focus on the rising levels of chronic diseases in developing countries, the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center announced on Wednesday," CQ HealthBeat reports (Bristol, 4/4).

6 Apr 2012

Ohio AIDS advocates, patients protest against rationing of lifesaving HIV medicines

A group of Ohio AIDS advocates, patients and medical providers hosted a protest in Columbus today in conjunction with a public hearing held by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and its Director, Theodore E. Wymyslo, M.D., on proposed rule changes that would restrict access to lifesaving AIDS drugs for low-income Ohioans based on medical criteria.

6 Apr 2012

ACMG Foundation, Genzyme announce recipients of Medical Genetics Training Award

Carlos E. Prada, MD of Cincinnati Children's Hospital and James D. Weisfeld-Adams, MD of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY were honored as the 2012-2013 recipients of the Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Medical Genetics Training Award in Clinical Biochemical Genetics at the ACMG 2012 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Charlotte, NC.

6 Apr 2012

Obese men more likely to underestimate their weight than women

When University of Illinois researchers surveyed over 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately, and overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their weight than women.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers understand TG paradox in people of African descent

In most people, high blood levels of the fat known as triglycerides are an early warning sign of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, but in people of African descent these dangerous health conditions may go undiagnosed because triglyceride levels are not at the level used to diagnose metabolic syndrome (>150 mg/dL). This is known as the "TG (or lipid) paradox."

6 Apr 2012

Race pits Obamacare against Romneycare

News outlets analyze how health policy positions taken by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are playing on the campaign trail.

6 Apr 2012

Novel technology to grow new primordial lung progenitors

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation.

6 Apr 2012

WHO drafts treaty to fight illicit tobacco trade; WTO demands Obama administration drop ban on flavored cigarettes

"Nations have crafted a draft treaty to fight a booming trade in illicit tobacco products that's costing governments as much as $50 billion a year in lost tax revenue, officials said Wednesday," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

6 Apr 2012

Three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development

Yale researchers show in detail how three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development, a finding that increases understanding of how to grow these cells for therapeutic purposes.

6 Apr 2012

State roundup: Advocates in Va. back shifting disability care from state institutions; New Vt. law overhauls mental health system; Aetna mistakenly tells thousands in Calif. their doctors were dropped

A state agency that looks out for the rights of people with disabilities is advocating for a proposed settlement that would shift the care of Virginians with intellectual disabilities from state-run institutions.

6 Apr 2012

Poor mental health can lead to heart problems and death in dialysis patients

Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers develop new technique to grow stem cells

Post-doctoral researcher David Fluri and Professor Peter Zandstra at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) have developed a unique new technique for growing stem cells that may make possible cost-effective, large-scale stem cell manufacturing and research.

6 Apr 2012

CHL's inflammation biomarkers to be showcased at TEDMED 2012 conference

Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (CHL), a rapidly growing specialty clinical laboratory and cardiovascular disease management company, today announced that its panel of inflammation biomarkers will be featured at next week's TEDMED 2012 conference in Washington.

6 Apr 2012

MEDNAX acquires Burlington Anesthesia

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Burlington Anesthesia PLLC, a physician group practice that provides anesthesia services in Burlington, N.C. and Farhouch Berdjis MD Medical Corp (FBMC), a pediatric cardiology practice in Orange, Calif.

6 Apr 2012

Cancer diagnosis associated with suicide, cardiovascular death

People who are diagnosed with cancer have a markedly increased risk of suicide and cardiovascular death during the period immediately after being given the diagnosis. This has been shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the prestigious scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

6 Apr 2012

Spectrum signs definitive agreement to acquire Allos

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Spectrum will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Allos for $1.82 per share in cash plus one Contingent Value Right.

6 Apr 2012