Feature Channels: Cardiovascular Health

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Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tend to co-exist and are associated with a variety of cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammation, insulin resistance, abnormal cholesterol, and high blood pressure. While effective therapies are available for OSA, researchers are still unclear about what interventions are most effective in reducing the burden of risk factors for cardiovascular disease associated with OSA in obese patients. New research from a multidisciplinary team at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania now reveals that the single most important factor for improving cardiovascular health in obese OSA patients is weight loss. The study results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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“Excessive iron is believed to contribute to heart disease and donating blood reduces the iron stores in the body,” said Ivan Pacold, MD, chair, Cardiology Department, Loyola’s Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. “Plus you get a mini-assessment each time you give blood to reinforce wellness."

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Children with heart disease are exposed to low levels of radiation during X-rays, which do not significantly raise their lifetime cancer risk. However, children who undergo repeated complex imaging tests that deliver higher doses of radiation may have a slightly increased lifetime risk of cancer, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

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Doctors at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are the first in the country to begin treating some heart failure patients with a new wireless, implantable hemodynamic monitor that was just approved by the FDA.

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Mount Sinai Heart will host its innovative and prestigious 17th Annual 2014 Live Symposium of Complex Coronary, Valvular, and Vascular Cases June 10-13 at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

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A study of 338 patients with coronary artery disease has identified a gene expression profile associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death. Used with other indicators such as biochemical markers and family history, the profile – based on a simple blood test – may help identify patients who could benefit from personalized treatment and counseling designed to address risk factors.

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An analysis of more than 600 class I (procedure/treatment should be performed/administered) American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline recommendations published or revised since 1998 finds that about 80 percent were retained at the time of the next guideline revision, and that recommendations not supported by multiple randomized studies were more likely to be downgraded, reversed, or omitted, according to a study in the May 28 issue of JAMA.

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A genetic variant linked to sudden cardiac death leads to protein overproduction in heart cells, Johns Hopkins scientists report. Unlike many known disease-linked variants, this one lies not in a gene but in so-called noncoding DNA, a growing focus of disease research. The discovery also adds to scientific understanding of the causes of sudden cardiac death and of possible ways to prevent it, the researchers say.

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Couples may take longer to conceive a child when one or both partners has high cholesterol, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a technique that can predict — with 95 percent accuracy — which stroke victims will benefit from intravenous, clot-busting drugs and which will suffer dangerous and potentially lethal bleeding in the brain.

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Taking olive oil supplements may counteract some of the adverse cardiovascular effects of exposure to air pollution, according to a new study presented at the 2014 American Thoracic Society International Conference.

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Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have identified a heart-specific form of a protein, BIN1, responsible for sculpting tiny folds in pockets that are present on the surface of heart muscle cells. The study provides the first direct evidence of a previously theoretical “fuzzy space” or “slow diffusion zone” that protects against irregular heartbeats by maintaining an ideal concentration of electrochemical molecules.

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A team led by Maciej Goniewicz of Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that high-voltage electronic cigarettes may expose users to increased levels of toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.

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A new stent has been effective at keeping arteries open in the lower extremities of patients with peripheral artery disease for more than four years.

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Today, the American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) announced that nearly 70 organizations will participate in the inaugural Measure Up/Pressure Down® National Day of Action: Roll Up Your Sleeves! event on May 15, 2014.

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Even if treated, hypertension and high cholesterol are increasingly common for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to a new study from researchers at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai Roosevelt hospitals in New York and the University of California, Davis.

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Mount Sinai study shows the socioeconomic status of congestive heart failure patients does not influence hospital rankings for heart failure readmissions.

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A new study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City has found that atrial fibrillation patients who are on blood thinning medications are at higher risk of developing dementia if their doses are not in the optimal recommended range.

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Vivek Reddy, MD, Director of Arrhythmia Services for The Mount Sinai Hospital, reported his promising12-month follow-up data showing the world’s first leadless pacemaker is demonstrating overall device performance comparable to conventional pacemakers. Dr. Reddy presented the one-year LEADLESS study data findings during his late-breaking clinical trial presentation on May 9 at Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 35th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Francisco, CA.

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New research from McMaster University suggests that a commonly performed test during certain types of heart surgery is not helpful and possibly harmful.

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Experts from the Penn Medicine Cardiovascular Institute and the Cardiac Arrhythmia Program will present new research and participate in expert panel discussions at the 35th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) May 7-10, 2014 in San Francisco.

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Investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute – whose previous research showed that cardiac stem cell therapy reduces scarring and regenerates healthy tissue after a heart attack in humans – have identified components of those stem cells responsible for the beneficial effects.

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Tired legs? Women face greater limits on their lifestyle due to peripheral artery disease, but benefit just as well as men from minimally invasive procedures to unclog their arteries. Study shows docs need to ask women more often about leg discomfort and screen for PAD.

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Notah Begay III, four-time PGA Tour Winner, golf analyst and founder of the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation suffered a heart attack last week in Dallas. He received a stent to unblock his right coronary artery and is expected to make a full recovery, according to a statement made by his Foundation.

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Exercise-induced body temperature increases can make symptoms worse for some patients with multiple sclerosis. Researchers at Southern Methodist explore the underlying causes of the temperature regulation problems so MS patients can better reap the benefits of exercise.

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A new device called a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) prevents sudden cardiac death with an electric shock. A conductor wire is implanted just under the skin, rather than going into the heart. In carefully selected patients, a S-ICD can reduce the risk of bleeding, blood clots and bloodstream infections, compared with a defibrillator with leads that go into the heart,

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People who took statins in the 2009–10 year were consuming more calories and fat than those who used statins 10 years earlier. There was no similar increase in caloric and fat intake among non–stain users during that decade.

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Scientific research at UT Southwestern Medical Center previously discovered that the newborn animal heart can heal itself completely, whereas the adult heart lacks this ability.

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An ASU team has performed the first virtual implantation of a pioneering artificial heart, led by engineer David Frakes, with Phoenix Children's Hospital.

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New research suggests that attempts to isolate an elusive adult stem cell from blood to understand and potentially improve cardiovascular health – a task considered possible but very difficult – might not be necessary.

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Working with mice and rabbits, Johns Hopkins scientists have found a way to block abnormal cholesterol production, transport and breakdown, successfully preventing the development of atherosclerosis, the main cause of heart attacks and strokes and the number-one cause of death among humans. The condition develops when fat builds inside blood vessels over time and renders them stiff, narrowed and hardened, greatly reducing their ability to feed oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle and the brain.

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• In kidney disease patients, 30 minutes of walking improved the responsiveness of certain immune cells to a bacterial challenge and induced a systemic anti-inflammatory environment in the body. • Six months of regular walking reduced immune cell activation and markers of systemic inflammation.

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Cigarette smoking among obese women appears to interfere with their ability to taste fats and sweets, a new study shows. Despite craving high-fat, sugary foods, these women were less likely than others to perceive these tastes, which may drive them to consume more calories.

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Right now, options are limited for preventing heart attacks. However, the day may come when treatments target the heart attack gene, myeloid related protein-14 (MRP-14, also known as S100A9) and defang its ability to produce heart attack-inducing blood clots, a process referred to as thrombosis.

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Early strengthening activities can lead to a decrease in cardiometabolic health risks in children and adolescents, according to results of a new study by a Baylor University professor and a team of researchers.

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Men with long-term HIV infections are at higher risk than uninfected men of developing plaque in their coronary arteries, regardless of their other risk factors for coronary artery disease, according to results of a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers. A report on the research appears in the April 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Programming highlights from Experimental Biology 2014, April 26-30 in San Diego. Topics include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, nutrition, and pharmacology.

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Young adults with such cardiac risk factors as high blood pressure and elevated glucose levels have significantly worse cognitive function in middle age, according to a new study by dementia researchers at UC San Francisco.

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In addition to its role as a sodium and potassium ion transporter, the ubiquitous sodium pump displays “hybrid” function by simultaneously importing protons into the cell. Proton inflow might play a role in certain pathologies, including heart attack and stroke.

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Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, have identified a biological process that may help physicians predict when someone with heart disease is likely to have a heart attack in the near future.

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Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, have discovered that elevated levels of two recently identified proteins in the body are inflammatory markers and indicators of the presence of cardiovascular disease.

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Poor blood pressure control among patients with atrial fibrillation is associated with a 50-percent increased risk of stroke, according to an analysis presented by Duke Medicine researchers.

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New guidelines that ease the recommended blood pressure could result in 5.8 million U.S. adults no longer needing hypertension medication, according to an analysis by Duke Medicine researchers.

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The AHA/ACC formulas for heart attack and stroke risk released in November were described as overpredicting a patient’s risk, but the latest findings published in JAMA suggest otherwise.

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A new study by researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School indicates that statin medication prescribed to lower cholesterol and decrease the chance of having a heart attack and stroke, also improves a man’s erectile function.

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Narine Sarvazyan, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and physiology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has invented a new organ to help return blood flow from veins lacking functional valves.

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In the largest study to ever investigate the effects of exercise training in patients with heart failure, exercise training reduced the risk for subsequent all-cause mortality or all-cause hospitalization in women by 26 percent, compared with 10 percent in men.

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Premi Haynes, a physiology Ph.D. candidate in the Campbell Muscle Lab, has documented the different cellular patterns and mechanical functions in contractions of the human heart. The findings indicate possible therapeutic targets for treatment of disease and heart failure.

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A new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries. The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.

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Most people with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) are not even aware they have the condition, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths in the United States each year. This winter alone, Apostolos K. Tassiopoulos, MD, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery, Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), has seen the greatest increase of AAA cases in his entire 15 year career.