Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

New test successfully identifies arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

A study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has demonstrated that a new immunohistochemical test is reliable in diagnosing a dangerous arrhythmic heart disease known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC.) Reported in the March 12 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ), the new findings offer the possibility of a highly sensitive and specific means of identifying this life- threatening condition at an early stage, when it can be treated with by implanting a cardiac defibrillator.

11 Mar 2009

Low levels of vitamin D linked to several risk factors in teenagers

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

11 Mar 2009

Trends in heart attack explained

Explaining trends in heart attack: prevention has improved, mortality rates are down, hospitalisation remains the same

11 Mar 2009

Consuming a little less salt could mean fewer deaths

For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

11 Mar 2009

Close relationships can perpetuate health-compromising behaviors

Human problems rarely occur in a vacuum, but persist as part of ongoing social interaction in which causes and effects are interwoven.

11 Mar 2009

University at Buffalo to receive $4.9 million in stem cell research funds from New York State

The University at Buffalo will receive $4.9 million in funding to conduct research on stem cells, part of a new investment in stem cell research announced yesterday by New York State Governor David A. Paterson.

11 Mar 2009

Teenage stress carries forward to adulthood

Most of us remember our teenage years with a mix of fondness and relief. Fondness for the good memories, and relief that all that teenage stress, angst and drama - first love, gossip, SATs, fights with parents - is behind us.

11 Mar 2009

Salt could be 'nature's antidepressant' according to new research

Most people consume far too much salt, and a University of Iowa researcher has discovered one potential reason we crave it: it might put us in a better mood.

11 Mar 2009

Simple test helps predict heart attack risk

The use of common and readily available screening tests - like the ankle brachial index (ABI) - along with traditional risk scoring systems - such as the Framingham Risk Score - has the potential to prevent devastating heart attacks in thousands of individuals who are not originally thought to be at high risk (according to Framingham alone), say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting.

11 Mar 2009

'Seeing' stem cells helps in fight against peripheral arterial disease

Interventional radiologists are fitting together the puzzle pieces of how to use stem cells to create new or more blood vessels to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in those individuals with extensively narrowed or clogged arteries.

11 Mar 2009

SOX9 protein may be a potential target for melanoma treatment

In a new study released today, researchers have shown that a specific protein plays an important role in inhibiting the development and spread of melanoma tumors in mouse and in human skin models.

11 Mar 2009

Perinatal environment influences aggression in children

It's a well-documented fact that children from zero to two can be spontaneously aggressive and that boys can be among the worse culprits.

11 Mar 2009

Migraines increase stroke risk during pregnancy

Women who suffer migraines are at an increased risk of stroke during pregnancy as well as other vascular conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and blood clots, concludes a study published on bmj.com.

11 Mar 2009

Interventional treatment can be recommended as first-line treatment for 'silent killer'

Endovascular or endograft repair, a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment that uses stent grafts to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), has low re-intervention rates that are comparable to those reported for open surgical repair-and can be recommended as first-line treatment, according to a study released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting.

11 Mar 2009

Folic acid appears to double risk for prostate cancer

A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) found that men who took a daily folic acid supplement of 1 mg daily had more than twice the risk of prostate cancer compared with men who took a placebo.

11 Mar 2009

FDA approves cardiac adhesion barrier for pediatric use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced its approval of a device that reduces the severity of adhesions in children undergoing open-heart surgery.

11 Mar 2009

Identifying and treating depression plus exercise in African-Americans may reduce heart disease

Identifying and treating depression, including increasing physical activity, may improve quality of life and reduce cardiovascular disease and death in African Americans, according to reports presented at the American Heart Association's 2009 Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

11 Mar 2009

Study links inflammation and calcium signaling in heart attack

A new study led by University of Iowa researchers has found an unexpected new link between this inflammation in heart muscle following a heart attack and a previously known enzyme called calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II or CaM kinase II.

10 Mar 2009

Color of wine makes no difference when it comes to breast-cancer

The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk.

10 Mar 2009

When a patient wishes to leave against medical advice - ethical dilemma for physicians

When patients choose to leave the hospital before the treating physician recommends discharge, the consequences may involve risk of inadequately treated medical conditions and the need for readmission, according to a review in the March 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

10 Mar 2009