Feature Channels: Cardiovascular Health

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A Mayo Clinic task force challenges some recommendations in the updated guideline for cholesterol treatment unveiled by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) in 2013. The task force concludes, based on current evidence, that not all patients encouraged to take cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, may benefit from them and that the guideline missed some important conditions that might benefit from medication.

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More than 1.6M cardiovascular-related deaths per year can be attributed to sodium consumption above the WHO’s recommendation of 2.0 g per day, researchers have found in a new analysis of populations across 187 countries, to be published in the August 14 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

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The largest study of its kind ever conducted -- involving 18 countries and more than100,000 people -- indicates the current recommended maximum sodium intake is actually too low and may even be unsafe. However, high sodium is also harmful, so an “optimal” range is the best target.

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UAB Distinguished Professor Suzanne Oparil's editorial highlights research efforts exploring low-sodium intake guidelines and implications on cardiac disease and mortality.

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For the first time in the United States, doctors at Henry Ford Hospital used a minimally invasive procedure to replace a failing, hard-to-reach heart valve with a new one – and placed it just outside the heart.

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In a study that included 1.7 million patients undergoing inpatient surgery, experiencing atrial fibrillation while hospitalized was associated with an increased long-term risk of ischemic stroke, especially following noncardiac surgery, according to a study in the August 13 issue of JAMA.

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A delay of 12 hours or longer to correct an abnormal cardiac rhythm from atrial fibrillation was associated with a greater risk of thromboembolic complications such as stroke, according to a study in the August 13 issue of JAMA.

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Treatments that involve neck manipulation may be associated with strokes, although this association is not proven, according to an American Heart Association Scientific Statement written by lead author Dr. Jose Biller of Loyola University Medical Center and other stroke experts.

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Recent Baylor Research Institute research shows that significant consumption of instant noodles – ramen included – may increase a person’s risk for cardiometabolic syndrome, especially in women.

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Researchers discover a previously unknown cardiac molecule that could provide a key to treating, and preventing, heart failure.

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A new study suggests uric acid may play a role in causing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

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Use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) programmed with long-detection intervals for ventricular arrhythmias was associated with an increase in the time to first hospitalization and reductions in hospitalization rate, length of stay and costs, compared with standard interval programming, according to a study in the August 6 issue of JAMA.

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Trial results in a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine finds that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for hypertension resulted in substantial and statistically significant reductions in the primary outcomes, a -4.8-mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a 1.9-mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) when measured in the clinic. The alternate arm of the trial involved only progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), which resulted only in a decrease of 0.7-mm in SBP and an increase of 1.2-mm Hg in DBP.

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Changes in the treatment of the most common form of heart attack over the past decade have been associated with higher survival rates for men and women regardless of age, race and ethnicity, according to a UCLA-led analysis. But the study also suggests that there is room for improvement in how current treatment guidelines are applied among specific patient groups.

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Staff members who joined structured team debriefings after emergency care for children suffering in-hospital cardiac arrests improved their CPR performance and substantially increased rates of patients surviving with favorable neurological outcomes.

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Through financial incentives and an emphasis on proven health outcomes, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides opportunities to increase the availability of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs—including offering CR as part of worksite health programs (WHPs), according to an article in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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New onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (AFib, or abnormal heartbeat) occurs in one-out-of-five heart surgery patients and is associated with an increased risk of additional complications, including double the risk of death

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Young adults who were breastfed for three months or more as babies have a significantly lower risk of chronic inflammation associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, according to research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Easing heart palpitations is one benefit of catheter ablation. A longer life span is another. Study shows 60 drop in cardiovascular mortality after successful ablation for atrial fibrillation.

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Need an incentive to go for a run? A new Iowa State University study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found running for just five to 10 minutes a day can significantly reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

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A new technique for repairing the most common cardiac birth defect in newborns, commonly referred to as “a hole in the heart,” has been used successfully to mend the condition in six premature infants without subjecting the tiny patients to open-heart surgery.

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A St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital study found that 73 percent of adult survivors of childhood cancer more than doubled their risk of developing metabolic syndrome and related health problems by failing to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle.

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There's a "critical need" for research and innovative new strategies to address health disparities and to improve health outcomes across all groups of people with cardiovascular disease, according to a special symposium feature in the August issue of The American Journal of Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI). The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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Millions of people in the United States have a circulatory problem of the legs called peripheral vascular disease. It can be painful and may even require surgery in serious cases. This disease can lead to severe skeletal muscle wasting and, in turn, limb amputation.

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In North Carolina, a stroke survivor, a heart attack survivor, and a heart transplant recipient have teamed up to share their experiences—with the goal of encouraging others to reduce their own cardiovascular disease risks. The "Triad Triage Trio" is featured in the August issue of Heart Insight, a quarterly magazine for patients, their families and caregivers. Heart Insight is published by the American Heart Association (AHA) and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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A diet enriched in 18-HEPE might help prevent heart failure in patients with cardiovascular diseases, according to researchers in Japan.

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Cardiologists at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have developed a minimally invasive gene transplant procedure that changes unspecialized heart cells into “biological pacemaker” cells that keep the heart steadily beating. The laboratory animal research, published online and in today’s print edition of the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine, is the result of a dozen years of research with the goal of developing biological treatments for patients with heart rhythm disorders who currently are treated with surgically implanted pacemakers.

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Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that patients taking prescription potassium supplements together with loop diuretics for heart failure have better survival rates than patients taking diuretics without the potassium. Moreover, the degree of benefit increases with higher diuretic doses

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An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening condition: If the body’s major blood vessel ruptures, it can prove deadly. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently updated its recommendations on screening.

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Fewer Americans are having strokes and those who do have a lower risk of dying from them finds a new study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

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Reducing the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, may improve cardiovascular health, including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure, according to a new multi-center study published in The BMJ and co-led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The latest findings call into question previous studies which suggest that consuming light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol (0.6-0.8 fluid ounces/day) may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health.

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Mary York's heart broke when she heard her husband of 65 years say he didn't want to live anymore. UAB physicians were able to repair his heart — and ultimately hers, too — when her husband became one of the first in Alabama to receive a MitraClip.

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For children and teens living with a cardiac pacemaker, a low sense of self-competence seems to contribute to decreased quality of life, reports a study in the July Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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In an analysis of about 460 patients with failed bioprosthetic aortic valves who underwent transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation, overall survival at one year was 83 percent, with survival associated with surgical valve size and mechanism of failure, according to a study in the July 9 issue of JAMA.

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The new FDA-approved transcatheter heart valve therapy helps patients with aortic valve disease who are at high risk to undergo open-heart surgery.

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Cardiologists at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that sedentary behaviors may lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels.

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Bone marrow fat may have untapped health benefits, new research finds.

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Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first to discover that aspirin prevents a first heart attack and is of lifesaving benefit when given during a heart attack or among long-term survivors, was invited by the editor of Nature Reviews: Cardiology to provide perspectives on the recent FDA statements that any decision to use aspirin should be an individual clinical judgment by healthcare providers. The editorial provides updates to clinicians and their patients on the optimal use of aspirin for the treatment and prevention of a first heart attack.

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Use of catheter ablation is not only beneficial for treating atrial flutter but also can significantly reduce hospital visits – both inpatient and emergency – and lower the risk for atrial fibrillation, according to research by UC San Francisco.

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Analysis of pooled data by Paolo Boffetta, MD, Director of the Institute for Translational Epidemiology and Associate Director for Population Sciences of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, and collaborators showed a strong association between low vitamin D levels and risk of death in general death from cardiovascular diseases, death in from cancer, at least in older people with a history of cancer.

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Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, of Mount Sinai Heart and other leading global experts have created a free, special magazine issue with Scientific American called “Promoting Cardiovascular Health Worldwide,” focusing on the growing worldwide epidemic of cardiovascular diseases and solutions to improve the promotion of cardiovascular health and prevention of cardiovascular diseases globally.

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A new study by New York Institute of Technology's A. Martin Gerdes, Ph.D. draws links between thyroid hormones and cardiac function in patients with diabetes and heart disease. Restoring normal levels of thyroid hormones prevented the progression of heart disease in rats with diabetes.

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Loyola University Chicago recently hosted a meeting of more than 60 of the world’s leading researchers of a protein that could hold the key to new treatments for heart disease.

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African American women respond differently to the anti-inflammatory effect of aspirin than do white American women, new research finds. The results were presented Monday, June 23 at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago.

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Women with Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol are less likely than their male peers to reach treatment goals to lower their “bad” cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, despite access to cholesterol-lowering medication, a Canadian study finds. The results were presented on Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago.

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Developed for patients with bradycardia — a heart rate that is too slow — the Nanostim device is designed to be placed directly on the patient’s heart without the visible lump, scar and insulated wires, or leads, required for conventional pacemakers.

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Researchers have identified the first genetic variations linked to race that begin to explain a higher risk of death among some African American and Caucasian patients taking the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel (Plavix) after a heart attack.

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Stem cell therapy for cardiovascular disease isn’t a medical pipe dream – it’s a reality today, although patients need to better understand the complex science behind these experimental treatments, according to the chief of Cardiology for the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

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For decades, common medical wisdom has been “the lower the better” in treating the approximately one in three people in this country who have high blood pressure. But does that approach result in reduced risk for dangerous heart events?

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Researchers at the University of Montreal and CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) recently demonstrated the potential of retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of Vitamin A, in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes and preventing their cardiovascular complications.