Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Resveratrol shown to reduce age related health problems

Researchers in the U.S. have found that a compound found in grapes and red wine can significantly reduce age related health problems.

7 Jul 2008

Screening athletes for heart disorders would save lives

Athletes who take part in competitive sport should be screened for potentially fatal heart problems before they compete, according to a study published on BMJ.com.

4 Jul 2008

Resveratrol mimics the beneficial effects of eating fewer calories

Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

3 Jul 2008

Scientists shed new light into early mechanisms governing cardiovascular specification

The mature heart is composed by different cell types, including contractile cardiac cells, vascular cells, smooth muscle cells as well as pacemaker cells.

3 Jul 2008

Research sheds light on the molecular basis of SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that unexpectedly and unexplainably takes the lives of seemingly healthy babies aged between a month and a year.

3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol improves health, but not longevity in aging mice

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

3 Jul 2008

Safer, more effective stents will be available next week for patients with clogged arteries

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will be one of the first medical centers in the region to begin using a new generation of drug-coated stents next week following a major study and the Food and Drug Administration's approval of their use.

3 Jul 2008

Weight loss program or exercise, which is best?

In the first study of its kind, using sophisticated methods to measure body composition, the nationally known commercial weight loss program, Weight Watchers, was compared to gym membership programs to find out which method wins in the game of good health.

3 Jul 2008

Mouse embryonic stem cells used to build heart parts

Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells.

2 Jul 2008

Coronary arterial calcium scans help detect overall death risk in the elderly

Measuring calcium deposits in the heart's arteries can help predict overall death risk in American adults, even when they are elderly, according to a new study published in the July issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Jul 2008

Artichoke leaf extract shown to lower cholesterol

Researchers at the University of Reading have found that an over-the-counter Artichoke Leaf Extract (ALE) from the globe artichoke plant can lower cholesterol in otherwise healthy individuals with moderately raised levels.

2 Jul 2008

Erection problems less in men who have intercourse more often

Having intercourse more often may help prevent the development of erectile dysfunction (ED). A study published in the July 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine reports that researchers have found that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED.

2 Jul 2008

Pharmaceutical companies say new approach by FDA has led to decrease approvals of new medications

An "intensifying focus on safety and a diminished tolerance for side effects" by FDA have "dramatically lowered" the chances that experimental medications will reach the market and have led to a recent decrease in approvals of new treatments, according to pharmaceutical companies, the Wall Street Journal reports.

2 Jul 2008

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday said that the agency will maintain the current Medicare payment rate for physicians because Congress was unable to pass legislation to avert a 10.6% cut scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday before lawmakers left for the Fourth of July recess, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, congressional aides said the freeze to payment rates could last 10 days (Kane, Washington Post, 6/28).

2 Jul 2008

Avoid cancer by eating a Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is back in the news again and for all the right reasons.

2 Jul 2008

Type 1 diabetes on the rise in Australian children

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has revealed a worrying increase in the rate of type 1 diabetes in Australian children.

2 Jul 2008

The benefits of green tea in reducing an important risk factor for heart disease

More evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea on risk factors for heart disease has emerged in a new study reported in the latest issue of European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

1 Jul 2008

Study says cut to junior doctors' hours does not compromise patients' safety

Research led by a team at the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School has found that reducing the hours of junior doctors does not compromise patients' safety and could even dramatically cut mistakes on wards but, there are some concerns about reduced educational opportunities for junior doctors which it affords.

1 Jul 2008

Significant gender differences in heart disease

Women may respond less favorably than men to cardiovascular disease (CV) drug-treatments for enlarged heart, according to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientists

1 Jul 2008

Hydrogen sulfide significantly improves survival after extreme blood loss

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the administration of minute amounts of inhaled or intravenous hydrogen sulfide, or H2S - the molecule that gives rotten eggs their sulfurous stench - significantly improves survival from extreme blood loss in rats.

1 Jul 2008