Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Study determines incidence of aortic complications in BAV and general population

While the incidence of the life-threatening condition of aortic dissection is significantly higher than in the general population, it remains low among patients with the congenital heart defect, bicuspid aortic valve; however, the incidence of aortic aneurysms is significantly high, according to a study in the September 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Sep 2011

Toshiba to highlight Aquilion ONE CT system at ASER conference

Since fast and accurate detection of potential conditions in the head, chest and abdomen can save lives in a hospital's emergency department (ED), clinicians need cutting-edge CT technology to evaluate patients. To demonstrate the effectiveness of advanced CT imaging in the ED, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc., will highlight its Aquilion ONE CT system at the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) conference, Sept. 14-17, 2011, in Miami.

14 Sep 2011

Heavy alcohol consumption linked with increased risk of colorectal cancer

A meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies on the association of alcohol consumption with colorectal cancer was carried out, based on 22 studies from Asia, 2 from Australia, 13 from Western Europe, and 24 from North America.

14 Sep 2011

Miracor closes first round of Series B financing

Miracor Medical Systems GmbH, a private Austrian medical device company, announced today that the company has secured €7M/$10M in the first closing of the Series B financing round.

14 Sep 2011

BVES protein may play a role in colon cancer progression

A protein critical in heart development may also play a part in colon cancer progression. Research led by investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Vanderbilt Eye Institute suggests that the protein BVES (blood vessel endocardial substance) - which also is key in regulating corneal cells - may be a therapeutic target for halting colon cancer metastasis.

14 Sep 2011

Biotica, Buck Institute collaborate to investigate polyketides in diseases of aging

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Biotica Technology Ltd. today announced a three-year collaboration to investigate polyketides in diseases of aging. Building on observations that rapamycin extends healthy lifespan in various species, the collaborators will evaluate rapamycin analogs and other polyketides in a broad range of age-related disease models to identify novel therapeutics.

14 Sep 2011

A woman's pregnancy outcome can be an indicator of future health conditions

"A woman's pregnancy outcome can be an indicator of future health conditions," stated George R. Saade, M.D., president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

14 Sep 2011

IDF, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to host Global Diabetes Symposium

While infectious diseases tend to grab media headlines and public attention, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory diseases together comprise the number one killer in the world and represent a serious social and economic burden to developed and developing countries alike.

14 Sep 2011

New data from Pfizer's investigational oncology compounds to be presented at EMCC 2011

Pfizer Oncology announced today that data evaluating crizotinib in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as data from Pfizer's renal cell carcinoma (RCC) portfolio on axitinib, an investigational compound, and SUTENT(sunitinib malate) will be presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, September 23 - 27, 2011.

14 Sep 2011

Black women with wide waists are equally at risk of early death as whites

Ever since the mid-1970s when Harvard initiated what is now known as "The Nurses Study" we've been told that white women with waists over 40 inches, raised their risk of early death by 40% vs. their slimmer sisters who maintained waists in the 26 to 27 inch measure.

14 Sep 2011

Australians depressed, obese, alcoholic and in denial: Survey

Reports reveal that Australians are in denial about their increasing rates of obesity and claim to be the unhappiest in the world. The findings came from an international health survey which also revealed that Australians were among the world's biggest drinkers, coming in just behind the British. The survey by health insurer BUPA showed that while 64 per cent of Australians said they were in relatively good shape, there were some worrying trends.

14 Sep 2011

Diabetes epidemic grips the world

Experts are horrified with the rise of numbers of diabetics worldwide. A staggering 366 million people around the world have either Type 1 or 2 diabetes, says the International Diabetes Federation. The disease has taken a deadly toll, causing 4.6 million deaths each year, or one death every seven seconds. The number of sufferers was pegged at 285 million worldwide in 2009. Since then, China reported 92.4 million people with the condition, more than double the federation’s estimate. The diabetes epidemic is also heavy on healthcare spending, to the tune of $465 billion a year to fight the disease.

14 Sep 2011

Seaweed lipid extracts could reduce risk of heart disease

Researchers at Teagasc have been investigating lipids from a variety of Irish and Canadian seaweed species for their heart-health properties.

14 Sep 2011

'Talk Test' effective for gauging exercise intensity

New research by University of New Hampshire exercise scientists confirms that a low-tech, easy-to-administer test is an effective tool for gauging exercise intensity, but that it does not correspond as neatly as previously assumed to other more objective tests.

14 Sep 2011

Genetic variant associated with increased long-term mortality risk after coronary artery bypass graft procedure

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found a genetic variant that seems to be associated with lower five-year survival after a coronary artery bypass.

14 Sep 2011

Practical NCD guide for everyone to improve their health

The world's health professions have launched an easy-to-use, practical guide to help individuals and their health professionals reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - conditions which currently account for 60% of global deaths.

14 Sep 2011

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated health care system in the country, has long employed many of the approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to reduce unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed as are patients at private hospitals.

13 Sep 2011

Older drugs may be better than newly approved ones

It is a common belief that drugs given the okay by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safer and more effective than they have to be to win approval, according to a new study. Especially in the first few years after a drug becomes available, researchers note, there are still questions about how well it will work and whether it will have any serious side effects warn experts. For example FDA-approved painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 after longer-term evidence showed that it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

13 Sep 2011

African-Americans have higher risk of high blood pressure earlier

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13 Sep 2011

High cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease

New research suggests that high cholesterol levels could boost the risk of Alzheimer's disease by creating more brain-clogging bits known as plaque. Researchers however didn't find any link between high cholesterol and tangles, which also clog the brain in those with Alzheimer's.

13 Sep 2011