Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Genetic roots of obesity

A discovery by Queen's biologists and their students sheds new light on the genetic roots of obesity a condition that is increasing dramatically in North America and has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer.

24 Jan 2008

Northwestern Memorial trial may wean kidney transplant patients off antirejection drugs

After a transplant surgery, anti-rejection drugs for the organ recipient are a must, but with prolonged use can have serious side effects, including infections, heart disease and cancer.

24 Jan 2008

Hawthorn extract helps the heart

Taking hawthorn extract can help control symptoms of chronic heart disease such as low abilities to work and walk, and also improve a range of heart-related measurements.

24 Jan 2008

Genetic difference predicts antidepressant response

Researchers have identified subtle genetic variations that predict the efficacy of two widely used antidepressant drugs.

24 Jan 2008

Scientists use nanoscale polymer films to control drug delivery

Using nanotechnology, scientists from UCLA and Northwestern University have developed a localized and controlled drug delivery method that is invisible to the immune system, a discovery that could provide newer and more effective treatments for cancer and other diseases.

23 Jan 2008

Researcher transplants stem cells to try to save patients' legs

A Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researcher has launched the first U.S. trial in which a purified form of subjects' own adult stem cells was transplanted into their leg muscles with severely blocked arteries to try to grow new small blood vessels and restore circulation in their legs.

23 Jan 2008

Johns Hopkins to participate in 1000 Genomes Project

Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine (IGM) at Johns Hopkins will join other national and international scientists in the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of numerous people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.

23 Jan 2008

Heart and stroke death rates steadily decline; risks still too high

In an appropriate prelude to American Heart Month, which is just ahead in February, new mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, since 1999, coronary heart disease and stroke age-adjusted death rates are down by 25.8 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.

23 Jan 2008

Gene variations associated with effectiveness of blood pressure medications

Patients with hypertension and certain gene variations experienced varying results with some blood pressure medications, suggesting matching a patient's genotype with certain hypertension medications could result in more favorable outcomes, according to a study in the January 23 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Jan 2008

Same-sex couples just as committed in relationships as heterosexual couples

Their finding disputes the stereotype that couples in same-sex relationships are not as committed as their heterosexual counterparts and are therefore not as psychologically healthy.

23 Jan 2008

Risk of death cut in half with 30 minutes of exercise in men

Increased exercise capacity reduces the risk of death in African-American and Caucasian men, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jan 2008

Red meat and diet sodas - a recipe for metabolic syndrome

The latest research from the U.S. has found that people who eat two or more servings of red meat a day and drink diet sodas, are at risk of developing conditions leading to heart disease and diabetes.

23 Jan 2008

Who said work was a killer?

Whoever said that work can be a killer was right and the latest research proves it!

23 Jan 2008

Fast-food consumption increases metabolic syndrome risk

Healthy adults who eat two or more servings of meat a day the equivalent of two burger patties increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 25 percent compared with those who eat meat twice a week, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jan 2008

Simplified scoring system may predict overall CVD risk

Physicians currently evaluate a patient's risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD) individually, but a new assessment tool could gauge risk of overall 'or global' CVD and a range of cardiovascular diseases at one time, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jan 2008

A good fight with your spouse may be good for your health!

Couples in which both the husband and wife suppress their anger when one attacks the other die earlier than members of couples where one or both partners express their anger and resolve the conflict, according to preliminary results of a University of Michigan study.

23 Jan 2008

New understanding of the link between heart disease and belly fat

By now, everyone knows that overweight people have a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and other problems that arise from clogged, hardened arteries. And people who carry their extra weight around their waist - giving them a "beer belly" or an "apple" shape - have the highest risk of all.

22 Jan 2008