By employing optogenetics, a new field that uses genetically altered cells to respond to light, researchers at Stony Brook University have demonstrated a way to control cell excitation and contraction in cardiac muscle cells.
As the fall sports season starts for students, millions will hit the court, the rink and the field. Every year, it seems we hear a tragic story of a young person suffering a cardiac event while participating in school sports. But who is at risk for a cardiac event and what screening process is recommended for student athletes?
University of Adelaide research has shown for the first time that obesity directly causes electrical abnormalities of the heart.
The benefits of continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAP) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are quickly reversed when the therapy is withdrawn, according to Swiss research.
Type 2 diabetes patients, who face higher risk of cardiovascular disease, often take a combination of medications designed to lower their LDL or “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels while raising their HDL or “good” cholesterol because doctors long have thought that taken together, the drugs offer protection from heart attacks and improve survival.
Millions suffer moderate to severe leakage from their heart’s tricuspid valve, but what causes the problem is not well understood. A new study found that either dilating the valve opening or displacing the papillary muscles that control its operation can cause the valve to leak.
Low lifetime recreational activity may be a factor in peripheral arterial disease
Even though many Americans learn through community health screenings that they are at high risk for having a stroke, they rarely follow-up with their doctor for care. But a new University of Michigan study shows high-risk stroke patients are twice as likely to get follow-up care from a primary care doctor if they receive a pep talk over the telephone.
Kansas State University professor Michele Borgarelli is researching mitral valve disease, the most common acquired cardiovascular disease in dogs.
Having a sense of humor is associated with improved emotional functioning and an enhanced quality of life among patients with a chronic lung illness, but the actual act of laughing out loud can reduce lung function, at least in the short term, research suggests.
September conference focuses on interaction between key hormone and specific channels of the human kidney
As we age, it's not uncommon to lose some hearing. Of equal concern is the ability to process what we hear. According to Wichita State University audiologist Ray Hull, improving cardiovascular health appears to be the best way to help process what we hear.
A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that adults who consumed high fructose corn syrup for two weeks as 25 percent of their daily calorie requirement had increased blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which have been shown to be indicators of increased risk for heart disease.
Recent years have seen major advances in understanding of the health effects of oxidative stress—including its potential to cause injury to the cardiovascular system. A series of expert updates on the role of oxidative stress in heart failure, atherosclerosis, and other cardiovascular diseases appears in a special symposium in the August issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI).
Healthcare providers have been dispensing advice to heart failure patients about diet and exercise and for the first time researchers have found that it really works. While self-care is believed to improve heart failure outcomes, a highlight of the recent American Heart Association scientific statement on promoting heart failure self-care was the need to establish the mechanisms by which self-care may influence neurohormonal, inflammatory, and hemodynamic function.
A new evidence review finds that a modified fat diet — and not a low fat diet — might be the real key to reducing one’s risk of heart disease.
A new system to send electricity over short distances has been shown to reliably power a mechanical heart pump. The system could free patients from being tethered to a battery or external power source, lowering their chance of infection and improving their quality of life.
Heart experts at Johns Hopkins have begun testing a new device designed to replace blocked aortic valves in patients for whom traditional open-heart surgery is considered too risky, such as elderly patients and those with other serious medical conditions. The testing is part of a nationwide study to evaluate the device, which is deployed in a minimally invasive way. The first two Maryland patients to receive the device had it put in place by Johns Hopkins doctors on July 8, 2011.
Despite changes in standard treatment practice guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology several years ago, there has been no meaningful change in the nation’s practice of opening completely blocked coronary arteries with balloons and stents in the days after a heart attack, according to a new study published in the July 11, 2011, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
An estimated two billion people in the developing world heat and cook with a biomass fuel such as wood, but the practice exposes people – especially women – to large doses of small-particle air pollution, which can cause premature death and lung disease.
Lisa Lewis, PhD, RN, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, is conducting research on how spiritual vignettes might increase medication adherence among hypertensive black church members."
In an examination of the appropriateness of the widespread use of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), researchers found that of more than 500,000 PCIs included in the study, nearly all for acute indications were classified as appropriate, whereas only about half of PCIs performed for nonacute indications could be classified as appropriate, according to a study in the July 6 issue of JAMA.
Smoking cigarettes is a dangerous habit that many are struggling to break, but for the smokers who choose to use one of the most popular smoking cessation drugs on the market, new warnings about the risk of serious cardiovascular events are on their way.
Healthy, middle-aged smokers who take the most popular smoking cessation drug on the market have a 72 percent increased risk of being hospitalized with a heart attack or other serious heart problems compared to those taking a placebo, a Johns Hopkins-led study suggests.
A study by a global consortium of physician-scientists has identified a genetic variation that may predispose people to double the risk of having a sudden cardiac arrest, a disorder that gives little warning and is fatal in about 95 percent of cases. Although previous, smaller studies have identified some genes with a potential association with sudden cardiac arrest, this is the first study large enough to enable scientists to apply results to the general population.
Doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are performing a new procedure to treat atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat. Available at only a handful of U.S. medical centers, this “hybrid” procedure combines minimally invasive surgical techniques with the latest advances in catheter ablation. The two-pronged approach gives doctors access to both the inside and outside of the heart at the same time, helping to more completely block the erratic electrical signals that cause atrial fibrillation.
Heart bypass surgery is considered the gold standard for most patients with left main coronary artery disease, one of the most serious types of heart disease and one that affects thousands. But a new UCLA study reports favorable long-term outcomes for lower-risk patients with this condition who underwent angioplasty with medication-coated stents, rather than bypass surgery.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of women in the United States. Although scientists have discovered demonstrable sex differences, treatment options remain the same. In response to this important issue, the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease released the long awaited 2011 10Q Report: Advancing Women’s Heart Health through Improved Research, Diagnosis and Treatment on June 21 to a captivated audience on Capitol Hill.
University of Michigan Health System study reveals why black heart attack patients wait longer for advanced treatment after arriving at some hospital emergency rooms. The differences in care may be explained by hospital quality, rather than the race of individual patients. Black patients were much more likely to go to slow hospitals than were whites, and as a result waited six hours longer to get life-saving procedures.
National reegistry results from 11-year study presented at Vascular Annual Meeting.
At the 65th Vascular Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery®, Gilbert R. Upchurch, Jr., MD from the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, spoke about gender differences in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA’s).
Postmenopausal women, including those with atherosclerotic risk factors may see most benefit.
Loyola University Medical Center is enrolling patients in a major clinical trial of treatments for a common heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation. The study is comparing drug therapy with a newer treatment called catheter ablation.
Among Medicare patients with heart attack in 4 California counties, diversion of ambulance traffic by the nearest emergency department for 12 hours or more was associated with an increased risk of death for up to one year, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA. This study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting.
Blood viscosity can be reduced 20-30 percent by subjecting it to a small magnetic field, lowering potential damage to blood vessels and the risk of heart attack.
A national study has found that nearly 68,000 deaths potentially could be prevented each year by optimally implementing key national guideline–recommended therapies, including critical medications and cardiac devices, for all eligible heart failure patients.
A White Paper released today by the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC), of the University Health Network (UHN), has identified significant care gaps of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in Ontario, which contribute to debilitating strokes that could be prevented. As a result, the burden of AF-related stroke on patients, families and the healthcare system is significant.
A promising cancer treatment drug can restore function of a heart en route to failure from high blood pressure, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
The number of young adults in the U.S. with high blood pressure may be much higher than previously reported. A new study analyzed data on more than 14,000 people between 24 and 32 years old. Nineteen percent had elevated blood pressure. The findings illustrate how the processes that trigger serious chronic illnesses in older adults may begin early in life.
Data presented at ASH 2011 evaluate a genetic marker that may help identify high-risk patients and potential therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Data presented at ASH 2011 press briefing showcases evidence that low fitness levels and the consumption of coffee and alcohol impact blood pressure.
Data presented at ASH 2011 press briefing.
President of ASH and President of ASH Specialist Program Announce New Code and other Key Initiatives at Launch of 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition in New York City.
A new study by University of Virginia Health System researchers adds to mounting evidence that ezetimibe may not halt significant artery wall thickening, or atherosclerosis, in some patients. Despite the medication’s proven effectiveness in lowering LDL cholesterol, UVA researchers found a notable progression of atherosclerosis in patients who added ezetimibe to their pre-existing cholesterol-lowering statin medication therapy.
Despite their beneficial effects in treating heart disease, neither aspirin nor simvastatin appear to offer benefit to patients suffering from pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study conducted at four U.S. medical centers. This was the first NIH-funded randomized clinical trial (RCT) in PAH.
Despite their beneficial effects in heart disease, neither aspirin nor simvastatin appear to offer benefit to patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
In two separate studies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that how fast a middle-age person can run a mile can help predict the risk of dying of heart attack or stroke decades later for men and could be an early indicator of cardiovascular disease for women.
A new study by the VA and University of Michigan suggests that mobile phones could help low-income patients across the globe manage diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center attempting to identify the vital signs that best predict those hospitalized patients at greatest risk for cardiac arrest found that a composite index used in some hospitals to activate a rapid response team and by emergency room physicians to assess the likelihood of a patient dying was a better predictor of cardiac arrest than any single vital sign.
Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a novel treatment that stimulates the nerve that controls the diaphragm to normalize the breathing of patients who suffer from both heart failure and central sleep apnea.
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