Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Leeches, useful tools in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases

The leech has recently confirmed its biomedical interest for scientists by showing that it contains an extensive list of new potential molecules that may become useful tools in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

24 Oct 2005

Fair treatment in the workplace associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease

A sense of fair treatment in the workplace was associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in a large long-term study of British office workers published in the October 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Oct 2005

Quality of care determines heart attack outcomes

Ninety days after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) - or heart attack - death rates for African Americans and white patients were found to be significantly higher in hospitals that disproportionately serve African-American patients than in hospitals that serve mainly white patients, according to a major new study led by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School.

24 Oct 2005

Canada province will seize children of drug addicts

Canadian province Alberta wants to be able to remove children from the homes of parents who recklessly abuse drugs or are involved in selling them.

24 Oct 2005

Testosterone may improve women's sex lives after menopause

The addition of testosterone to hormone therapy in women after menopause enhances their sexual function. However, it may also reduce HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) in women, according to a systematic review of current evidence.

23 Oct 2005

Teens with missing part of a chromosome confirm genetic role in schizophrenia

A study in youth who are missing part of a chromosome is further implicating a suspect gene in schizophrenia.

23 Oct 2005

New device offers potential for accurate and reliable monitoring of brain oxygenation during cardiac surgeries

A new device that uses near-infrared light to non-invasively monitor the oxygenation of the brain during surgery appears to be a promising alternative to the more invasive techniques currently in use, according to a new study by Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologists.

23 Oct 2005

Intravenous lidocaine and oral derivatives relieve pain from damage to the nervous system

Lidocaine and similar local anesthetics are effective for treating pain that emanates from damaged nerves, according to a systematic review of current evidence.

23 Oct 2005

It's safe for patients with asthma to exercise regularly

Although exercise can trigger asthma attacks in some people, a new review of studies has found that exercise improved cardiopulmonary fitness in people with asthma.

23 Oct 2005

Mixed carbon nanotubes and standard urban particulates suggests a risk of thrombosis from airborne pollution

Carbon nanoparticles - both those unleashed in the air by engine exhaust and the engineered structures thought to have great potential in medical applications - promote blood-clotting, scientists report in an upcoming edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology.

23 Oct 2005

Acid reflux disease - surgery has longterm success rate

According to a study published this week, surgery to cure acid reflux disease, the most severe form of heartburn, has shown a high degree of long-term success.

23 Oct 2005

Defibrillators plentiful in schools but not senior centers

A greater percentage of high schools had automated external defibrillators (AEDs) - devices that can be used to treat cardiac arrest victims - than senior centers, despite the fact that cardiac arrests appear more common in senior centers, according to a study by University of Iowa researchers.

20 Oct 2005

Researchers discover the presence of functional ion channels in human embryonic stem cells

These ion channels act like electrical wires and permit ESCs, versatile cells that possess the unique ability to become all cell types of the body, to conduct and pass along electric currents.

20 Oct 2005

Molecule P-glycoprotein (Pgp), may help reduce risk of Alzheimer's

A molecule that has long been an obstacle to cancer chemotherapy and drug treatments for brain disorders may soon become an ally in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Rochester.

20 Oct 2005

U.S. health inequalities cause 84,000 extra deaths every year

Research estimates that health inequalities between white and black Americans cause 84,000 extra deaths every year – equating to a virtual hurricane Katrina every week, says an editorial in this week’s British Medical Journal.

20 Oct 2005

Comparison of the risks and benefits of fish consumption

A comparison of the risks and benefits of fish consumption suggests that government advisories warning women of childbearing age about mercury exposure should be issued with caution.

19 Oct 2005

Medicare patients have a substantially higher risk of early death following bariatric surgery than previously suggested

...and the risk of death is higher among men, older patients, and patients of surgeons who perform lower numbers of bariatric procedures, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

19 Oct 2005

How hurricanes impact public health long term

A Johns Hopkins emergency physician who spent the past five weeks working on public health issues in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina warns that the disaster's potential for wreaking havoc and damage to people's health may continue for months after the hurricane has passed.

19 Oct 2005

Herceptin therapy highly superior to standard breast cancer treatment

In a joint paper, co-authored by Mayo Clinic's Edith Perez, M.D., and Edward Romond, M.D., of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), researchers report complete and combined results of two trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy with or without concurrent trastuzumab treatment in women with surgically removed HER2-positive breast cancer.

19 Oct 2005

Surgery to treat obesity far more risky for men

Researchers say that using stomach-shrinking surgery to treat severe obesity is riskier than previously thought for men, the elderly and people with conditions such as hypertension.

19 Oct 2005