Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Analysis shows adverse health consequences from overdue EPA emissions standards for diesel trains and ships

A new technical analysis shows that even a one year delay by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in implementing overdue emission standards for diesel trains and ships will allow serious health effects to go unaddressed over the course of EPA's program.

16 Jan 2008

New European medical implants

Patients suffering from conditions such as stroke, blindness, deafness, incontinence, glaucoma or hydrocephalus will be the first to benefit from a range of new technologies and implantable medical devices developed by a pioneering European consortium of researchers, surgeons and technology companies.

16 Jan 2008

Reducing barriers for implementation of bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation

A unified effort by the public, educators and policymakers is needed to reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest by increasing the use and effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), according to a new statement from the American Heart Association.

16 Jan 2008

Trust between doctors and patients is culprit in efforts to cross racial divide in medical research

More than three decades after the shutdown of the notorious Tuskegee study, a team of Johns Hopkins physicians has found that Tuskegee's legacy of blacks' mistrust of physicians and deep-seated fear of harm from medical research persists and is largely to blame for keeping much-needed African Americans from taking part in clinical trials.

16 Jan 2008

Calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks for older women

Scientists in New Zealand say healthy post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may be increasing their risk of heart attacks.

16 Jan 2008

British children think fast food is the norm

New research by scientists with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) suggests that two-thirds of children do not regard fast food as a treat.

16 Jan 2008

The link between combined HRT use and the risk of lobular breast cancers

Postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

15 Jan 2008

Researchers find new way to block destructive rush of immune cells

Researchers have found a way to selectively block the ability of white blood cells to "crawl" toward the sites of injury and infection when such mobility drives disease, according to a study published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

15 Jan 2008

Supplements of lipoic acid could reduce atherosclerosis, weight gain

A new study done with mice has discovered that supplements of lipoic acid can inhibit formation of arterial lesions, lower triglycerides, and reduce blood vessel inflammation and weight gain - all key issues for addressing cardiovascular disease.

15 Jan 2008

New guidelines to improve palliative care at the end of life

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new guidelines to improve palliative care at the end of life (EOL).

15 Jan 2008

Fish oil supplements may help some cardiac patients while harming others

Fish oil supplements may help some cardiac patients while harming others, suggests a new review of evidence compiled by St. Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto researchers.

15 Jan 2008

6,000 genes help determine body weight

Reporting in the online journal BMC Genetics, researchers from the Monell Center have for the first time attempted to count the number of genes that contribute to obesity and body weight.

15 Jan 2008

Bystander CPR - new efforts to improve quality

Benjamin S. Abella, MD, MPhil, Clinical Research Director of Penn's Center for Resuscitation Science and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, says bystanders can play a critical role in saving lives by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation during the 150,000 cardiac arrests that occur each year outside of hospitals in the United States.

15 Jan 2008

Type 2 diabetes explosion in Australia predicted

Health loss caused by type 2 diabetes will more than double in Australia by 2023, as health loss from most other major causes falls, according to new research by The University of Queensland's (UQ) School of Population Health.

15 Jan 2008

University of Minnesota researchers have created a beating heart in the laboratory

By using a process called whole organ decellularization, scientists from the University of Minnesota Center for Cardiovascular Repair grew functioning heart tissue by taking dead rat and pig hearts and reseeding them with a mixture of live cells. The research will be published online in the January 13 issue of Nature Medicine.

15 Jan 2008

Discovery of seven new genes that influence blood cholesterol levels

An international study of 20,000 people found seven new genes that influence blood cholesterol levels, a major factor in heart disease, and confirmed 11 other genes previously thought to influence cholesterol.

15 Jan 2008

Researchers associate six new genetic variants with heart disease risk factor

Using new techniques for rapidly scanning the human genome, researchers have associated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two fats in the blood, to 18 genetic variants, six of which represent new DNA regions never before associated with the traits.

15 Jan 2008

Metabolic syndrome in children

Metabolic syndrome in children represents a potentially serious threat to health in adulthood, yet many parents and caregivers do not have a clear idea of what metabolic syndrome is and why it is dangerous.

15 Jan 2008

New genetic variations associated with lipid levels, risk for coronary artery disease

Environmental and genetic factors influence a person's blood fat, or lipid levels, important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). While there is some understanding of the environmental contribution, the role of genetics has been less defined.

14 Jan 2008

Study suggests link between genetic basis of height and arthritis

In studies involving more than 35,000 people and a survey across the entire human genome, an international team supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found evidence that common genetic variants recently linked to osteoarthritis may also play a minor role in human height.

14 Jan 2008