Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

BioMarin starts phase 2a study of 6R-BH4 in sickle cell disease

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has announced that the first patient has initiated treatment in the Phase 2a clinical study of 6R-BH4 (sapropterin dihydrochloride) for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD).

4 May 2007

Reclast found to cause abnormal heart rhythms

An osteoporosis drug with the potential to cut the risk of spine fractures by 70 percent and the chance of hip fractures by 41 percent, has been found to have an adverse side effect on some women.

3 May 2007

To live longer - eat less!

Scientists have known for a long time that animals fed diets which border on starvation live longer, but they are now saying that a particular gene is linked to calorie restriction.

3 May 2007

Just to confuse you even more - HRT now linked to Alzheimer's!

To add to the utter confusion many women are feeling with regard to Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), new research is now suggesting HRT may reduce a woman's risk of Alzheimer's disease.

3 May 2007

Use of antithrombotics means more intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke deaths in over 75s

A study suggests that the number of pensioners over 75 dying from intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke has increased in the last 25 years due to use of antithrombotic drugs.

2 May 2007

Infliximab fails to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease symptoms

A promising anti-inflammatory drug failed to improve symptoms of moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, in a large, multi-center trial.

2 May 2007

11 percent of American women smoke during pregnancy

The negative effects of nicotine exposure to their fetuses and newborns are significant.

2 May 2007

New treatments have major impact on heart failure rates

Deaths from severe heart attacks following admission to hospital have nearly halved in six years as a result of advances in medical treatment.

2 May 2007

New tool refines heart risk prediction

For about 10 years, the Framingham risk score has been used to estimate a person's chances of having a heart attack based on just six bits of information -- age, sex, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, smoking status, and systolic blood pressure.

2 May 2007

Statin drugs also may help reduce risk of heart failure

Statin drugs, known primarily for their ability to lower cholesterol, also may reduce the overactive sympathetic nervous system response that contributes to the worsening of heart failure and increases the risk of sudden cardiac death, two University of Missouri-Columbia researchers have found. Heart failure is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.

2 May 2007

Migraines during pregnancy linked to vascular diseases

Migraines during pregnancy are strongly linked to vascular diseases, such as stroke and heart disease, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28, May 5, 2007.

2 May 2007

Laparoscopic gastric banding surgery improves insulin resistance

A new study examining the overall and gender-related effects of laparoscopic gastric banding surgery (LGBS) on insulin resistance, body composition, and metabolic risk markers six months post-surgery has found significant improvements in insulin resistance.

2 May 2007

Adverse health outcomes after Hurricane Katrina among children and adolescents with chronic conditions

Children and teenagers in New Orleans with chronic medical conditions at the time of Hurricane Katrina were more likely than other children to have worsening of physical and psychological symptoms, develop new symptoms, miss doctor appointments and run out of medications in the wake of the disaster.

2 May 2007

Variants of two genes involved in the inflammatory system linked to cognitive decline after heart surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers believe their findings could help physicians identify patients at risk of suffering mental decline after heart surgery and raises the possibility that these patients could be treated with drugs that are known to dampen the inflammatory response.

2 May 2007

Improving outcomes for patients with acute coronary syndrome

Recent changes in the recommended treatments used for patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes, such as a heart attack, are associated with reductions in the rates of heart failure, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a study in the May 2 issue of JAMA .

2 May 2007

Diesel exhaust fumes affect bone marrow blood flow

A new study finds that exposure to a chemical component of diesel exhaust particles can compromise the ability of resistance arteries to regulate blood flow to bone marrow.

2 May 2007

One out of four people don't know they have hypertension

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and renal failure, but one out of four people don't even know they have it.

2 May 2007

Efforts to standardize heart care are working

People who suffer a heart attack or severe chest pain today are much less likely to die, or to experience long-lasting effects, than their counterparts even a few years ago, according to a new international study in the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 May 2007

Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke increases the risk of developing dementia

Based on preliminary results, the study authors found that elderly people with high lifetime exposure to secondhand smoke were approximately 30 percent more likely to develop dementia than those with no lifetime secondhand smoke exposure.April 28, May 5, 2007.

2 May 2007

Levosimendan compared to dobutamine for decompensated heart failure

The drug levosimendan did not improve survival for patients with decompensated heart failure when compared with a more widely-used treatment for this condition, dobutamine, according to a study in the May 2 issue of JAMA.

2 May 2007