Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

IARS celebrates 90 years of support of anesthesia-related research

The International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), the oldest professional society for anesthesiologists, originally founded as the National Anesthesia Research Society, celebrates 90 years of support of medical research in 2012.

5 Jan 2012

Itamar, Roche to further develop EndoPAT technology for pre-clinical trials

Itamar-Medical, the world's leader of non-invasive devices for diagnosis of cardiovascular health, announced achievement of the next milestone of the international pharmaceutical company, Roche, to further develop the EndoPAT technology for pre-clinical trials.

5 Jan 2012

Hypothermia rarely used in the U.S. hospitals to reduce heart attack cases

Therapeutic hypothermia has been proven to reduce mortality and improve neurologic outcomes after a heart attack, yet it was rarely used in a sample of more than 26,000 patients, according to a study published in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

5 Jan 2012

First study to elucidate how statins reduce activation of abnormal blood clotting

People with high cholesterol are at risk of heart attack and stroke because atherosclerotic plaques within their arteries can rupture triggering the formation of a blood clot called an occlusive thrombus that cuts off the blood supply to their heart or brain.

5 Jan 2012

Free public lecture to look at role of stents in treating coronary artery diseases

State-of-the art treatments for patients with heart problems are the theme of a public lecture at the University of Greenwich this month. The lecture, which is free and open to all, will look at the role of stents in treating coronary artery diseases. A stent is a tiny, artificial tube which is placed in the coronary arteries that supply the heart: by keeping the arteries open, the stent combats the effects of reduced blood flow, such as blood clots.

5 Jan 2012

Positive preliminary results from Alnylam's Phase I ALN-PCS trial on severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the achievement of positive preliminary results from its ongoing clinical trial of ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

5 Jan 2012

New algorithm could help GPs identify women at risk of early ovarian cancer

The lives of hundreds of women could be saved every year, thanks to a simple online calculator that could help GPs identify women most at risk of having ovarian cancer at a much earlier stage.

5 Jan 2012

Re-admission rates high among U.S. heart attack patients: Study

According to new research from U.S health experts, Americans who have a severe form of a heart attack are far more likely to be readmitted to the hospital than people from 16 other countries with the same kind of heart attack.

4 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery cuts risk of heart attacks, strokes: Study

A new study shows that weight loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease. But the research also raises questions regarding which patients benefit the most from surgery.

4 Jan 2012

St. Jude Medical meets stopping rule in RESPECT clinical trial, closes patient enrollment

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that it has met a stopping rule in its RESPECT clinical trial - triggered by reaching the protocol-required number of primary events in the trial, defined as stroke and all-cause mortality - and is closing patient enrollment.

4 Jan 2012

Cardiovascular leaders to review data for Riata and Riata ST ICD leads

Cardiovascular leaders will gather in Minneapolis for a one-day summit on Jan. 20, to review data for Riata and Riata ST implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads, which recently underwent a Class I FDA recall. Physicians from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and Mayo Clinic have organized the summit to develop a consensus regarding the management of patients who have these leads.

4 Jan 2012

Yale study questions accuracy of relying on patient death rates to compare hospital quality

Hospitals, health insurers and patients often rely on patient death rates in hospitals to compare hospital quality. Now a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine questions the accuracy of that widely used approach and supports measuring patient deaths over a period of 30 days from admission even after they have left the hospital.

4 Jan 2012

Genomic architecture predisposes supercentenarians to age-related diseases

The first-ever published whole-genome sequences of not just one, but two supercentenarians, aged more than 114 years, reveal that both unusual and common genetic phenomena contribute to the genetic background of extreme human longevity.

4 Jan 2012

Home-monitoring interventions may benefit patients with heart failure

Heart failure affects 5.8 million people in the U.S. alone and is responsible for nearly 1 million hospitalizations each year, most resulting from a build-up of body fluid in the lungs and other organs due to the heart's inability to pump effectively. The disease needs to be closely tracked in order to avoid such hospitalizations, and home-monitoring interventions may be especially useful, UCLA researchers say.

4 Jan 2012

Bariatric surgery may reduce cardiovascular deaths and events in obese patients

Among obese individuals, having bariatric surgery was associated with a reduced long-term incidence of cardiovascular deaths and events such as heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers discover culprit that leads from heart failure to diabetes

Either heart failure or diabetes alone is bad enough, but oftentimes the two conditions seem to go together. Now, researchers reporting in the January Cell Metabolism appear to have found the culprit that leads from heart failure to diabetes and perhaps a novel way to break that metabolic vicious cycle.

4 Jan 2012

Losartan may help prevent smoking-related COPD

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

4 Jan 2012

Johns Hopkins Hospital to open new $1.1B patient care building

A new era will begin at the nation's top hospital in April 2012, when The Johns Hopkins Hospital opens its new $1.1 billion patient care building.

4 Jan 2012

UofL surgeons perform first transcatheter aortic-valve replacement at Jewish Hospital

Some individuals with severe aortic stenosis - also known as narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart - who are not well enough to undergo open heart surgery have a new treatment option thanks to a new procedure now available in Kentucky from University of Louisville physicians at Jewish Hospital.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers identify candidate genes for histiocytoid cardiomyopathy

Researchers are closing in on a rare genetic disorder causing a heart condition in infants. Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy (HC) often causes sudden death before a child reaches 2 years of age. Gene analysis is helping to narrow the many theories surrounding the genetic basis of HC.

4 Jan 2012