Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Patient receives left-ventricular assist device to improve heart function

UT Southwestern Medical Center patient Michael LeBlanc, 40, is the first in North Texas to receive the newest generation of a mechanical device designed to improve heart function. It will be his lifeline while he awaits a heart transplant.

27 Oct 2009

Want to shed more weight? Enroll a family member or friend

Enrolling in a weight loss program with a family member or friend appears to enhance weight loss among African Americans, but only if the involved partner attends sessions frequently or also loses weight, according to a report in the October 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Oct 2009

Northwestern University to establish research center for the study of genes and their role in cancer

Northwestern University has been awarded a $13.6 million five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to establish an interdisciplinary research center for the study of genes and their role in cancer. A better understanding of the mechanisms could lead to better diagnostics and therapeutics and open up new directions for research.

27 Oct 2009

New research may help in understanding mechanisms involved in blood flow-related disorders

Red blood cells, which make up 45 percent of blood, normally take the shape of circular cushions with a dimple on either side. But they can sometimes deform into an asymmetrical slipper shape. A team of physicists have used simulations to explore how fluid flow might be responsible for this deformation, as well as how the deformation in turn affects blood flow.

27 Oct 2009

GI Solutions to conduct new incision-free procedure for GERD patients

Chicago woman will be among the first in the country to undergo a new incision-less, endoscopic procedure that could get rid of Gastrointestinal Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) forever.

27 Oct 2009

Majority of doctors satisfied with the spiritual services provided by hospital chaplains: Survey

A national survey of physicians' experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with a dim view of religion's effects on patients, however, were less likely to be pleased.

27 Oct 2009

New data on KAPIDEX for nighttime heartburn in adults with non-erosive GERD presented at the 2009 ACG

New data being presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego showed that treatment with KAPIDEX(TM) (dexlansoprazole) delayed release capsules over a four-week period resulted in a statistically significant greater percentage of nights without heartburn in subjects with non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), compared to placebo (p<0.001).

27 Oct 2009

Video capsule endoscopy is safe for patients with heart devices

A new Mayo Clinic study suggests that video capsule endoscopy (CE), a procedure that uses wireless technology in diagnosing intestinal disease, is safe for patients with heart devices. Wireless electrical gadgets, such as cell phones, have been shown to interfere with implanted heart devices, including pacemakers and defibrillators. This risk has led medical experts to speculate that capsule endoscopy could similarly cause heart devices to fail.

27 Oct 2009

BMC surgeons use new EsophyX TIF for treatment of acid reflux or GERD

Boston Medical Center (BMC) surgeons are now offering patients an incisionless alternative to laparoscopic and traditional surgery for treatment of acid reflux or GERD.

27 Oct 2009

New data from efficacy study of CIMZIA in Crohn's disease patients presented

New data from an open-label extension study evaluating the long-term safety and efficacy of CIMZIA® (certolizumab pegol) in moderate to severe Crohn's disease patients demonstrate that 82 percent of patients actively treated with CIMZIA - the only PEGylated anti-TNF-alpha (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha) - remained in long-term remission without dose escalation up to 3.5 years.

27 Oct 2009

Driving restrictions for heart patients after angioplasty

More than half of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) don't get any counselling on their ability to drive after angioplasty - and this could be putting lives in danger, Dr. Ravi Bajaj told the 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

27 Oct 2009

Barrett's esophagus patients are at no greater risk of dying than the rest of the population

New Mayo Clinic research has found that survival rates of patients with Barrett's esophagus, (http://www.mayoclinic.org/barretts-esophagus/) which can be a precursor for esophageal cancer, are no different than the survival rates for the general population. These findings were presented today at the 2009 American College of Gastroenterology (http://www.acg.gi.org/) (ACG) Annual Meeting in San Diego.

27 Oct 2009

Ziehm NaviPort interface and BrainLAB Fluoro 3D surgical navigation software improves surgical procedures

Ziehm Imaging and BrainLAB have extended their cooperation to assist surgeons in the intra-operative guidance of pedicle screw and hardware placement during surgical trauma and spinal instrumentation procedures.

27 Oct 2009

Genetic mutations cause for SIDS and SUDS

Scientists and clinicians at the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cardiogenetics have teamed up and found that genetic mutations leading to Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) could be causing electrical malfunctioning of the heart resulting in the mysterious deaths more commonly known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome (SUDS) in people older than 12 months of age.

27 Oct 2009

Heart attacks in middle-aged women more common, says study

Heart attacks appear to have become more common in middle-aged women over the past two decades, but all women and especially those younger than 55 have recently experienced a greater increase than men in their chances of survival following such a heart event, according to two reports in the October 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Oct 2009

Protein crucial for insulin regulation may play a role in diabetes

A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes.

27 Oct 2009

Changes in dopamine levels linked to infant learning patterns

When do you first leave the nest? Early in development infants of many species experience important transitions-such as learning when to leave the protective presence of their mother to start exploring the wider world. Neuroscientists have now pinpointed molecular events occurring in the brain during that turning point.

27 Oct 2009

Diabetes decreases cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease

New research published in the October 27, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that those with both diseases actually have a slower rate of memory loss than people who had only Alzheimer's disease.

27 Oct 2009

Transcatheter valve may eliminate repeat surgeries in children with heart defects; multicenter study shows good outcomes

Children born with certain heart defects have impaired blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, requiring implanted devices (known as right-ventricular outflow tract conduits) to maintain the flow. However, these conduits fail over time, and children typically face multiple open-heart operations during their lives to reopen the passage.

27 Oct 2009

Report finds hundreds of billions of dollars of waste in U.S. healthcare system

The U.S. health care system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters, the parent company of the Reuters news service.

26 Oct 2009