Heart Disorder Hits National Epidemic Proportions
University of AdelaideA growing epidemic of the world’s most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.
A growing epidemic of the world’s most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.
A study of a subset of women in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS), suggests that as BMI increases, so do platelet reactivity and thrombogenic microvesicles and activated protein C in the blood—all of which contribute to the formation of atherothrombosis and associated cardiovascular events.
Using computer models to study the strengths and weaknesses of different stent structures could help manufacturers optimize stent design and help doctors choose the right stents for their patients.
Data of 3.1 million individuals reviewed with newer predictive scoring system.
Commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect—raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem—and select drugs most suitable for their patients—by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available. The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.
Mayo Clinic researchers found that healthy young people who put on as little as 9 pounds of fat, specifically in the abdomen, are at risk for developing endothelial cell dysfunction. Endothelial cells line the blood vessels and control the ability of the vessels to expand and contract.
For patients with a certain type of heart attack, delay in the time between first contact with emergency medical service to initiation of therapy such as balloon angioplasty is associated with an increased risk of death, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA.
Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that regulates the processing of microRNAs (miRNAs), molecules that regulate cell growth, development, and stress response. The discovery helps researchers understand the links between miRNA expression and chronic disease.
Expensive brand-name medications to lower blood pressure are no better at preventing cardiovascular disease than older, generic diuretics, according to new long-term data from a landmark study.
An elevated resting heart rate that develops or persists during follow-up is associated with a significantly increased risk of death, whether from heart disease or other causes, researchers from the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center found studying outcomes in more than 9,000 patients.
At least a quarter of patients who have suffered a stroke stop taking one or more of their prescribed stroke prevention medications within the first three months after being hospitalized – when the chance of having another stroke is highest – according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.
Along with skeletal muscles, it may be important to monitor heart function in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). These are the findings from a study conducted by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and published online ahead of print in Human Molecular Genetics. This is the first study to report cardiac dysfunction in mouse models of SMA.
A new optical imaging technique described in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments holds the potential to greatly improve angioplasty, a surgery commonly performed to treat patients with a partially or completely blocked coronary artery that restricts blood flow to the heart.
Engineers and physicians at the University of Washington have built a scaffold that supports the growth and integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells. The scaffold supports the growth of cardiac cells in the lab and encourages blood vessel growth in living animals.
New study suggests that disparities in cardiovascular disease risk in the United States are due less to race or ethnicity than to socioeconomic status.
Dr. Amar Sethi, VP of Science and Technology at Pacific Biomarkers, Inc, observed that in ischemic heart disease patients untreated with statins, there is a difference in the way bad cholesterol is removed from the body by the HDL particle. They found that a particle called pre-β1 HDL is increased, while LCAT—the enzyme that packs cholesterol into the core of the HDL particle—is reduced.
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, in black teens according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Black teens taking vitamin D supplementation of 2,000 international units (IU) per day had a decrease in central arterial stiffness.
A leading expert in cardiopulmonary resuscitation says two new studies from U.S. and European researchers support the case for dropping mouth-to-mouth, or rescue breathing by bystanders and using “hands-only” chest compressions during the life-saving practice, better known as CPR.
Millions of Americans in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of having atrial fibrillation (AF) – a major risk factor for stroke – according to new research by investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
A study led by UCLA tested a new performance intervention to help improve adherence to national guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure patients in an outpatient setting.
A review of scientific studies that compares two treatments for preventing strokes due carotid artery disease provides no clear answer on which treatment is better, a UT Southwestern Medical Center physician reports in an editorial in today’s issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
A new study shows that patient-centered health care is not just a nice idea; it can also lower death rates from heart attacks.
Studying a protein already known to play an important role in type 2 diabetes and cancer, genomics researchers have discovered that it may have an even broader role in human disease.
People who feel insecure about their attachments to others might be at higher risk for cardiovascular problems than those who feel secure in their relationships, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
Research at the University of Arkansas took a step toward understanding hypertension in women by using a new technique to examine the release of a neurotransmitter in small blood vessels.
New research shows that using robotics reduces blood vessel trauma during minimally invasive procedures to repair diseased arteries. Research results were presented at the Society for Vascular Surgery‘s 2010 Vascular Annual Meeting in Boston.
Follow-up of a group of British childhood cancer survivors indicates they have an increased risk of death from second primary cancers and cardiac and cerebrovascular causes more than 25 years after their initial cancer diagnosis, according to a study in the July 14 issue of JAMA.
In patients with pre-existing heart or lung disease, being exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollutants is associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV)—a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
A treatment plan used to prevent potentially dangerous blood clots in recovering surgical patients can also benefit some patients immobilized by acute medical illness, doctors have found in a multi-institutional study.
The hospital admission rate for blacks with hypertension was 161 per 100,000 people in 2006 – nearly 5 times the hospitalization rate for whites (33 admissions per 100,000).
People who eat a diet high in fructose, in the form of added sugar, are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that cutting back on foods and beverages containing a lot of fructose (sugar) might decrease one’s risk of developing hypertension.
Nearly 7 percent of sixth-graders across the U.S. are severely obese, a new study reveals.
A new study published online today by JAMA shows that among patients age 65 years and older, rosiglitazone (a medication for treating Type 2 diabetes) is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and all-cause mortality (death) when compared with pioglitazone (another medication for diabetes). The study was published online today in advance of an upcoming Food and Drug Administration meeting that will review the safety of rosiglitazone. The paper will appear in the July 28 print issue of JAMA.
A new study done by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center indicates that chest pain may no longer have to mean a hospital stay – there is another option for diagnosing heart-related chest pain that costs less and, in some cases, allows the patient to return home the same day.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have pinpointed a set of biological mechanisms through which estrogen confers its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, independent of the hormone’s actions on cancer.
Researchers have found that increasing certain proteins in the blood vessels of mice, relaxed the vessels, lowering the animal’s blood pressure. The study provides new avenues for research that may lead to new treatments for hypertension.
Women who experience early menopause appear to have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease event later in life than do women who do not go through early menopause, a new study indicates. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Researchers have discovered a way to harness the enzyme thrombin’s anti-blood clotting properties.
Researchers from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University found that one year after 248 individuals completed a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program, only 37% exercised three times a week to keep their hearts healthy.
New research from NYU Langone Medical Center shows that a simple, inexpensive and noninvasive carotid artery ultrasound of the neck can be used as a preliminary diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease (CAD). This may be an alternative to the standard, expensive and more invasive coronary angiography. The ultrasound test can also be used to rule out the diagnosis of CAD in patients presenting with reduced heart pump function.
Doctors have long known that snoring is hazardous to health for a number of reasons. In addition to restless nights and increased daytime sleepiness, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) has a series of associated health problems, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) of less than 5.5 cm have no significant differences in clinical outcomes after endovascular repair (EVAR) than those with larger AAAs according to data from a five-year prospective clinical trial setting. The researchers maintain their recommendation that small aneurysms should not be treated surgically. Details of this study were presented at the 64th Vascular Annual Meeting presented by the Society for Vascular Surgery.
Select patients with blunt aortic injury (BAI) can be safely managed non-operatively with beta-blockade to lower the heart rate and blood pressure, according to a new study from the 64th Vascular Annual Meeting presented by the Society for Vascular Surgery®.
A regional quality improvement effort aimed at increasing the use of preoperative beta-blocker (BB) usage to help prevent postoperative myocardial infarction (POMI) was revealed today at the 64th Vascular Annual Meeting® presented by the Society for Vascular Surgery®.
Vascular surgery may be accompanied by cardiovascular complications, like ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VT). Though, these arrhythmias initially might be asymptomatic, they can lead to increased risk for late sudden cardiac death after surgery. Researchers from the Netherlands believe that cardiac high-risk patients with new-onset perioperative VT might benefit from preemptive cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation in addition to optimal focused medical therapy.
Still going strong at age 86, Dr. Bobby Brown has a resume matched by no one else in the history of baseball: third baseman for the World Champion New York Yankees, practicing cardiologist, and Major League Baseball Executive. Dr. Brown is profiled in a cover story in the current issue of Heart Insight, a quarterly magazine for patients, their families and caregivers.
Researchers from Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC have found that wound healing after lower extremity bypass (LEB) or endovascular revascularization (EV) demonstrated a more complete and faster rate of healing for larger wounds of more than 2 cm after open bypass. Findings will be presented at the 64th Vascular Annual Meeting presented by the Society for Vascular Surgery, June 10 in Boston.
A new study, presented at the 64th Vascular Annual Meeting presented by the Society for Vascular Surgery® today, assessed the accuracy of indirect estimated radiation doses of 47 patients during endovascular thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair (eTAAA ).
The vascular surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston have traditionally repaired thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAA) with a clamp and sew (CS) technique that includes neuro-protective adjuncts like epidural cooling and aggressive intercostal reconstruction (IC) to prevent spinal cord ischemia. The last five years have seen a paradigm shift to distal aortic perfusion (DAP) during aortic cross clamping with the concurrent use of motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring to provide objective evidence for the need to revascularized intercostals vessels.
One in 25 people from India and other south Asian countries carries a mutated gene that causes heart failure. Studying this gene, and the protein it encodes, could lead to new treatments for heart failure.