Congestive Heart Failure News and Research

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Congestive Heart Failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump blood the way it should. In some cases, the heart can't fill with enough blood. In other cases, the heart can't send blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems. "Heart failure" doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. However, it's a serious condition that requires medical care. Heart failure develops over time as the pumping of the heart grows weaker. It can affect the right side of the heart only or both the left and right sides of the heart. Most cases involve both sides of the heart.

Sports medicine physician suggests cardiac screening for young athletes requires augmentation of existing diagnostics to achieve greater accuracy, become cost-effective

Sports medicine physician Steve Watts says cardiac screening for young athletes is useful in preventing sudden cardiac death and suggests new diagnostics have the potential to add value and change the debate about the viability of cardiac screening for young athletes in the United States.

17 Mar 2011

Hospitals with higher diagnosis frequency for chronic conditions have lower case-fatality rate

An examination of data for more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries finds that hospital regions that have a greater frequency of diagnoses have a lower case-fatality rate for chronic conditions such as coronary artery disease and kidney failure, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Mar 2011

Response Biomedical 2010 total revenues decrease to $7,610,827

Response Biomedical Corporation reported that it recorded total revenues of $7,610,827 compared to $9,946,269 in 2009 and reduced operating expenses by 13% to $9,216,257 in 2010 from $10,602,954 in 2009.

11 Mar 2011

NovaShunt raises Series B financing for CHF 23.7 million

NovaShunt AG, a private Swiss medical device company with innovative fluid management technologies, announced today that it has raised CHF 23.7 million in a Series B preferred share financing round co-led by BioMedInvest AG, Entrepreneurs Fund and Capricorn Health-tech Fund.

9 Mar 2011

State roundup: Mass. effort to manage care for chronically ill; promoting organ donations

For a glimpse of the future of Massachusetts health care as Gov. Deval Patrick envisions it, consider Phyllis Minsky. At 82, Phyllis is complex. Medically, that is. ... Older patients with multiple chronic diseases are the biggest consumers of health care; some 15 percent of Medicare patients make up over 75 percent of health care spending.

8 Mar 2011

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy perform robotic-assisted maze procedure to correct atrial fibrillation

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy have performed Michigan's first minimally invasive robotic procedure to correct atrial fibrillation, a prevalent and growing heart rhythm disorder. The new robotic maze procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery. It's performed through tiny, keyhole incisions with fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay.

4 Mar 2011

Geron's hESC derived GRNCM1 halts remodeling process and preserves cardiac function in acute heart damage

Geron Corporation today announced preclinical study data showing positive effects of GRNCM1, Geron's cardiomyocyte product derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), in a small animal model of acute heart damage. Administering GRNCM1 by injection into the heart resulted in greater resistance to induced arrhythmias, halted adverse cardiac remodeling and preserved mechanical function compared to controls.

2 Mar 2011

Routine blood test can reduce hospital readmissions in patients with heart failure

An inexpensive, routine blood test could hold the key to why some patients with congestive heart failure do well after being discharged from the hospital and why others risk relapse, costly readmission or death within a year, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

1 Mar 2011

Dizziness, nausea and achiness are symptoms of heart attack in females

Dizziness, nausea and achiness – no, these are not symptoms of the flu but signs of a heart attack in females. While heart attacks affect both men and women, the symptoms of a heart attack are surprisingly different between the genders. Virginia Health Information (VHI) this week released its Cardiac Care Report which provides consumers information comparing heart healthcare in Virginia. This year's report reveals women undergoing open heart surgery continued a five year trend of higher than expected readmission rates.

25 Feb 2011

Genentech granted FDA hearing on Avastin for metastatic breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a hearing to allow the company the opportunity to present its views on why Avastin® (bevacizumab) should remain FDA-approved for metastatic breast cancer (mBC). The FDA has scheduled the hearing for June 28 to 29, 2011.

25 Feb 2011

Study finds link between fasting serum glucose levels and in-hospital mortality in elderly non-diabetic patients

A two-country hospital study of 808 elderly patients found a strong association between high, undiagnosed blood glucose in non-diabetic patients and increased hospital death rates, according to the March issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

24 Feb 2011

Researchers find endothelial dysfunction can predict risk of coronary heart disease

A new study from the Libin Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine is shedding light on an underlying cause of heart disease.

22 Feb 2011

Investigational heart valve implanted in patient through small puncture hole in leg

Physicians at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston implanted a new investigational heart valve in a patient through a small puncture hole in the leg.

21 Feb 2011

Research roundup: Racial disparities in hospital readmissions; evaluating home oxygen costs; Medicare funding hurdles

Thirty-Day Readmission Rates For Medicare Beneficiaries By Race And Site of Care - Using national Medicare data on 30-day readmissions after hospitalizations for heart attack, congestive heart failure and pneumonia, the authors report that "black patients had 13% higher odds of all-cause 30-day readmission than white patients.

19 Feb 2011

Racial disparities in readmissions related to both patient race and site of care

Elderly Medicare black patients have a higher 30-day hospital readmission rate for several conditions including congestive heart failure and pneumonia compared to white patients, that is related in part to higher readmission rates among hospitals that disproportionately care for black patients, according to a study in the February 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Feb 2011

Sanofi-Aventis, Boehringer, World Heart Federation collaborate to raise awareness about AF

The World Heart Federation, sanofi-aventis and Boehringer Ingelheim have announced their collaboration on the AF AWARE campaign today, to raise awareness of atrial fibrillation (AF) and its links to severe consequences including cardiovascular mortality, stroke and CV hospitalizations.

16 Feb 2011

Heavy alcohol intake can lead to increased risk of AF

Atrial Fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Its name comes from the fibrillating of the heart muscles of the atria, instead of a coordinated contraction. The result is an irregular heartbeat, which may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to weeks, or it could occur all the time for years. Atrial fibrillation alone is not in itself generally life-threatening, but it may result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure.

14 Feb 2011