Feature Channels: Heart Disease

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Josh Bristow, 51, is one of a very few patients in the nation with AIDS and late-stage heart failure to have a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted as "destination therapy." He needed a heart transplant, but the immune-compromising nature of AIDS virtually excluded him as a candidate for transplantation because of the increased risk of infection and the inability to undergo immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection.

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People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart disease compared to people without RLS, and the risk is greatest in those with the most frequent and severe symptoms, according to research published in the January 1, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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University of Michigan scientists and their colleagues have helped characterize a previously unknown link in the chain of biochemical reactions implicated in some forms of heart disease.

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Everyone loves a two-fer, but a two-in-one heart test that has the potential to save lives is the real deal. According to new research, pairing two findings from one simple test makes it significantly more likely that doctors will identify patients who face the greatest risk after a heart attack.

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In the future, patients who arrive at a hospital Emergency Department complaining of chest pain may be diagnosed with a sophisticated CT scan. If the diagnosis is negative, the patient can go home"”and the total time at the hospital will be much shorter than it is today.

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Ozone may prove the key to the link between high temperature and the increased risk of death from heart disease or stroke, suggests research published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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Before you plop in front of the television for a day of football, pizza and beer, you might consider this: New research shows that in young adults, decades of hard-won progress in reducing the risk of heart disease appears to be stalling, as recent death rates from coronary disease remain almost unchanged in young men and may even be increasing in women.

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In 9 out of 10 cases, a burst abdominal aortic artery is quickly fatal for its most common victim: elderly males. A new study -- the largest yet performed -- now confirms that women over 65 with a history of smoking or heart disease are also at high risk for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) -- supporting the notion that they should also receive ultrasound screening to help spot and correct the dangerous condition.

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Cardiovascular disease accounts for the death of more Canadians than any other disease. Health researchers are available to speak on heart health and about their newly funded health research projects and how their work will make a difference in the lives of Canadians.

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People with rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk for developing heart disease than the general population; however, it is difficult to identify which patients are at increased risk. Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed a simple approach to predict heart disease in these patients within ten years of their initial diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

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A woman who has heart disease is 50% more likely to die from it than a man who has it. Although experts can point to a number of possible explanations for this, the research on women and heart disease remains inadequate, says the new edition of a Harvard Medical School report, The Healthy Heart: Preventing, detecting, and treating coronary artery disease.

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University of Alberta professor Jason Dyck's findings suggest that the protein responsible for transporting fat into the contractile cells of the heart may be a candidate for drug inhibition and that this drug could protect the heart from aging. This research holds great promise for human beings. Dyck hopes it will lead to the development of medications that inhibit the uptake of fatty acids into the heart and prevent and/or reverse the effects of aging on the heart muscle.

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Aspirin, long known to relieve fevers, aches and pain, has served an increasingly bigger role in health care in recent years. A daily aspirin may help lower the risk of heart attack and clot-related strokes.

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Most experts agree that supplements add little, if anything, to a well-balanced diet. Exercise, however, is proven to achieve the benefits claimed for vitamins, even for people who eat properly, reports the November 2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch.

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The genetic family ties that bind brothers and sisters also link their risk for developing clogged arteries and having potentially fatal heart attacks, scientists at Johns Hopkins report. And according to researchers, brothers bear the brunt of the burden.

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Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a key enzyme called CEH in reducing heart disease, paving the way for new target therapies to reduce plaques in the arteries and perhaps in the future, help predict a patient's susceptibility to heart disease.

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Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it's about twice as deadly for people with schizophrenia. The November 2007 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter looks at why the risk is so great for people with schizophrenia and what can they do to reduce it.

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A psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that although mortality from cardiovascular disease has declined in the United States over the past several decades, patients with severe psychiatric illness are not enjoying the benefits of that progress.

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Scientists report that the concentration of a compound called apolipoprotein B in the blood is better at predicting whether Chinese have coronary heart disease "“ in which fatty deposits clog arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart "“ than other substances such as blood cholesterol levels.

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Scientists have shown that a protein that is present in the blood may accelerate the development of atherosclerosis.

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Persons who reported chronic job strain after a first heart attack (myocardial infarction) had about twice the risk of experiencing another coronary heart disease event such as heart attack or unstable angina than those without chronic job strain, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA.

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Coronary artery disease may take a different course in men and women, which may explain why the rate of death for women has declined more slowly than for men, according to the October issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

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Older women who experience at least one full-blown panic attack may have an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke and an increased risk of death in the next five years, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis "“ a condition that greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke "“ by suppressing the activity of a key protein that protects the heart and blood vessels, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found.

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Scientists have provided new details about how a drug used against heart disease helps to unclog blood vessels from an excess of cholesterol and fats.

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The Society for Women's Health Research will host a media-only teleconference on Thursday, September 20, 2007, to discuss results of a survey on older women and their knowledge of cholesterol and efforts to screen for it appropriately.

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Being moderately overweight or obese appears to increase the risk for developing coronary heart disease events independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Smoking, eating fattening foods and not getting enough exercise are all lifestyle habits that can lead to poor health and cardiovascular disease "“ more so if you have a family history. But researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that women don't change these habits as often as men, even when they have relatives with heart disease.

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Should you increase your vitamin E intake to prevent heart disease? The answer is "maybe." Research by scientists at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research helps explain why human studies have been contradictory, and why vitamin E might help some but not others.

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The reported failure of vitamin E to prevent heart attacks may be due to underdosing, according to a new study by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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Most of us rely on the bathroom scale to tell us when middle-aged spread is getting out of hand. It might be better to keep a tape measure at the ready. New research shows that adding several inches to the waist"”even if body weight still falls within a normal range"”markedly increases the risk of unhealthy plaque build-up in the arteries of the heart and the rest of the body.

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Antioxidants are widely considered an important defense against heart disease, but University of Utah researchers have found excessive levels of one antioxidant"”reduced glutathione"”actually may contribute to the disease. The findings, published in the Aug. 10 issue of Cell, indicate a new class of drugs can be developed to treat or even prevent heart disease caused by "reductive stress."

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In their new book, two researchers assert that many patients get an incomplete view of medical test benefits and risks.

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Men who are hostile and prone to frequent intense feelings of anger and depression could be harming their immune systems and putting themselves at risk for coronary heart disease as well as related disorders like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, a new study finds.

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A report led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) helps explain the origins of cardiac fibrosis, a stiffening of the heart muscle that leads to a variety of cardiac diseases, most notably heart failure.

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C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that is often used to detect cardiovascular disease, may also indicate cognitive impairment in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study of children ages 5 to 7.

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Individuals admitted for heart attack to a hospital ranked as one of "America's Best" by U.S. News & World Report are less likely to die within 30 days than those admitted to a non-ranked hospital, according to a report in the July 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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A new score for predicting the risk of heart disease gives a more accurate measure of how many UK adults are at risk of developing the disease and which adults are most likely to benefit from treatment.

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Varying advice means patients at high-risk of having a heart attack are unclear about when symptoms are potentially life threatening and when they should call an ambulance, argue a group of heart specialists in this week's BMJ. Editorial: Advising patients on dealing with acute chest pain BMJ Volume 335, pp3-4.

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Autophagy, a normal process by which cells eat their own proteins to provide needed resources to the body in times of stress, may paradoxically cause harm to hearts already weakened by disease, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

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Active tissues, like a beating heart or contracting muscle, need mechanisms to repair the inevitable cell membrane tears caused by physical stress and strain. University of Iowa researchers have discovered a specific repair mechanism in heart muscle and identified a protein called dysferlin that is critical for resealing heart muscle cell membranes.

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We've all wondered how a seemingly healthy person can actually be at high risk for heart disease or a heart attack. Now researchers have uncovered a new clue to this mystery. The culprit: myeloperoxidase (MPO), a protein secreted by white blood cells that both signals inflammation and releases a bleach-like substance that damages the cardiovascular system.

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The same genetic defect that causes a rare respiratory disease may also lead to some types of congenital heart disease, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

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The three pillars of health--exercise, diet and smoking cessation--can significantly reduce your risk of dying from two of the leading causes of mortality in America.

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Many women don't worry about heart disease, or if they do, they are concerned it's something the men in their lives might develop. But that attitude is a mistake. While it's true that estrogen gives women some protection against the disease, at least until menopause, heart disease is still the leading killer of American women. Here's what women should watch for.

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A simple exercise test may help predict mortality risk in patients with heart failure and help doctors to better tailor treatment strategies, according to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

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The Endocrine Society urges physicians to respond in a measured way to a recent study suggesting the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) increases the risk of heart disease and heart attacks.

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A new study in mice raises a tantalizing possibility "“ that humans may one day be able to eat any kind of fat they want without raising their risk of heart disease.

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A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) provides the strongest association to date between trans fat and heart disease. It found that women in the U.S. with the highest levels of trans fat in their blood had three times the risk of CHD as those with the lowest levels.

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A tiny snippet of RNA, a chemical cousin of DNA, controls damage to the heart under several types of stress, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.