Feature Channels: Cardiovascular Health

• share
• favorite_border

An ultrafast, 320-detector computed tomography (CT) scanner that shows both anatomy within coronary arteries and blood flowcan accurately sort out which people need – or don’t need – an invasive procedure to identify coronary blockages, according to an international study. The researchers say their findings could potentially save millions of people worldwide from having an unnecessary cardiac catheterization.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers from the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported the long-term benefits of a single dose of their gene therapy AAV1/SERCA2a in advanced heart failure patients on Nov. 19 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2013.

• share
• favorite_border

For years, doctors have been divided on how effective annual testing and screenings are for apparently healthy individuals. New research, however, shows that a simple blood test may predict who is at highest risk to develop heart problems – and how long these people may have to live.

• share
• favorite_border

Isoforms of PDE3A enzyme might make targets for drugs that prevent SDC while still helping the heart pump blood

• share
• favorite_border

A targeted effort to help high-risk heart failure patients stay on their medications did improve adherence to drug regimens, but had surprisingly little effect lowering hospital readmission rates, according to a study at Duke Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers report for the first time evidence on whether or not there is any significant difference between the two current surgical approaches to treat patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation -- mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement.

• share
• favorite_border

Two drugs tested in a larger trial did not improve kidney function in acute heart failure patients, contrary to results of smaller studies. The results were presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2013 in Dallas and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Previous smaller studies showed that low-dose dopamine or low-dose nesiritide could improve kidney function and reduce fluid overload that is often present in hospitalized acute heart failure patients by increasing urine production.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers show end-stage heart failure patients who receive a surgically implanted left ventricular assist device (LVAD) heart pump may also benefit from a single dose of millions of powerful cells injected directly into their heart during surgery.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have discovered a link between elevated red cell distribution width levels and depression in patients being treated for heart disease. This new discovery can help physicians provide earlier diagnosis and treatment for possible depression in heart patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Data from a national registry developed to track patient safety and real-world outcomes finds that the initial use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for treatment of aortic stenosis in high surgical risk and inoperable patients in the United States is safe and effective.

• share
• favorite_border

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a more accurate way to calculate low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the so-called “bad” form of blood fat that can lead to hardening of the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. If confirmed and adopted by medical laboratories that routinely calculate blood cholesterol for patients, the researchers say their formula would give patients and their doctors a much more accurate assessment of LDL cholesterol.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a simple way to further predict a diabetic patient’s risk for heart disease: by measuring their body mass index or BMI.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study highlights the importance of exercise and physical fitness among people with stable coronary artery disease. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Henry Ford Hospital found that higher levels of physical fitness lower the risk of having heart attacks and increase survival in those with coronary artery disease, whether or not they have had a procedure to open up their blocked arteries.

• share
• favorite_border

Despite nearly universal awareness of report cards on risk-adjusted mortality rates of individual cardiac surgeons, cardiologists in New York State do not use these reports when making patient referral decisions.

• share
• favorite_border

The reality of existing insurance coverage precludes effective implementation of four newly released cardiovascular guidelines from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The Academy supports the new guidelines and urges public and private insurance carriers to follow the recommendations so that Americans will have access to health care they deserve.

• share
• favorite_border

New cholesterol guidelines for identifying adults at risk for heart disease represent the biggest change in such expert advice in more than 25 years, and could dramatically affect how patients are treated.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have successfully tested a powerful gene therapy, delivered directly into the heart, to reverse heart failure in large animal models.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA researchers report that tiny amounts of a specific type of lipid in the small intestine may play a greater role than previously thought in generating the high cholesterol levels and inflammation that lead to clogged arteries. The team also found they could reduce the negative effects of these lipids in mice by feeding the animals a new genetically engineered tomato being developed at UCLA that is designed to mimic HDL (“good”) cholesterol. The study, in the December issue of the Journal of Lipid Research with an accompanying editorial, focused on a group of lipids found in the small intestine called unsaturated lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs).

• share
• favorite_border

A minimally invasive procedure is the first effective treatment for patients who are high risk for standard open heart surgery for a leaking heart valve, a study led by a University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher has found.

• share
• favorite_border

New research from the Cleveland Clinic shows most patients with diabetes and obesity who undergo gastric bypass not only experience remission of their diabetes and lose significant weight, but they also reduce their risk of having a heart attack by 40 percent and their risk for suffering a stroke by 42 percent, over a 10-year time horizon.

• share
• favorite_border

Experts from Houston Methodist Hospital address the recent FDA proposal to eliminate trans fat from the food supply.

• share
• favorite_border

Men taking testosterone therapy had a 29 percent greater risk of death, heart attack and stroke according to a study of a "real world" population of men. An accompanying editorial in JAMA by an endocrinologist with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania notes that the mounting evidence of a signal of cardiovascular risk warrants cautious testosterone prescribing and additional investigation.

• share
• favorite_border

Doctors have known for years that atrial fibrillation (AF), or irregular heartbeat, increases the risk for stroke, but now researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have shown that it also increases the risk for heart attack. In fact, for women and African Americans, it more than doubles the risk.

• share
• favorite_border

Current medical guidelines use a one-size-fits-all treatment approach that leads to some patients being on too many medications and others being on too little.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

A multi-center team led by James Langabeer II, Ph.D., of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has published a first-of-its-kind study in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) that examines unequal growth in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centers relative to population and heart attack prevalence across the United States.

• share
• favorite_border

Although an irregular heartbeat is a common malady in the United States, affecting an estimated 5 million people, the treatments for it are limited in scope and effectiveness. Now, Igor Efimov, PhD, at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying a new potential treatment that may be much more effective and less painful for patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Rheumatoid arthritis patients who use tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (called Anti-TNFs) to control their disease-related inflammation also have a decreased risk for heart attacks, according to research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

• share
• favorite_border

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has joined a national network funded by the National Institutes of Health to streamline multi-site clinical trials focused on key interventions in stroke prevention, treatment and recovery. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Stroke Trials Network will include up to 25 academic medical centers and aims to increase efficiency and resource sharing within cerebrovascular clinical research.

• share
• favorite_border

New research has shown that chest compressions only can be an effective method of delivering CPR to people in need. Find out how one man was able to save his father after to a heart attack. To learn more, visit www.VanderbiltHeart.com

• share
• favorite_border

There is an association between the influenza virus and cardiovascular events like heart disease and stroke; those with cardiovascular disease should protect themselves against the flu.

• share
• favorite_border

The flu vaccine may not only ward off serious complications from influenza, it may also reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than 50 per cent among those who have had a heart attack, according to new research led by Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital and clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

The survival rate for individuals who experience a sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is a mere five percent. Time is crucial. Chances of survival drop by 10 percent for every minute that passes without someone performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

• share
• favorite_border

The incidence of chronic pain following cardiac surgery can be reduced in patients when the drug pregabalin is used before surgery and for 14 days post-surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. The study also found that patients at risk of developing long-term post-operative persistent pain can be predicted by conducting pain sensitivity tests at the time of surgery.

• share
• favorite_border

Long-term memory loss, difficulty understanding verbal or written communication or impaired ability to pay attention may still occur five years after heart surgery if a patient has a certain gene variation, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. This gene was found to be related to a decline in cognitive capabilities compared to those who do not have the variation.

• share
• favorite_border

Mitochondria are the power plants of cells, manufacturing fuel so a cell can perform its many tasks. These cellular power plants also are well known for their role in cell suicide. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Padua-Dulbecco Telethon Institute in Italy have shown that mitochondria remarkably also orchestrate events that determine a cell’s future, at least in the embryonic mouse heart. The new study identifies new potential genetic culprits in the origins of some congenital heart defects.

• share
• favorite_border

A study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that the association between body fat and mortality due to cardiovascular disease differs between south and east Asians, a finding that has important implications for global health recommendations. Cardiovascular disease, a condition in which arteries thicken and restrict blood flow, kills more than 17 million people annually, making it the leading cause of death worldwide.

• share
• favorite_border

Early treatment of heart attack patients with an inexpensive beta-blocker drug called metoprolol, while in transit to the hospital, can significantly reduce damage to the heart during a myocardial infarction, according to clinical trial study results published Oct. 1 in the journal Circulation.

• share
• favorite_border

Just 21 days of following a low-sodium DASH diet lowered blood pressure and improved heart function for older adults living with a common type of heart failure.

• share
• favorite_border

Men who have low testosterone levels may have a slightly elevated risk of developing or dying from heart disease, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

• share
• favorite_border

University at Buffalo translational researchers are developing a richer understanding of atherosclerosis in humans, revealing a key role for stem cells that promote inflammation.

• share
• favorite_border

Post-menopausal women whose doctors prescribe hormone replacement therapy for severe hot flashes and other menopause symptoms may want to consider taking low doses of Food and Drug Administration-approved bioidentical forms of estrogen or getting their hormones via a transdermal patch. A new observational study shows bioidentical hormones in transdermal patches may be associated with a lower risk of heart attack and FDA-approved products -- not compounded hormones -- may be associated with a slightly lower risk of stroke compared to synthetic hormones in pill form.

• share
• favorite_border

Case Western Reserve University is part of a landmark study that has discovered four novel gene variations associated with blood pressure.

• share
• favorite_border

Heart attack deaths have remained the same, even as hospital teams have gotten faster at treating heart attack patients with emergency angioplasty, according to a study in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

A global study has found that many patients don’t know they have hypertension and, even if they do, too few are receiving adequate drug therapy for their hypertension.

• share
• favorite_border

A new world-wide pooled analysis, presented by researchers from The Mount Sinai Medical Center at the ESC Congress 2013 in Amsterdam, organized by the European Society of Cardiology, provides strong evidence that stents work well in women. Their examination of 26 randomized stent studies that enrolled 11,557 women concluded that women benefit just as much from stents as men do.

• share
• favorite_border

Over 200 patients who completed the Singapore Heart Foundation’s Heart Wellness Programme demonstrated improvements in cardiac risk factors.

• share
• favorite_border

The international research team found risk factors for cardiovascular disease was lowest in low income countries, intermediate in middle income countries and highest in high income countries. However, the incidence of serious cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and deaths followed the opposite pattern: highest in the low income countries, intermediate in middle income countries and lowest in high income countries. Hospitalizations for less severe cardiovascular diseases were highest in the high income countries.

• share
• favorite_border

Lead study investigators from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai presented their Patterns of Non-Adherence to Anti-Platelet Regimens in Stented Patients (PARIS) study findings at the ESC Congress 2013 in Amsterdam organized by the European Society of Cardiology. Their new study results show among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stents, the risk of cardiovascular complications after stopping dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is highly variable depending on the context, and some patients experience no complications at all.