Seven years after Joaquin Lucio's kidneys shut down, he had a heart attack and was taken to a Los Angeles area hospital where doctors performed an angioplasty to clear his coronary arteries. He also was suffering from idiopathic congestive heart failure "“ a condition in which the heart becomes weak and enlarged "“ and a special pacemaker was implanted to provide support.
Improving patient care by "personalizing" the practice of medicine often results from studying specific drugs and their impact on genetic biomarkers.
According to a study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, older people who did endurance exercise training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts. The researchers also showed that by one metabolic measure, women benefited more than men from the training.
On June 16, 2008, Barbara Ganschow of Palatine, IL, became the first person in the world to be successfully treated with a new device designed to make it safer and easier for heart specialists to create a hole in the cardiac atrial septum. The hole, created by the NRGTM Transseptal Needle, allows cardiac catheters to cross from the right side of the heart to the left side.
Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have manipulated cell activity that occurs during the interruption of blood flow to strongly protect heart tissue in animal studies. The finding has the potential to become an emergency treatment for heart attack patients, particularly since already existing drugs might be pressed into service to produce the protective effects.
What type of intervention, if any, should cardiologists offer their patients who have a heart abnormality called myocardial bridging and symptoms of heart problems? A research team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch and RWTH Aachen University in Germany has developed a new classification system that may help guide decision-making.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been used as analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents for several decades, but these agents may have significant gastro-intestinal adverse effects. Selective cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors, or "coxibs," were developed in the early 1990s as a response to the Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and selective cyclooxygenase. (COX-2) inhibitors, or "coxibs," are used for a number of disease conditions for relief of pain and inflammation.
Surgeons attempting complex cardiac repairs while the heart is still beating need images that show depth "“ especially when operating on children and newborns. Cardiac surgeons at Children's Hospital Boston are finding promise in a technology borrowed from the gaming industry: flickering glasses that provide stereoscopic vision.
Heart disease is the nation's number one killer for women. But, the well-known heart attack symptoms "“ acute pain, tightness, burning and a dull ache in the chest "“ describe what men typically experience during an attack. For many women the signs of a heart attack are completely different and can go unrecognized. Women tend to ignore signs of heart attack, thus increasing the likelihood of tragic consequences. With heightened attention to the facts about symptoms and treatments, much of this can be prevented.
Fixing hearts from the inside out -- In a series of "firsts" and "mosts," the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has established a leadership role in innovative and experimental techniques that are performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory instead of an operating room. Several conditions that once required open-heart surgery are now being corrected during intricate, procedures that deliver therapeutic devices to the heart non-surgically -- through blood vessels.
Fixing hearts from the inside out -- On Nov. 26, 2007, doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute performed the first "transcatheter" minimally invasive replacement of an aortic heart valve in the western United States, using the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter aortic heart valve developed by Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Cedars-Sinai is one of 16 centers participating in a pivotal clinical trial (the PARTNER trial) of the device, and is the only site currently recruiting on the West Coast.
Fixing Hearts from the Inside Out - Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute were among the first in California to offer an experimental therapy for atrial fibrillation using the WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage System. This system is designed to form a mechanical barrier that seals off the entrance to the appendage and prevents clots from forming. It is threaded to the heart through blood vessels, starting at the groin.
Preventive health services offer the potential to both reduce costs and vastly improve overall health and well being, but these benefits generally are overlooked by policymakers. Dr. Daniel Jones, president of the American Heart Association, argues that prevention is an affordable investment that makes sense, and the issue deserves to be debated as a key component of the 2008 presidential election.
The high-profile death of Tim Russert is raising awareness that stress tests may not be the best way to find potentially fatal heart disease. Dr. Mushabbar Syed at the University of Kentucky says an option to more accurately identify a patient's risk is a coronary calcium scan performed via commuted tomography (CT) imaging, which the university is helping to implement at rural hospitals.
Carla Sparrow was facing the challenge of being just 19 years old and pregnant when her doctor noticed something was not quite right with her heart. She could not have imagined what lay ahead--a common childhood illness had damaged her heart, leading to heart failure, the emergency birth of her son at just 29 weeks gestation, open heart surgery, and eventually a complete heart transplant.
Early detection of cardiovascular disease will not eliminate heart attacks, but it can help people adopt lifestyle changes and introduce medical intervention that may reduce both the number and severity of serious cardiovascular events according to health expert, Debbie Williams.
Cardiologist Dr. Gerald Berenson of Tulane University advocates preventing heart disease early by teaching children healthy lifestyles.
Dr. Timothy S. Harlan, assistant professor of clinical medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine, provides delicious recipes and sound nutritional advice as "Dr. Gourmet" on his nutrition website at www.drgourmet.com.
The P.A.D. Coalition has released new patient resources in Spanish on P.A.D. which are available free for health care professionals and the general public.
USC has some of the nation's leaders in research, care and prevention of heart disease.
Many preschoolers are classified as sedentary when it comes to physical activity. A UMass Amherst researcher is giving preschoolers 30 minutes of structured, outdoor exercise at school to determine if this will impact their weight and health, protecting them from heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.
Regular Internet "visits" with health care professionals can help lower risk of cardiovascular disease, finds recent research out of Temple University.
In an effort to ensure safety and optimal care following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) announced today the development of guidance to help hospitals and physicians determine the appropriate length of stay following the procedure.
Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood Jr. of East Carolina University successfully performed his 400th robot-assisted mitral valve repair Friday, June 20, 2008. The surgeon has performed more of these surgeries than anyone else.
People Suffering from Coronary Artery Disease Who Do Not Respond to Plavix May Benefit From an Alternative Drug
As temperatures spike, so do trips to emergency rooms and the frequency of heat-related illnesses. Dr. Paul Silka, vice chairman of the Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, offers tips on "keeping your cool" even when the temperature is soaring.
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