Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Effective new tool to improve management of stroke patients

The Stroke Transfer of Care (ToC) document was launched nationally today, following a successful pilot, to improve the delivery and continuity of care for those who have suffered a stroke.

22 Aug 2005

Enzyme in the blood that could be a potential marker for heart failure

A team of scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, previously showed that an enzyme called GRK2 or beta-adrenergic kinase (ßARK1) is critically important in heart function.

22 Aug 2005

New guidelines to battle heart failure

Early diagnosis and new treatments can help battle heart failure -- a growing national problem that causes 1 million hospital admissions each year, according to new guidelines released by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

22 Aug 2005

Heart surgery safe and successful for many 80 year olds

According to a new report, cardiac surgery can be safely performed in octogenarians and may improve their life expectancy.

21 Aug 2005

High rate of heart attack amongst ethnic minorities in Scotland

The incidence of heart attack amongst Scots of Indian and Pakistani origin is 60-70% higher when compared with non-South Asians, a new report led by the University of Edinburgh has shown.

18 Aug 2005

Reasons for complications with kidney failure patients

Mayo Clinic researchers searching for explanations of high mortality rates among kidney failure patients undergoing hemodialysis are focusing their attention on the use of heparin, a drug used to reduce clotting of the blood.

18 Aug 2005

Slower care for heart attack patients treated after hours and on weekends

Heart attack patients treated with primary percutaneous intervention (PCI) at hospitals after hours and on weekends wait longer to receive clot busters and other treatments and have a higher risk of death than those treated during regular hospital hours

18 Aug 2005

Global prevalence of kidney failure among critically ill patients

A multinational study has found that 5 to 6 percent of patients in intensive care units experience acute kidney failure, and about 60 percent of these patients die in the hospital, according to an article in the August 17 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Aug 2005

Separate studies produce conflicting results on race and gender disparities in U.S. health system

Two newly released studies in the U.S. have to some extent come to conflicting results. According to one study, by researchers at Emory University, attempts over the last decade to address race and gender disparities in the treatment of U.S. patients hospitalized for heart attacks, still in some respects raise cause for concern.

18 Aug 2005

U.S. beverage industry praised for helping in childhood obesity battle

The American Beverage Association (ABA) has approved a policy aimed at limiting the sale of soft drinks in school vending machines as the nation fights obesity.

17 Aug 2005

Treatment of U.S. patients hospitalized for heart attacks continues to vary according to sex and race

Despite a decade of initiatives to remedy health disparities in cardiovascular medicine, at least some aspects of the treatment of U.S. patients hospitalized for heart attacks continues to vary according to sex and race, according to a study by researchers at Emory University in collaboration with Yale University and other centers.

17 Aug 2005

Doctors should not shy away from giving 80 year olds heart bypass surgery

...suggests research published ahead of print in Heart. Most of those who received the treatment were still alive five years later and had half the risk of death of their peers in the general population, the research reveals.

17 Aug 2005

Biochemical switch that affects how neurons fire in a part of the brain associated with learning

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a biochemical switch that affects how neurons fire in a part of the brain associated with learning, findings that may aid in understanding schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

17 Aug 2005

Common non-aspirin painkillers linked to high blood pressure in women

Women who consume higher doses of non-aspirin painkillers are much more likely to develop high blood pressure than women who do not use them, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

17 Aug 2005

Low hemoglobin levels are a predictor of increased risk of death among heart failure patients

Hemoglobin (Hgb) is the major substance in red blood cells, and its level indicates the blood's ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Studies have shown that low hemoglobin, which may result in anemia, is more common among patients with heart failure than it is among people in the general population.

17 Aug 2005