Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Treatment of cardiac lesions without anaesthesic

Navarre University Hospital has introduced a novel technique for the treatment of congenital heart defects and involving the percutaneous closure of the patent foramen ovale (PFO) with monitoring through intracavernous ecography.

23 Mar 2005

How does the body keep the number of neutrophils produced constant in the blood?

Every day, the human body manufactures and destroys about 100 billion neutrophils- the most common type of white blood cell and one of the most highly-produced cells. Neutrophils live about eight hours, are bacteria-eaters and are a key component of the immune system. Without them, the body can be subject to life-threatening infection.

23 Mar 2005

You're never too old to quit smoking

According to US Government officials you're never to old to quit smoking, announcing that Medicare will immediately start covering the cost of counselling for certain beneficiaries who want to quit tobacco.

22 Mar 2005

Pomegranate juice helps keep fatty deposits from collecting on artery walls

A study in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by Italian and American scientists reports that pomegranate juice helped keep fatty deposits from collecting on artery walls in mice, and kept human heart cells healthier. The mice were specially bred to have high cholesterol and on human heart cells in culture.

22 Mar 2005

Doctors raise concern about heart drug Nesiritide

Doctors raise concern about heart drug. The heart drug Nesiritide (Natrecor) is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of decompensated heart failure, the most common reason for hospitalization for those over 65 years of age.

22 Mar 2005

No serious adverse events found with next-generation smallpox vaccine

Interim data from a phase I/II clinical trial of a next-generation vaccine for smallpox suggest that the vaccine may provide immunity and thus far the trial has been without any serious adverse events.

22 Mar 2005

Support for the use of low-dose aspirin therapy in preventing and treating pre-eclampsia

A new study led by Queen’s University researcher Colin Funk provides indirect support for the use of low-dose aspirin therapy in preventing and treating pre-eclampsia – a pregnancy disorder that is often harmful to both mother and fetus.

22 Mar 2005

Alcohol relapse adversely affects liver transplant survival

A new study on how alcohol relapse affects survival rates after liver transplants found that it adversely affected survival rates only after 10 years. The decrease in survival rates may, however, be due to other alcohol-related diseases.

22 Mar 2005

Link between high cholesterol and better memory

What's bad for your ticker may be good for your bean, according to a research from a team of scientists at Boston University.

22 Mar 2005

Physical exertion and emotional stress can trigger heart attacks in people with a history of heart disease

Authors Philip Strike and Andrew Steptoe of University College London point out that the triggers for heart attacks may be quite different from the factors that lead to development of coronary heart disease over the long term, such as cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, work stress, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

22 Mar 2005

Bush intervenes in Terri Schiavo case

Terri Schiavo, has been in a permanent vegetative state which is far more severe than a coma, since she had a heart attack in 1990 that deprived her brain of oxygen.

21 Mar 2005

Compound found in broccoli is a powerful disease fighter

More than 300 scientific studies point to an antioxidant found in broccoli sprouts, sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), as a factor in preventing multiple diseases, including several types of cancer, high blood pressure, macular degeneration and stomach ulcers.

21 Mar 2005

Drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart

A review article of the latest studies looking at red wine and cardiovascular health shows drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart, according to a Yale School of Medicine researcher in the Journal of American College of Surgeons.

21 Mar 2005

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature, and do not account for potential unintended consequences, according to a commentary by Yale researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

21 Mar 2005

$3.2 million for two shock-related studies

A Virginia Commonwealth University research group has been awarded $3.2 million in federal grants for two shock-related studies, one with battlefield implications and the other for emergency medicine.

21 Mar 2005

Rapid rise in obesity may reverse life expectancy trend

It's been assumed that U.S. life expectancy would rise indefinitely, but a new data analysis, published as a special report in the March 17 New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that this trend is about to reverse itself -- due to the rapid rise in obesity, especially among children.

21 Mar 2005

Does depression predict mortality in heart attacks?

A group of Danish investigators, headed by Per Bech (Hillerod) surveyed the the literature on depression in patients with myocardial infarction to assess the methodological quality and to test whether depression leads to an increased postmyocardial infarction mortality.

21 Mar 2005

Brain research to help in fight against heart disease

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, supported by the British Heart Foundation, are studying blood flow in the brain to further medical understanding of cardiovascular disease.

21 Mar 2005

Obstructive sleep apnoeahypopnoea increases risk of heart attacks

Men with a severe form of a sleep breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnoeahypopnoea have an increased risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, concludes a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

21 Mar 2005

Ongoing specialist care can improve heart attack survival

When a good network of care involving access to specialists and family physicians is established, it can significantly improve the number of lives saved from heart disease, especially in rural areas, according to a University of Alberta two-year study.

16 Mar 2005