Feature Channels: Heart Disease

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Research suggests that a gene that governs the body’s biological (circadian) clock acts differently in males versus females and may protect females from heart disease. The study is the first to analyze circadian blood pressure rhythms in female mice. The research, published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, was chosen as an APSselect article for January.

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Having two or more non-communicable diseases (multimorbidity) costs the country more than the sum of those individual diseases would cost, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Tony Blakely from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues.

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FDA approves first U.S. clinical trial of an intravenously administered bacteriophage-based therapy to treat resistant bacterial infections.

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Credentialed press representatives are invited to attend The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 55th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, which will include late-breaking scientific research, thought-provoking lectures, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative cardiothoracic surgery products. This meeting is the preeminent educational event in cardiothoracic surgery.

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A Mayo Clinic study finds that applying artificial intelligence (AI) to a widely available, inexpensive test – the electrocardiogram (EKG) – results in a simple, affordable early indicator of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction, which is a precursor to heart failure. The research team found that the AI/EKG test accuracy compares favorably with other common screening tests, such as mammography for breast cancer. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

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Two 29-year-old patients from Michigan and Illinois are recovering following back-to-back triple-organ transplants to replace their failing hearts, livers and kidneys, marking a first in U.S. health care history.

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Investigators from UAB have summarized the impact of the reimbursement gap between Medicaid and private insurance on management and in-hospital outcomes among patients admitted for STEMI.

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Announcement of Mukesh K. Jain, MD, as the new Chief Academic Officer for University Hospitals (UH). He will lead the academic efforts of UH and provide oversight for the full spectrum of research that includes basic and translational as well as clinical and population research. In addition, he will oversee educational efforts including graduate medical education, continuing medical education, undergraduate medical education and community education.

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First program on East Coast to receive highest level of recognition

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Novel studies published in the Men’s Health Issue of AACC’s journal Clinical Chemistry suggest that hormone therapy for transgender people increases the risk of blood clots less than birth control pills and does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease at all. These preliminary results could help more transgender individuals to access essential hormone therapy by increasing physician comfort with prescribing it.

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A new study suggests that people over age 65 who are newly diagnosed with heart failure can continue to drink moderate amounts of alcohol without worsening their condition. However, the findings do not suggest that nondrinkers should start imbibing after a heart failure diagnosis, the researchers emphasized.

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BIDMC Cardiologist Jeremy Robbins, MD, explains how exercise is good for your heart and how exercise affects each individual.

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Researchers from the George Washington University received more than $3.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the causes of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients

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From testing barbershop-based care for hypertension to being the first to use new devices to treat aneurysms, 2018 at Cedars-Sinai’s Smidt Heart Institute produced clinical-based advances with the power to transform cardiac care and patient lives.

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The research team has demonstrated that anti-GRP78 autoantibodies can bind to GRP78 on the surface of lesion-resident endothelial cells and speed up atherosclerosis. The study also demonstrated that mouse models of atherosclerosis as well as patients with established cardiovascular disease have significantly elevated blood levels of these autoantibodies that both correlate and contribute to disease progression.

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Getting the heart pumping with aerobic exercise, like walking or cycling for 35 minutes three times a week, may improve thinking skills in older adults with cognitive impairments, according to a study published in the December 19, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. After six months of exercise, study participants’ scores on thinking tests improved by the equivalent of reversing nearly nine years of aging.

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Biomedical engineer Jon Silva led an international team that determined which patients would benefit the most from a commonly used drug treatment.

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Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered that metformin, a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, might also be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a condition that is predicted to affect over 8% of people ages 65 or older by the year 2020. The study, which was published December 19 in the Journal of General Physiology, shows that metformin relaxes a key heart muscle protein called titin, allowing the heart to properly fill with blood before pumping it around the body.

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Call to include Eating Disorders in the NIH Nutrition Research Task Force Strategic Plan

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A Wayne State University research team, in collaboration with Arterez, LLC, a Michigan-based biopharmaceutical company, has commenced a clinical study to identify the “fingerprint” and diagnostic accuracy of Arterez’ seven patent-pending glycocalyx biomarkers in relation to arterial disease, specifically hypertension and heart failure.

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Researchers at McMaster University have identified trends linking health and lifestyle factors like access to public transit, the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in grocery stores, the prices of popular foods, the availability and prices of cigarettes and alcohol, and the promotion, or lack thereof, of healthy foods in restaurants. The study findings are based on detailed data collected across Canada’s 10 provinces.

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Researchers find an effective way to treat an underdiagnosed condition that can cause heart attack and heart-attack-like symptoms.

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Researchers find an effective way to treat an underdiagnosed condition that can cause heart attack and heart-attack-like symptoms.

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In September 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded funds to 28 state and local health departments across the United States to design, test and evaluate new, innovative approaches to address these significant health problems. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) was one of 21 state health departments to receive this funding. As part of this, a new partnership has been forged with Wayne State University researchers who will directly work with MDHHS in their efforts to prevent and manage cardiovascular health and diabetes.

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NIBIB-funded researchers are literally breaking barriers using ultrasound waves emitted from a flexible patch to accurately measure central blood pressure and help detect cardiovascular problems earlier.  For a while now, smart, wearable devices have had the ability to capture how many steps we take in a day or measure our heart rate, but researchers are starting to take it a step further.

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A team of Rutgers scientists have taken an important step toward the goal of making diseased hearts heal themselves – a new model that would reduce the need for bypass surgery, heart transplants or artificial pumping devices.

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A new study links hearing loss with an increased risk for mortality before the age of 75 due to cardiovascular disease. Researchers at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that mortality among those with hearing loss is elevated, particularly among men and women younger than age 75 and those who are divorced or separated.

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Latinos who are exposed to pesticides in their workplaces are twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease compared with Latinos who are not exposed to pesticides at work, according to a new study published in the journal Heart.The study looked at survey questionnaire responses from 7,404 employed Latinos ages 18 to 74 years old enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) regarding occupational exposure to pesticides, metals and solvents — substances known to have a negative impact on cardiovascular health.

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In a medical records analysis of information gathered on more than 6,000 people, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conclude that simply asking older adult patients about their weight history at ages 20 and 40 could provide real value to clinicians in their efforts to predict patients’ future risk of heart failure, heart attacks or strokes.

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Thousands of people can take heart as new research from the University of South Australia shows a dairy-enhanced Mediterranean diet will significantly increase health outcomes for those at risk of cardiovascular disease – and it’s even more effective than a low-fat diet.

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Scientists at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, at the University Health Network, have identified the type of cell key to helping the heart repair and potentially regenerate following a heart attack.

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CLEVELAND: In concurrent studies, Cleveland Clinic researchers have uncovered new mechanisms that demonstrate why and how regularly eating red meat can increase the risk of heart disease, and the role gut bacteria play in that process. The research, led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., builds upon previous work showing TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) – a gut bacteria byproduct formed during digestion – can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes

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More and more, through sequencing done for medical reasons or done by direct-to-consumer companies, people learn they have variants of disease genes with uncertain significance to their health. With a new assay, researchers have a way to determine the potential impact of these cardiomyopathy variants on the health of patients and their family members.

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Aggressive treatment of hypertension in stroke patients could do more harm than good in the long term, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Georgia.

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Heather Gornik, MD, has been named co-director of the Vascular Center at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.

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Cardiovascular patients at risk for gastrointestinal bleeding from taking oral anticoagulants like warfarin reduce that risk by 34 percent when taking a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in combination, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in JAMA.

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Researchers at The Wistar Institute have developed novel synthetic DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) directed against PCSK9, a protein key to regulating cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.

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A parent’s exposure to dirty air before conception might spell heart trouble for the next generation, a new animal study suggests.

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Vascular surgeon Ali Azizzadeh, MD, was the first to use a newly approved, minimally invasive device to perform a series of innovative surgeries on patients with aneurysms of the aorta, the main vessel that delivers blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

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The number of hospitalizations and surgeries to treat drug-associated infective endocarditis have both increased more than tenfold in North Carolina, according to doctors at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who published their research in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Conrad Tucker, associate professor of engineering design and industrial engineering, demonstrates how a mobile-based application will use a cellphone camera and computer vision techniques to capture pulse rate. Tucker and his team use a Masimo Rad-97, a compact, portable patient monitoring device which measures pulse rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, perfusion index, total hemoglobin and pleth variability index, as a ground to compare the application's captured data.

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The FDA has approved an investigational new drug clinical trial that will start shortly at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute, to determine whether stem cell therapy improves myocardial function in patients with severe heart failure—severe enough to require the implantation of a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD.

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Emergency medicine physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are seeking community input about a proposed clinical trial assessing the efficacy of inhaling xenon, a medical gas, to mitigate brain injury and preserve cerebral function in cardiac arrest patients.

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New research suggests that curcumin, a main ingredient in curry, may improve exercise intolerance related to heart failure. The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

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A team of researchers led by Jonathan Stamler, MD, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, has discovered a pathway for enhancing the self-repair efforts of injured kidneys. The finding may pave the way for new drugs to stop or even reverse the progression of serious kidney disease in humans—and other potentially lethal conditions of the heart, liver, and brain as well.

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Some patients with coronary artery disease have inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle during periods of mental/emotional stress. This condition – called "mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia" (MSIMI) – is related to the severity of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries in men but not women, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published in the Lippincott Portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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Researchers are exploring how irregular filling mechanics may contribute to defects in developing fetal hearts because inefficient filling leads to energy losses that alter the heart’s structure and performance, and studying how filling mechanics and flow structure change over the course of gestation. During the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting, Nov. 18-20, they will discuss the team’s findings on human fetal cardiac flow measurements collected from normal and abnormal fetal echocardiogram exams.

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Patients with stronger-pumping hearts have as many physical and cognitive impairments as those with weaker hearts, suggesting the need for better treatment.

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Christopher Tschirhart, 61, has wrangled cattle all his life. He doesn’t like to ask for help. But, thanks to regular annual check-ups with his doctor, he’s known that one day he would need help with his heart.