Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Blood pressure control suggests new approach to hypertension therapy

The kidneys have long been known to play a major role in many cases of high blood pressure, but a new study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center reveals that the body's control of blood pressure depends as much on other organs in the body.

3 Apr 2005

Being a couch potatoe may run in family

So, you don’t like to exercise? Maybe you could blame it on your great-great-grandparents. Similarly, if you’re a practiced and proud couch potato who suddenly woke up to the fact that you’re a “natural” athlete, the credit could also belong to your genes.

3 Apr 2005

Airway inflammation boosts infarction damage

Epidemiological studies show that the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications are increased in long standing cases of asthma. Historically, the complications are often attributed to the chronic drug therapy used to treat asthma.

3 Apr 2005

Alcoholism reduces male heart muscle’s ability to synthesize protein

The fact that men and women react differently to alcohol consumption and addiction, health and behavior risks, disease and death is well known and accepted. Women get drunker faster on less alcohol than men, but fewer women drink either occasionally or heavily, and men are more likely to become dependent on alcohol.

3 Apr 2005

Moderate aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular and nervous system function in HIV+ subjects

Researchers from Teachers College, Columbia University, and Coler Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility report that moderate aerobic exercise for 10 weeks, three times a week for 45 minutes each session significantly improved function of the nervous system and circulation in those with HIV disease.

3 Apr 2005

Study of Anoxia could yield better anesthetics, stroke/heart attack recovery

For a human, mere minutes without oxygen (called anoxia) resulting from cardiac arrest, cerebral stroke or being trapped under water can lead to profound tissue damage and even death. However a Western painted turtle can survive anoxia for months without apparent tissue damage. Why, and how?

3 Apr 2005

Statins, other cholesterol-depleting agents, may disrupt hypertension from developing

Cholesterol-lowering agents, such as the widely-prescribed statin drugs, and cholesterol-blocking agents may prove to be “novel therapeutic agents to modify cellular calcium that contributes to the development of pulmonary hypertension,” according Hemal H. Patel who lead a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

3 Apr 2005

Cranberry juice may help protect against heart disease

Protection against a wide variety of diseases is among the many benefits of a diet high in whole fruits and vegetables. Cranberries over the years have been identified with preventing or ameliorating urinary tract infections and playing a positive role gum disease, ulcers and even cancer.

3 Apr 2005

Simvastatin linked to protection against endothelial dysfunction in diabetic rats

Almost two years ago, the diabetes arm of the Heart Protection Study, the largest-ever study using a cholesterol-lowering medication, found that diabetics who took a daily dose of the statin drug simvastatin over five years reduced the risk of a first nonlethal heart attack by 37 percent and risk of a first nonfatal or fatal stroke by 24 percent, regardless of their cholesterol or glucose levels.

3 Apr 2005

Garlic protects against severe chronic pulmonary hypertension

Small daily doses of allicin, the active metabolic in garlic, proved effective in preventing a severe form of pulmonary hypertension in rats

3 Apr 2005

Novel protein marker for early diagnosis of kidney failure

Researchers have found a novel protein marker that can give a rapid and early diagnosis of kidney failure in children undergoing heart surgery, reporting their results in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

3 Apr 2005

The facts on prenatal care

The nine months of pregnancy come complete with a rich folklore, from guessing at a baby’s sex by the expectant mother’s shape to home remedies for morning sickness. Along with these ageless stories and advice, women also face a variety of recommendations from the modern world of medicine on how best to take care of themselves during pregnancy.

3 Apr 2005

Aspirin safer than Warfarin for treating blocked arteries

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have shown for the first time that aspirin works as well as warfarin in reducing blood clotting. Until now doctors have lacked good evidence for choosing one therapy over the other.

30 Mar 2005

Parents drugs, alcohol and tobacco use harm their children's futures

A white paper - Family Matters: Substance Abuse and the American Family - released by The National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, says parents who use illegal drugs, abuse alcohol and use tobacco put half the nation's children - more than 35 million of them - at greater risk of substance abuse and of physical and mental illnesses.

30 Mar 2005

Electroacupuncture can lower blood pressure

Dr. John C. Longhurst, director of the Susan Samueli Centre for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine ,and researchers, have found that acupuncture using low levels of electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent.

30 Mar 2005

Mesoblast moves towards adult stem cell human trials

Exciting Australian adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Limited, today announced that it is set to begin the first human clinical trials using its specialist adult stem cells for orthopaedic and cardiovascular diseases.

30 Mar 2005

Discovery could lead to new drug targets for heart disease

Mice with glowing green hearts have yielded the latest clue in the search for molecules involved in structural heart disease. Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators found that blocking the activity of a single protein, called CaM kinase, in the mouse heart protects against the damaging effects of a heart attack.

30 Mar 2005

Finding opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects

In a finding that opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects, researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute report that changes in brain activity prior to treatment with antidepressants can flag patient vulnerability.

30 Mar 2005

Hemodialysis causes antioxidant loss leading to long-term complications

An article published in Hemodialysis International discusses the role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients, an imbalance which can result in long-term health problems. Potential therapeutic options to restore balance in patients are also reviewed.

30 Mar 2005

High-rise homes have the highest levels of cockroach allergens

Roaches like to live high in the sky in places like Chicago, New York City and the Bronx, according to a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study, conducted by an allergist affiliated with Children's Medical Center Dallas, found high-rise homes in Northeastern cities had the highest levels of cockroach allergens -- leading to a higher incidence of asthmatic episodes.

30 Mar 2005