Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Dabigatran etexilate offers effective therapy to prevent recurrent VTE

Results from the landmark RE-COVER(TM) study were presented today at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

6 Dec 2009

Health experts available to discuss health care reform

Edward D. Miller was named chief executive officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine, the 13th dean of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and vice president for medicine of The Johns Hopkins University in January 1997.

5 Dec 2009

Chicken pox vaccine also reduces risk of herpes zoster in children

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.

5 Dec 2009

First lifestyle magazine and website for nurses launched

Scrubs Magazine (scrubsmag.com), the first lifestyle magazine and website for nurses, premiered November 15. The magazine has paid circulation of 350,000 and will be sold in more than 1,500 nursing apparel stores nationwide. Strategic

5 Dec 2009

Critical enzyme activity provides new insight into heart disease mechanisms

Using a new mathematical model of heart cells, University of Iowa investigators have shown how activation of a critical enzyme, calmodulin kinase II (CaM kinase), disrupts the electrical activity of heart cells.

5 Dec 2009

Unique project to address key healthcare reform issue to be launched

Groundbreaking ceremonies on December 15 will mark the launch of a unique project that exemplifies how new technologies are being used to address a key healthcare reform issue: the multi-billion dollar cost of repeatedly hospitalizing patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, asthma and lung disease.

5 Dec 2009

Vermillion files First Amended Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court

Vermillion, Inc. (VRML) (Pink Sheets: VRMLQ) announced that on December 3, 2009, it filed its First Amended Plan of Reorganization and related amended Disclosure Statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

5 Dec 2009

Patients new to chronic disease medication face risk of medication discontinuation, finds study

In a new study published online today by Clinical Therapeutics, researchers from Adheris, Inc., an inVentiv Health company, found that patients new to chronic disease medication face the greatest risk of medication discontinuation during the first 30 days of treatment—with rates of discontinuation ranging from 29.6% to 78.1%.

5 Dec 2009

Researchers discover two new metabolic pathways

Case Western Reserve University researchers, from the School of Medicine's Department of Nutrition, discovered two new metabolic pathways by which products of lipid peroxidation and some drugs of abuse, known as 4-hydroxyacids, are metabolized.

5 Dec 2009

Call for every health insurance plan to cover Phenylketonuria

Credit Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Robert Casey (D-PA) with a significant contribution to the health care debate: a bill ends a glaring disparity in the way Americans living with Phenylketonuria (PKU) control their potentially devastating disease, and the way others living with serious chronic conditions are treated. "The Medical Foods Equity Act of 2009" aims to save affected families thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs, cut long-term costs for the entire system, and offer 20,000 Americans a better shot at healthy, happy, and productive lives.

5 Dec 2009

Health experts available to speak about health care reform

Garson helped originate and draft the "Health Partnership Act" (S. 325 and H.R. 5606), which funds grants to states for innovations to improve coverage for the uninsured, quality and efficiency.

5 Dec 2009

Club Red Clinic offers preventive care for women with cardiovascular risk factors

When the University of Virginia Health System's new Club Red Clinic was on the drawing board, its organizers envisioned creating an innovative, cost-effective model for healthcare delivery. In a bold move, they decided to meld two timely healthcare concepts - prevention and shared medical appointments (SMAs) - into a unique clinical offering that has garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback from patients.

5 Dec 2009

Environmental sensors may help avoid air pollution hot spots in everyday life

You want to go for a run, but you don't want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors that will help you avoid air pollution hot spots that exist exactly when you are planning your route.

5 Dec 2009

FDA approves Santarus’ NDA for immediate-release prescription tablet product

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for immediate-release omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate/ magnesium hydroxide tablets in 40 mg and 20 mg dosage strengths of omeprazole.

5 Dec 2009

Aetna Medicare Advantage members now have access to MidState Medical Center and Windham Hospital

Aetna (NYSE:ΑET) announced today that beginning January 1, 2010, its Medicare Advantage members will have access to MidState Medical Center and Windham Hospital as part of Aetna’s Medicare network of participating health care facilities in Connecticut.

5 Dec 2009

New findings shed light on heart attack symptoms

Researchers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are investigating what symptoms could help doctors better spot heart attacks and if certain symptoms might indicate different types of heart attacks.

5 Dec 2009

FDA approves Zyprexa in tablet form for schizophrenia and manic treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Zyprexa® (olanzapine) in tablet form as an option for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adolescents aged 13-17 years old.

4 Dec 2009

First patient treated in Carticept Medical's Cartiva SCI study

Carticept Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, today announced that the first patient has been treated in an international, multi-center study of the Company's Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant (SCI). The study aims to determine the effectiveness of Cartiva SCI in comparison to arthrodesis (joint fusion), the current standard of care, for reducing the debilitating pain associated with osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint.

4 Dec 2009

Senate bill moves forward, amendment ensures coverage for women's preventive care

Los Angeles Times: "After days of delay, Senate Democrats pushed ahead Thursday with their drive to pass a healthcare bill by Christmas, approving the first amendment to their giant bill: a measure to expand women's access to preventive services such as mammograms."

4 Dec 2009

Health Policy Research Roundup

UCLA Center For Health Policy Research: Health Disparities Among California's Nearly Four Million Low-Income Nonelderly Adult Women - Using data from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, the authors of this policy brief compare low-income women, ages 18-64, to others. The report finds the low-income women are four times more likely to report fair or poor health and are more likely to report a health condition that interferes with basic physical activities, such as walking or climbing stairs.

4 Dec 2009