Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

First Edition: July 27, 2010

Today's health policy news includes reports about the continuing Senate backlash to Dr. Donald Berwick's appointment to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as findings from a new poll that reveal seniors really don't understand health reform.

27 Jul 2010

Process improvement program improves adherence to evidence-based CRT, ICD and drug therapy

Results of the largest U.S. outpatient heart failure clinical study show that implementation of a process improvement program significantly improved adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and drug therapy.

27 Jul 2010

Cardiac Science introduces Quinton 9500 Series cardiac stress systems

Cardiac Science Corporation, a global leader in automated external defibrillator and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices, today announced the introduction of two new products that extend its market-leading position in the cardiac stress test category.

27 Jul 2010

Researchers reveal biological rationale for why corticosteroids help people with lupus

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the biological rationale for why large doses of corticosteroids given repeatedly over several weeks may help individuals with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects more than 1 million people in the U.S.

27 Jul 2010

Economic uncertainty, healthcare issues have hit nation's cardiologists, survey shows

The economic uncertainty and healthcare issues affecting millions of Americans have hit the nation's cardiologists as well, according to a new survey: they are seeing more "baby boomer" patients than ever as Americans get older and demand more care. But they are being reimbursed less for those services by Medicare and insurance firms, in what one cardiologist calls "a revenue roller coaster of uncertainty."

27 Jul 2010

Study tests new performance intervention to improve heart failure patients in outpatient setting

A study led by UCLA tested a new performance intervention to help improve adherence to national guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure patients in an outpatient setting.

27 Jul 2010

Life-saving interventions can save 11 million African women, children over next five years: Countdown report

In the next five years, 11 million African women and children could be saved by creating near-universal availability of key life-saving interventions, according to The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the Countdown to 2015 Decade Report (2000-2010).

27 Jul 2010

Scientists discover mechanism behind flushing reaction caused by nicotinic acid treatment

Cholesterol influences the health of our hearts and blood vessels. Conventional treatment attempts to reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, in the blood plasma. The opposite approach, which involves increasing the concentration of "good" HDL cholesterol using nicotinic acid, has proven unpopular among patients up to now. The reason for this is that treatment with nicotinic acid has an unpleasant but harmless side-effect: the drug makes patients turn quite red in the face. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered the mechanism behind this effect, which is known as flushing. This will enable the development of flush inhibitors and thereby the more effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

27 Jul 2010

Psychologists to host China's first-ever conference on positive psychology

The ranks of China's millionaires continue to grow, but the increased wealth has done little to boost the country's gross domestic happiness, according to psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley. They say the pursuit of prosperity in the nation is fast outpacing mental health and well-being, and are seeking to correct that imbalance by spreading the science of happiness in China.

27 Jul 2010

Report finds geographic variation in the use of carotid endarterectomy, carotid stenting

Medicare beneficiaries in some parts of the United States appear more likely to receive carotid endarterectomy, a surgical procedure to clear blockages in the artery supplying blood to the head, whereas those in other regions more often receive stents for the same condition, according to a report in the July 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Jul 2010

Researchers find new way to diagnose heart problems

A statistical analysis of publicly available heart rate data using three classification tools - Random Forests, Logistic Model Tree and Neural Network - could lead to a rapid and precise way to diagnose heart problems, according to research in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

27 Jul 2010

NCCN enters into collaboration to introduce Proventys CDS Oncology system

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network and Proventys, a leader in advanced decision support technologies, have entered into an exclusive collaboration to introduce the Proventys CDS Oncology system, a first-of-its-kind Web platform that arms oncologists with expert recommendations and evidence facilitating the delivery of high-quality, individualized patient care.

27 Jul 2010

Report by Sen. Lugar criticizes Haitian leadership, calls for reforms

Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a paper (.pdf), which "sharply criticized Haiti's president Thursday, portraying him as an ineffectual leader who is hindering recovery from January's devastating earthquake," the Canadian Press reports. Lugar "advised U.S. legislators to reconsider sending money to Haiti if reforms are not made."

27 Jul 2010

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics receives CMS approval for Warfarin clinical study

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics today announced the company has received approval from CMS to conduct a WARFARIN Clinical Study. The two-year (2) study will assess the impact of genetic information in calculating doses and the changes in the rate of adverse events when initiating Warfarin drug therapy. These changes will be compared against doses initiated without genetic data. The randomized and blinded, multi-center study will involve more than 7000 participants at over 50 sites nationwide.

27 Jul 2010

Local chapters raise $100,574 with the help of CAHU CCF

California Association of Health Underwriters is proud to announce that local chapters raised $100,574 this year with the assistance of CAHU CCF, through events including a fashion show, golf tournaments and Holiday Meetings.

27 Jul 2010

Four research teams to study role of exercise in preventing, treating chronic diseases

Canadians will benefit from new insights into the link between physical activity and health as the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, today announced funding for four research teams through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. These teams will study the effects of exercise on the body and its role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including arthritis, breast cancer and heart disease.

27 Jul 2010

Abbot's innovative solutions to be highlighted at AACC

A first-of-its-kind test that detects HIV infection earlier than ever before in the United States; a molecular assay for identification of two common sexually transmitted diseases; and an enhanced integrated analyzer offering significant workflow improvements; are among the many new advances Abbott will highlight at this year's American Association for Clinical Chemistry Lab Expo which starts today in Anaheim.

27 Jul 2010

Australian medical devices market to grow at 9% CAGR in 2009-2012

The consequences as a result of the major Australian healthcare reform plan will impact the outlook of the medical devices industry, and possibly precipitate a series of rapid changes for the market.

27 Jul 2010

Childhood cancer survival associated with high risk of abnormal cardiac function

Childhood cancer survival is associated with increased risk of long-term abnormalities in cardiac function, according to a report in the July 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Jul 2010

MAQUET Cardiovascular launches VASOVIEW HEMOPRO 2 Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System

MAQUET Cardiovascular today announced the launch of its VASOVIEW HEMOPRO 2 Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting (EVH) System, which utilizes next-generation HEMOPRO cut-and-seal technology to reduce thermal spread and to achieve optimal conduit quality for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. The minimally invasive VASOVIEW HEMOPRO 2 system is an example of MAQUET Cardiovascular's commitment to EVH, and technologies that promote the highest level of conduit quality.

27 Jul 2010

Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

First Edition: July 27, 2010

Process improvement program improves adherence to evidence-based CRT, ICD and drug therapy

Cardiac Science introduces Quinton 9500 Series cardiac stress systems

Researchers reveal biological rationale for why corticosteroids help people with lupus

Economic uncertainty, healthcare issues have hit nation's cardiologists, survey shows

Study tests new performance intervention to improve heart failure patients in outpatient setting

Life-saving interventions can save 11 million African women, children over next five years: Countdown report

Scientists discover mechanism behind flushing reaction caused by nicotinic acid treatment

Psychologists to host China's first-ever conference on positive psychology

Report finds geographic variation in the use of carotid endarterectomy, carotid stenting

Researchers find new way to diagnose heart problems

NCCN enters into collaboration to introduce Proventys CDS Oncology system

Report by Sen. Lugar criticizes Haitian leadership, calls for reforms

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics receives CMS approval for Warfarin clinical study

Local chapters raise $100,574 with the help of CAHU CCF

Four research teams to study role of exercise in preventing, treating chronic diseases

Abbot's innovative solutions to be highlighted at AACC

Australian medical devices market to grow at 9% CAGR in 2009-2012

Childhood cancer survival associated with high risk of abnormal cardiac function

MAQUET Cardiovascular launches VASOVIEW HEMOPRO 2 Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Newsletters you may be interested in