Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Polypill cure-for-all could become a killer

Doctors in Britain are warning that offering all men over 50 and all women over 60 a pill to protect them against heart disease and stroke, will only serve to encourage an unhealthy lifestyle.

30 Jul 2007

New WHO report on environmental hazards and child health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says millions of children die each year because of environmental hazards and one in five children in the poorest parts of the world will not reach their sixth birthday, mainly because of environment-related diseases.

30 Jul 2007

Treating bronchiolitis with steroids doesn't work

For infants with a common and potentially serious viral lower respiratory infection called bronchiolitis, a widely used steroid treatment is not effective.

27 Jul 2007

Europe approves MIRCERA to treat anaemia

Roche has announced that the European Commission has approved its innovative drug MIRCERA to treat anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

27 Jul 2007

Thiazolinediones increase risk of heart failure

A class of drugs commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes may double the risk of heart failure, according to a new analysis by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

27 Jul 2007

Controversy over use of antipsychotic drugs for dementia

Antipsychotic drugs are approved mainly for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they are also used for many other purposes.

27 Jul 2007

Antipsychotic drugs for dementia

Antipsychotic drugs are approved mainly for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they are also used for many other purposes.

27 Jul 2007

New understanding of Sly Syndrome

The scientist who discovered “Sly Syndrome” nearly four decades ago and a team of colleagues at Saint Louis University are a step closer to finding an approach to treat the rare genetic disease.

26 Jul 2007

Concerns noted on study of soft drinks and metabolic syndrome

A recent observational study reported in the journal Circulation ("Soft Drink Consumption and Risk of Developing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged Adults") needs to be considered in the proper scientific context, especially in relation to other previously published research that has reached the opposite conclusion.

26 Jul 2007

Court rules in favor of Sandoz on Toprol Xl patent

Sandoz was pleased to learn this week that the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis has affirmed a summary judgment by U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel invalidating patent protection on Toprol XL(R), a beta blocker used to treat angina, heart failure, and high blood pressure.

26 Jul 2007

Combination of blood pressure-lowering drugs stops loss of kidney function in rare genetic disease

A combination of two types of blood pressure-lowering drugs, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) plus an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB), added to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with agalsidase-beta (Fabrazyme, Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA) is the first treatment shown to stop progressive loss of kidney function in patients with severe kidney involvement due to the rare genetic disorder Fabry disease, reports a study in the September Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

26 Jul 2007

Dexamethasone steroid treatment shows no benefit for kids with bronchiolitis

DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan has found that a common steroid treatment often prescribed for kids with bronchiolitis has no impact on improving their symptoms or in reducing hospitalization.

26 Jul 2007

Air pollution has a role to play in atherosclerosis

Should we be watching our exposure to airborne pollution as well as our cholesterol levels?

26 Jul 2007

The future of Alzheimer's disease research

Imagine the day when a routine visit to the family doctor includes a simple blood test to predict the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD).

26 Jul 2007

New hope for aortic dissection survivors

Each year, 10,000 Americans suffer a sudden tear in the lining of their body's largest blood vessel, the aorta.

26 Jul 2007

Short CPR course just as effective as long

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that a user-friendly, 30-minute, video-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation training session is just as effective as the traditional three- to four-hour course in teaching basic life-saving techniques to laypersons.

26 Jul 2007

Steroid medications don't work in treating lower respiratory infections in children

The use of steroid medication to treat bronchiolitis, a common viral lower respiratory infection in infants , does not prevent hospitalization or improve their respiratory symptoms, according to a study published in the July 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Jul 2007

Metformin gets top grade for diabetes

A type 2 diabetes drug taken orally and in widespread use for more than a decade has been found to have distinct advantages over nine other, mostly newer medications used to control the chronic disease, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.

26 Jul 2007

Are your friends making you fat? Or keeping you slender?

According to new research from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, the short answer on both counts is "yes."

26 Jul 2007

Obesity spreads within social networks

People wondering about excessive weight gain might look to their relationships with family and friends for one clue, suggests new research reported July 26, 2007, in The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Jul 2007