Feature Channels: Heart Disease

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Each cell in the average human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, with four telomeres on each pair. Telomeres cover the end of the chromosome, protecting it from deterioration or fusion with adjacent chromosomes. While there is a length range for classifying a healthy telomere, researchers found, for the first time ever, that people with heart failure have shorter telomeres within the cells that make up the heart muscle (known as cardiomyocytes). A team of researchers from Penn Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Connecticut, published their findings today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, building on a methods paper which was published recently in Nature Protocols.

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Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent a “cloud” of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who likely breathed in the ash and fumes are showing early signs of risk for future heart disease.

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The grant provides support for an innovative clinical trial that seeks to compare outcomes for young patients with newly diagnosed severe aplastic anemia – comparing the use of unrelated-donor blood and marrow transplant to immune suppression therapy.

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Again and again, it’s the rare among humans that help the rest of us. The exploration of human genetics is revealing new targets to combat heart disease among atypical variants. Mutations in genes that play a role in heart health are the inspiration for a cluster of new heart drugs.

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A form of the fatty acid-derived bioactive molecule called lipoxin improved heart function after a heart attack, as the lipoxin prompted early activation of the resolving phase of the immune response in mice without altering the acute phase.

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A synthetic version of low molecular weight heparin is poised for clinical trials and development as a drug for patients with clotting disorders, and those undergoing procedures such as kidney dialysis, heart bypass surgery, stent implantation, and knee and hip replacement.

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The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research today announces that Dr. Raymond Kim is its newest scientific lead, guiding efforts at the country’s only clinic devoted to cardiac genomics.

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Two new studies led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggest that the bevy of tools available to assess and address childhood adversity and trauma, as well as the interconnected webs of relationships among families and the providers who care for children, are key to healing the effects of these potentially life-altering circumstances.

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Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has become a global epidemic affecting more than 380 million people worldwide; yet there are knowledge gaps in understanding the etiology of type-2 diabetes. T2D is also a significant risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), but the biological pathways that explain the connection have remained somewhat murky. Now, in a large analysis of genetic data, published on August 28, 2017 in Nature Genetics, a team, led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has first looked into what causes T2D and second clarified how T2D and CHD – the two diseases that are the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, are linked.

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Changing from scheduled appointments to an "open gym" format can reduce waiting times for cardiac rehabilitation, reports a study in the September/October issue of Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Biomedical engineering researchers at Case Western Reserve University are refining more than 15 years of work on an electrical nerve-block implant, focusing their next step on new applications related to treating asthma and heart failure.

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Compared to people who live in predominantly white neighborhoods, those who live in predominantly black areas are much less likely to receive CPR or defibrillation from a bystander when their heart suddenly stops beating while they are at home or out in the community.

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Research with more than 135,000 people across five continents has shown that a diet which includes a moderate intake of fat and fruits and vegetables, and avoidance of high carbohydrates, is associated with lower risk of death.

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Statins are highly effective for preventing heart attacks by reducing low-density lipoprotein or “bad” cholesterol. However, 10 to 20 percent of patients taking statins report muscle-related symptoms including aches, pains and cramps that prevent the use of recommended doses. Patients who have difficulty taking statins have a high risk of cardiovascular events, resulting in higher health care costs. To address these concerns, Mount Sinai researchers are providing approaches to optimize cardiovascular risk reduction for these patients. The findings will be published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday, August 28, at 2 pm.

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A new study shows radiofrequency catheter ablation lowered hospitalization and mortality rates by 47 and 44 percent respectively in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a contributing factor to heart failure.

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A major international study has found that the combination of two drugs – rivaroxaban and aspirin -- is superior to aspirin alone in preventing further heart complications in people with vascular disease.

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Researchers successfully used a gene that suppresses cholesterol levels as part of a treatment to reduce plaque in mice with a disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia. In a preclinical study, researchers found that the gene, LeXis, lowered cholesterol and blockages in the arteries, and the treatment appeared to reduce the build-up of fat in liver cells.

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By fleshing out how one signaling receptor contributes to causing obesity through its activity in fatty tissue but not in muscle cells, SBP scientists have zeroed in on an important new avenue of exploration for combating metabolic disease. More than one-third of American adults are considered to be obese, which dramatically increases their risk for developing type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, and multiple inflammatory conditions.

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Biomedical engineering researchers will attack two banes of cardiovascular disease — heart failure after heart attacks and the scourge of resistant high blood pressure — with $4.8 million in National Institutes of Health grants that begin this fall.

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Two studies provide additional support for lowering systolic blood pressure to an intensive goal of 120 mmHg – far below the standard guidelines of 140 mmHg – to reduce the risk of heart disease in high-risk patients with hypertension. The new research shows that intensive blood pressure control is well-tolerated by patients and is cost-effective in terms of health-related quality of life and financial costs to the healthcare system, and appears online in NEJM on Aug. 24.

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Four University of Utah Health researchers will present their research and clinical trial findings, as well as engage in critical discussions around cardiovascular medicine at the 2017 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

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The first new national guidelines since 2004 on identifying and treating high blood pressure in children and adolescents (aged 3-18 years old) have been published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which convened a panel of experts to produce the new recommendations. The AAP report, Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents, offers a series of evidence-based recommendations for pediatricians derived from a comprehensive review of nearly 15,000 medical studies published since 2004.

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Jersey Shore University Medical Center is first hospital in region to perform cutting-edge surgery; innovative procedure is revolutionizing cardiac and vascular operations, delivering safer and less invasive surgeries

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Id genes play surprise role in cardiac development

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A new Michigan State University study on 240 emergency room patients shows just how much of a role a person’s cholesterol plays, when in a crystallized state, during a heart attack.

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Dr. Seth Worley has joined MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute’s Cardiac Electrophysiology Program as a senior consultant. A renowned expert in cardiac resynchronization therapy, Dr. Worley has personally developed tools and techniques designed to facilitate and optimize left ventricular (LV) lead implantation.

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A new University of Michigan study finds slightly more than half of heart patients are admitted to the CICU for noncardiac conditions, such as sepsis or renal failure, rather than for a heart condition.

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A new clinical trial led by investigators at NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Weill Cornell Medicine aims to identify and treat what may be a common underlying cause of recurrent strokes.

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Researchers report encouraging preclinical results as they pursue elusive therapies that can repair scarred and poorly functioning heart tissues after cardiac injury. Scientists from the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute inhibited a protein that helps regulate the heart’s response to adrenaline, alleviating the disease processes in mouse models and human cardiac cells. Their data publishes Aug. 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic have compiled peer-reviewed evidence and crafted a guideline designed to help physicians and medical centers stop the use of a widely ordered blood test that adds no value in evaluating patients with suspected heart attack.

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Cardiac stem cell infusions could someday help reverse the aging process in the human heart, making older ones behave younger, according to a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

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During the “Novel Implications for Blood Flow and Vascular Dysfunction in Non-cardiovascular Related Disease” symposium at the APS Cardiovascular Aging: New Frontiers and Old Friends conference, researchers will present findings that emphasize the interaction between age-related cardiovascular dysfunction and disease whose risk increases with age.

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A new study suggests that a single exposure to e-cigarette (e-cig) vapor may be enough to impair vascular function. Researchers from West Virginia University will present findings today at the Cardiovascular Aging: New Frontiers and Old Friends meeting in Westminster, Colo.

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High physical fitness is known to be related to enhanced blood vessel dilation and blood flow (endothelial function) in aging men. However, for women, endothelial function and the effect of exercise may be related more to menopausal status than fitness.

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Automatic blood pressure devices are often used to assess blood pressure levels at home and in the clinic. But these devices are prone to significant errors, sometimes leading to the prescription of blood pressure-lowering medications to patients who don’t actually need them. Israeli researchers have developed a method to more accurately measure systolic blood pressure. They will present their findings at the Cardiovascular Aging: New Frontiers and Old Friends conference in Westminster, Colo.

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Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. and growing older is the greatest—and most inevitable—risk factor for it. So what, if anything, can we do to keep our hearts and arteries as healthy as possible for as long as possible? Keynote speaker Douglas Seals, PhD, of the University of Colorado Boulder, will lay the groundwork of what we know and the promising research that could combat cardiovascular aging in his presentation “Strategies for Optimal Cardiovascular Aging.” Seals will present his lecture at the Cardiovascular Aging: New Frontiers and Old Friends conference in Westminster, Colo.

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• Investigators observed a step-wise increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation with decreasing kidney function. Compared with patients without kidney disease, those with severe kidney disease had a two-fold higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation. • This link held even after accounting for a range of possible contributors, including measures of cardiovascular health, and it was consistent across subgroups of participants.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of nine centers across the United States to participate in the EXPAND Heart Pivotal Trial, which has the potential to change the way donor hearts are preserved and transported to recipients.

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A team of researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) at Lake Nona, Fla. and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. have been awarded a three-year National Institutes of Health(NIH) grant which aims to identify molecules that could become new medicines to inhibit myocardial fibrosis. Fibrosis is a major contributor to heart failure, for which there is no known cure.

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Join our virtual press briefing on August 10 at 11 am ET to hear from these organizations about new research, stories of successful programs in communities, and experts who can speak to the need to ensure all children have access to nutritious food and safe places to be physically active.

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Patients without calcium buildup in the coronary arteries had significantly lower risk of future heart attack or stroke despite other high risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or bad cholesterol levels, new research from UT Southwestern cardiologists shows.

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Mayo Clinic was again named the best hospital in the country in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of top hospitals published on the U.S. News & World Report website today.

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Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel and Ocean Medical Center in Brick have received the American College of Cardiology's NCDR ACTION Registry - Get with the Guidelines Platinum Achievement Award for outstanding care for cardiac patients.

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A woman’s race and where on her body she packs on pounds at midlife could give her doctor valuable clues to her likelihood of having greater volumes of heart fat, a potential risk factor for heart disease, according to new research led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

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Heart failure can quickly develop or become worse during a hospital stay, even when it isn’t the primary cause for admission. Hospitals and clinicians must be diligent to identify patients at risk for secondary heart failure as they aim to improve outcomes, contain costs and prevent readmissions, according to an article in Critical Care Nurse.

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A new study published in the HSS Journal by HSS anesthesiologist Michael K. Urban, MD, PhD, sheds light on reducing cardiac complications in orthopedic surgery.

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A study by researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and published in JACC: Heart Failure, a journal of the American College of Cardiology Foundation, allays concerns among cardiologists that aspirin could increase the risk of hospitalization and death related to heart failure for patients with heart failure who take one of the first-line therapies: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs).

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A nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon and researcher, Vinod Thourani, MD, will join MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute as the chairman of Cardiac Surgery, effective August 14. Dr. Thourani brings with him extensive expertise in structural heart disease and valve surgery.

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Press can register here to livestream this special session through Newswise Live on Monday, July 31 at 7:30 PM EDT