Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Drug-eluting stents outperform bare-metal stents

New evidence from a large randomized study is answering important questions about the best approach to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with a type of heart attack known as ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

31 Mar 2008

Special catheter that clears debris from artery helps blood flow in percutaneous coronary intervention

Use of a special catheter that sucks out, or aspirates, bits of plaque and blood clot that break loose during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) significantly enhances blood flow deep in the heart muscle in patients who are experiencing a heart attack, according to a recently published study.

31 Mar 2008

Decreased sexual satisfaction in postmenopausal women not clearly associated with cardiovascular disease

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) and collaborators nationwide have found that decreased sexual satisfaction in postmenopausal women, is not clearly associated with cardiovascular disease.

31 Mar 2008

Comparison of anticoagulants for angioplasty show similar outcomes

In a comparison of anticoagulants and stents for use with angioplasty following a heart attack, the anticoagulants abciximab and tirofiban had similar outcomes for some cardiac measures within 90 minutes after the procedure, while patients who received stents that released the drug sirolimus had a lower risk of major adverse cardiac events within 8 months than patients who received uncoated stents, according to a JAMA study being released early online March 30 to coincide with its presentation at the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology.

31 Mar 2008

Communication key to a healthy heart

When it comes to matters of the heart, many experts say that communication is the key to a healthy relationship.

31 Mar 2008

Americans living longer, enjoying greater health and prosperity, but important disparities remain

Average life expectancy continues to increase, and today's older Americans enjoy better health and financial security than any previous generation.

31 Mar 2008

Repeated episodes of stent thrombosis common

When a clot develops inside a coronary stent, it can block blood flow to the heart, potentially causing a heart attack or even death.

31 Mar 2008

Stem cells from hair follicles may help 'grow' new blood vessels

For a rich source of stem cells to be engineered into new blood vessels or skin tissue, clinicians may one day look no further than the hair on their patients' heads, according to new research published earlier this month by University at Buffalo engineers.

31 Mar 2008

Relaxation response training may improve control of hard-to-treat systolic hypertension

Adding the relaxation response, a stress-management approach, to other lifestyle interventions may significantly improve treatment of the type of hypertension most common in the elderly.

31 Mar 2008

Type 2 diabetes genes linked with prostate cancer

Scientists have identified six new genes which play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and among the group is the second gene known to also play a role in prostate cancer.

31 Mar 2008

Calls for CPR guidelines to be changed

The results of new research has thrown into question cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques which have for decades been deemed best practice in Australia.

31 Mar 2008

Townsville Hospital left minus a heart surgeon after surgeon quits

In a month that has seen Queensland Health appear to lurch from crisis to crisis a public hospital in north Queensland which services a large area has been left without a working cardiac surgeon.

31 Mar 2008

Study shows that a larger abdomen in midlife increases risk of dementia

People in their 40s with larger stomachs have a higher risk for dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a study published in the March 26, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology .

28 Mar 2008

FDA makes recommendations on medical devices that treat blocked heart arteries

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach has announced that the agency has issued draft guidelines to aid the development, testing and manufacture of coronary drug-eluting stents, devices used to treat blocked heart arteries.

28 Mar 2008

Calcium deposits in coronary arteries provide a strong predictor for possible future heart problems

Calcium deposits in coronary arteries provide a strong predictor for possible future heart attacks and cardiac diseases, and detecting such deposits can be valuable for promoting overall cardiac health, according to a study led by the University of California, Irvine and appearing in the March 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

28 Mar 2008

Study links chronic illness to coal-mining pollution

Pollution from coal mining may have a negative impact on public health in mining communities, according to data analyzed in a West Virginia University research study.

26 Mar 2008

Discovery of important links between heart failure and complications during non-cardiac surgery

In the largest study of its kind in the U.S., researchers from Duke University have identified a possible "perfect storm" of factors pushing heart failure to the forefront of risks for complications after surgery in the elderly.

26 Mar 2008

Spit in a cup to replace needle pricks

One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

26 Mar 2008

Several methods for enhancing the functioning of defibrillators in cases of heart attack

The PhD, defended by engineer Sofia Ruiz de Gauna Gutierrez at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) puts forward various methods for the elimination of interference caused by compressions and ventilations of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the context of cardiac defibrillation.

26 Mar 2008

New horizons in the creation of synthetic enzymes

Mankind triumphed in a recent "competition" against nature when scientists succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved.

26 Mar 2008