Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Antibiotic-resistant MRSA all too common

Researchers in the U.S. say that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA is the most common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections among patients presenting in emergency rooms across the country.

20 Aug 2006

Chagas' disease needs more research attention

The international research community needs to focus more attention on Chagas' disease - an infectious disease that kills 50,000 people a year, states an Editorial in this week's special cardiology issue of The Lancet.

17 Aug 2006

Body mass index cannot reliably predict the outcome for patients with heart disease

Doctors already know that obesity is a risk factor for developing heart disease. However, how obesity affects people with established heart disease has been unclear because previous studies have had contradictory results.

17 Aug 2006

All forms of tobacco use or exposure are harmful

All forms of tobacco exposure - smoking, chewing or inhaling second hand smoke - increase the risk of heart attack up to three times, according to an Article in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

17 Aug 2006

Chinese men harming wives by smoking too much

Chinese men are putting their wives at increased risk of long-term illness and early death by smoking, finds a study in this week's British Medical Journal.

17 Aug 2006

FDA approves Plavix for STEMI heart attacks

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the use of Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) for patients who have had a type of heart attack called acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who are not going to have coronary artery repair (angioplasty).

17 Aug 2006

Strokes will cost U.S. $2.2 trillion over the next 45 years

Unless Americans do more to lower their risk of stroke and improve stroke care, the nation will pay $2.2 trillion over the next 45 years to care for people who suffer the most common form of stroke, a new University of Michigan study predicts.

16 Aug 2006

First treatment for Hunter disease

An article reporting results from a pivotal clinical trial that helped gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the first treatment for Hunter disease has been published online by the journal Genetics in Medicine.

16 Aug 2006

Think twice about that occasional cup of coffee

According to new research, one cup of coffee may trigger a heart attack in some people within a hour of drinking it.

16 Aug 2006

Waist-hip ratio should replace body mass index as indicator of mortality risk in older people

Older people with high waist-hip ratios (WHRs) have a higher mortality risk than those with a high body mass index, or BMI, a new study reveals.

15 Aug 2006

Lack of outdoor play is health time bomb for children

Unless more suitable outdoor play opportunities are provided for children and young people, a physical and mental illness time bomb is likely to explode, an international conference in Bristol was told.

15 Aug 2006

Experts say control obesity by taxing junk food

According to experts in food and nutrition the number of people in the world who are now overweight is now far more than those who are starving.

15 Aug 2006

Drug trial fiasco induced immune system overload in patients

The doctors who treated six British men in a trial of a drug in March which went horribly wrong, say they believe the men suffered an immune system overreaction known as a cytokine storm.

15 Aug 2006

Breast cancer 'wonder drug' Herceptin carries a risk for heart problems

According to the latest research breast cancer wonder drug Herceptin puts some women at risk of heart problems.

15 Aug 2006

Argatroban may promote opening of arteries following stroke

A medication known as argatroban, when combined with another drug already used in the treatment of stroke patients, may help restore the flow of blood through blocked arteries.

14 Aug 2006

New treatment for septic shock

A potential new treatment for septic shock and other inflammatory diseases has been discovered by Monash Institute researchers.

14 Aug 2006

Lipitor reduces the risk of a second stroke

Researchers have found that the drug Lipitor which is normally used to lower cholesterol, can cut the risk of a second stroke when used in double doses.

14 Aug 2006

Recalls and safety alerts affecting automated external defibrillators

Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are important medical devices. Numerous studies have shown that thousands of lives are saved each year using these devices to treat patients in sudden cardiac arrest.

10 Aug 2006

That extra can of soda each day equals 15 pounds extra in weight

A scientific review says what they are drinking is what is making Americans obese.

10 Aug 2006

Lipitor reduces stroke risk

In people who have experienced a stroke, but who have no known history of coronary heart disease, beginning regular treatment with the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin soon after the stroke can reduce the risk of recurrent stroke by 16 percent

9 Aug 2006