Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Heart patients share perspectives on deactivation, donation and reuse of ICD devices

Each year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options.

6 Apr 2011

J&JPRD announces rivaroxaban Phase 3 trial results against venous thromboembolism

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C., today announced results from the MAGELLAN Phase 3 trial evaluating the investigational oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized patients with acute medical illnesses.

6 Apr 2011

Study: Hookah use may spread among youth in the U.S.

An alternative and harmful form of tobacco use, known as the hookah or water pipe, may be spreading among youth in the United States according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego's Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and San Diego State University. This trend is emerging even as cigarette smoking among high school students is on the decline nationally.

6 Apr 2011

New data finds 50% decline in heart surgery wait times in Alberta and BC

New data from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine shows that wait times for a number of heart surgeries have gone down close to 50 per cent in Alberta and British Columbia.

6 Apr 2011

EKG test is a poor predictor of sudden death syndrome in young athletes

The sudden death of a young athlete always prompts full media attention, most recently spurring a call for preventative screening methods, including costly electrocardiogram tests for all school-age athletes.

6 Apr 2011

High clusterin levels linked to Alzheimer's prevalence and severity

Higher levels in blood of the protein clusterin, also known as apolipoprotein J, are significantly associated with the prevalence and severity of Alzheimer's disease, but not with the risk of onset of new disease, according to a study in the April 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Apr 2011

LDL particles may be a more accurate measure of subclinical atherosclerosis than LDL cholesterol

LipoScience, Inc., a highly innovative diagnostic company that is advancing patient care by developing high value proprietary blood tests using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, today announced presentations of two clinical studies "from the podium" at the 60th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

6 Apr 2011

NYC scientists receive $420,000 S.L.E. Lupus Foundation grant for new research

New York City's S.L.E. Lupus Foundation is pleased to name the latest recipients of its Career Development and Basic Science Fellowships: Josephine Isgro, MD of Hospital for Special Surgery, Dipyaman Ganguly, PhD of Columbia University Medical Center, and Yi Yan, PhD of the Feinstein Institute at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital.

6 Apr 2011

New medical guidelines for diabetes care

Today the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists released new medical guidelines for developing comprehensive care plan for management of diabetes mellitus.

6 Apr 2011

TZDs might serve as new agents for addiction treatment

Thiazolidinediones are a class of medications that are commonly prescribed to treat type-2 diabetes, while fibrates are a structurally-related class of medications that are prescribed to modulate lipid levels in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

6 Apr 2011

New insight into embryonic tissue separation

As our bodies form, cells within the embryo divide and separate. Certain cells come together to form the outer layer, or ectoderm, of the early embryo, and give rise to tissue such as the skin and nervous system.

6 Apr 2011

Elevated levels of sodium limit body's natural responses to stress

All those salty snacks available at the local tavern might be doing more than increasing your thirst: They could also play a role in suppressing social anxiety.

6 Apr 2011

Milliman Care Guidelines honors Sound Physicians with prestigious award

Sound Physicians, a leading hospitalist organization focused on driving improvements in quality, satisfaction and efficiency of inpatient healthcare delivery, today received the Doyle Award for Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare.

6 Apr 2011

Device to treat resistant hypertension lowers blood pressure by 33 points

A device designed to treat people with resistant hypertension helped lower blood pressure by 33 points, a substantial drop that would otherwise require patients to take an additional three or four drugs, on top of this subgroup's usual regimen of up to five drugs, to control their difficult-to-treat condition.

6 Apr 2011

Major depression linked to premature aging of immune cells: Study

Certain cases of major depression are associated with premature aging of immune cells, which may make people more susceptible to other serious illness, according to findings from a new UCSF-led study.

6 Apr 2011

Adipocytes associated with breast cancer could amplify 'aggressive' effect of tumors in obese patients

Apart from its direct effect on health (such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes), obesity is increasingly suspected of playing a role in the prognosis of breast cancer and, in particular, its propensity to spread. However, no direct cause and effect relationship had been demonstrated until now. This breakthrough has finally been made through the collaborative work of two teams of researchers from Inserm, CNRS and the Université Paul Sabatier.

6 Apr 2011

Editorial cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy after hysterectomy

An editorial in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy in women who have had a hysterectomy because of longstanding evidence that it raises the risk of breast cancer.

6 Apr 2011

Scientists uncover SREBP-2 role in autophagy and cholesterol generation

Not all cholesterol is bad. Every cell requires it for growth - they either have to get cholesterol somewhere or they die. In a new study published April 6 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and their collaborators found that a protein sensor known to balance cholesterol sources can also access a previously underappreciated cellular fat storage depot.

6 Apr 2011

Boston Scientific initiates clinical enrollment for INNOVA Self-Expanding Bare-Metal Stent System trial

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the start of patient enrollment in the SuperNOVA clinical trial, an international, prospective, single-arm, non-randomized trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the INNOVA™ Self-Expanding Bare-Metal Stent System in patients with stenosis of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) or proximal popliteal artery (PPA).

6 Apr 2011

Treating obstructive sleep apnea in stroke patients improves recovery from stroke

A new study shows that patients in stroke rehabilitation treated for their co-existing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) recovered better from stroke than those whose OSA was not treated.

6 Apr 2011