Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Abdominal fat more significant than overall weight in exercise-induced shortness of breath

When it comes to being short of breath during exercise, how fat is distributed on the body is a more significant factor than overall body fatness or lung function

7 Apr 2006

Specific gene that could be responsible for metabolic diseases

We are all familiar with the dangers of too much fat in our diet--increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are just a few of the most severe consequences.

7 Apr 2006

Starvation activates MAP Kinase through the muscarinic acetylcholine pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx

New evidence in Cell Metabolism reveals a molecular mechanism that may play a general role in animals' ability to respond appropriately when starved.

7 Apr 2006

Discovery of a new mechanism for the neurodegenerative effects of amphetamines

University of Toronto study finds amphetamines are converted in the brain into free radicals whose effects manifest and linger long after the amphetamine has left the body.

7 Apr 2006

Caenorhabditis elegans helps unravel mechanisms of hunger

In research that may have implications for studying eating disorders in humans, a worm the size of a pinhead is helping researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center unravel the mechanisms of hunger.

6 Apr 2006

Researchers aim to develop instrument to help physicians estimate risk for developing lung cancer

Physicians have little to help them predict development of lung cancer in their patients - even a history of heavy smoking doesn't really help, since only a small fraction of lifetime smokers develops the cancer.

6 Apr 2006

Researchers identify potential targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

Studying mice, pain researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified two key components in the pain cascade that may provide targets for more effective analgesic drugs with potentially fewer side effects

6 Apr 2006

First artificial heart implant on the East Coast

A cardiac surgery team at Virginia Commonwealth University's Pauley Heart Center has performed the first artificial heart implant on the East Coast. The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart, or TAH-t, is the only total artificial heart approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

6 Apr 2006

Inflammation cuts both ways

Inflammation cuts both ways. When invaded by an infectious agent, for example, the body calls on the forces of inflammation to fight and defeat the intruder.

6 Apr 2006

Healthy lifestyle changes reduce high blood pressure

Men and women with elevated blood pressure who make healthy lifestyle changes and sustain them for up to a year and a half can substantially reduce their rates of high blood pressure and potentially decrease their heart disease risk.

6 Apr 2006

Folic acid may be added to all bread in Britain

The Food Standards Agency in the UK is recommending the addition of the vitamin folic acid to all flour and bread on sale in Britain within the next year.

5 Apr 2006

Staggering costs of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation on the nation

According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, which adversely affects daily functioning, health and longevity.

5 Apr 2006

Menopause linked with the onset of depression

Two new studies say women with no history of depression may be at an increased risk of depressive symptoms and disorders as they enter menopause.

5 Apr 2006

Sticking to lifestyle changes will reduce high blood pressure risk

It has been suggested for sometime by a range of research studies that lifestyle changes, such as exercising to lose weight and following a healthy diet, are possibly as important as drugs for treating chronic diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.

5 Apr 2006

Study questions health benefits of moderate drinking

Previous analyses did not account for effects of age and illness that may make abstainer groups appear to have higher death rates than drinkers.

4 Apr 2006

Celebrex appears to prevent colon cancer

Researchers say they have found that high doses of the arthritis drug Celebrex reduced the number of pre-cancerous growths in the colon.

4 Apr 2006

Vegetarian diets most effective for weight loss

According to a new review, a vegetarian diet is very effective for weight loss and vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to obesity.

4 Apr 2006

Prostate drug doxazosin blocks receptor in heart muscle, increasing risk of heart failure

Doxazosin, a drug commonly prescribed to help improve urinary flow in men with enlarged prostates, increases the likelihood of heart failure by blocking specific receptors in heart muscle cells, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

4 Apr 2006

Fish oil significantly reduces production of various prostaglandins that accentuate inflammation and thrombosis

Omega 3 fatty acids in dietary fish oil are reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombogenic and anti-arrhythmic effects in humans, but the biochemical basis for these beneficial health effects is not well understood.

4 Apr 2006

Genetic clues to longevity

In a new study, Drs. Gil Atzmon and Nir Barzilai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that people harbor alleles--alternative forms of a gene--that confer the same sort of longevity advantage.

4 Apr 2006