Cardiology News and Research

Latest Cardiology News and Research

Cord blood registry sees FDA regulation as good for consumers and industry

Beginning in May 2005, cord blood banks must meet new federal safety standards mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

24 Nov 2004

Weight gain beginning in childhood can lead to an enlarged heart

Weight gain beginning in childhood can lead to an enlarged heart by early adulthood, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

24 Nov 2004

Bypass surgery on a beating heart is an excellent option for many patients with blocked heart arteries

Bypass surgery on a beating heart is an excellent option for many patients with blocked heart arteries, according to a study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

24 Nov 2004

Chylomicrons may be as dangerous or more dangerous than low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol

You may not yet have heard of chylomicrons, but a nutritional scientist at the University of Alberta believes you will soon--especially if you care about preventing a stroke or heart attack.

24 Nov 2004

Low-glycemic load diets may make dieting easier

Low-glycemic load diets, those low in sugars with moderate levels of carbohydrates and not as low in fat and protein, may lower metabolism less when compared with low-fat diets, making the dieters feel less tired, cold and hungry, as well as improve cardiovascular risk factors

24 Nov 2004

Deaths caused by cardiovascular disease have decreased over the last 50 years

Adults with diabetes have experienced a 50 percent decline in the incidence rate for cardiovascular disease events in recent decades, according to a report in the November 24 issue of JAMA.

24 Nov 2004

Obesity could increase a person’s risk for atrial fibrillation

New research indicates that being obese could increase a person’s risk for atrial fibrillation, the most common irregular heart rhythm, by 50 percent, according to work published in the November 24 issue of JAMA.

24 Nov 2004

FDA incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to discredit one of its own experts after he told a US Senate hearing that the FDA had failed to protect the public over rofecoxib (Vioxx), according to two articles published online by the British Medical Journal.

24 Nov 2004

Smoking killed almost 5 million people around the world in 2000

Smoking killed almost 5 million people around the world in 2000, reveals research in Tobacco Control. Over half the deaths were in smokers aged 30 to 69.

24 Nov 2004

Having diabetes raises a woman's risk of having a heart attack to nearly 10 times

Having diabetes raises a woman's risk of having a heart attack to nearly 10 times that of other women, according to a study in the December issue of Diabetes Care. The study also describes why women with diabetes are at much higher risk than men with diabetes when it comes to having cardiac events.

23 Nov 2004

Stem cells' repair skills could be link to cancer

Johns Hopkins researchers say there is growing evidence that stem cells gone awry in their efforts to repair tissue damage could help explain why long-term irritation, such as from alcohol or heartburn, can create a breeding ground for certain cancers.

23 Nov 2004

Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have diabetes

Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have diabetes or knee replacement surgery, and five times more likely to have high blood pressure than women who are at a normal weight, says a new study.

23 Nov 2004

Low-dose antioxidant supplementation may reduce the risk of cancer among men, but not in women

According to the article, antioxidants including beta carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc may prevent some of the harmful effects caused by free radicals – reactive molecules produced by metabolism in the body.

23 Nov 2004

Researchers have found that a blood-reduction program in cardiac surgery results in a reduced need for transfusions

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical Center have found that a blood-reduction program in cardiac surgery is resulting in a reduced need for transfusions without compromising patients’ recoveries.

23 Nov 2004

Ingredient present in chocolate could help stop persistent coughs

According to research published online in FASEB Journal the team have discovered that theobromine, a derivative found in cocoa, is nearly a third more effective in stopping persistent coughs when compared with codeine, currently considered the best cough medicine.

23 Nov 2004

Risk of a blocked vessel stroke increases nearly twofold in young women with a history of stroke

Young women with a family history of stroke in their parents or siblings may be at increased risk for stroke themselves, according to a new report.

23 Nov 2004

Cells linked to asthma and eczema also help cure deadly illness in mice

Mast cells are immune cells known mostly for their unwanted effects: they cause the wheezing of asthma, the itching of eczema, the sneezing and runny nose of hay fever and, in extreme cases, the life-threatening shock of anaphylaxis.

20 Nov 2004

Call for elimination of processed trans fats in the Canadian food supply

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has expressed its support for the debate in the House of Commons on the important issue of effectively eliminating processed trans fats in the Canadian food supply.

19 Nov 2004

FDA Vioxx fiasco raises questions about AIDS drug approvals for developing world

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), today noted that the current "FDA fiasco" involving the agency's initial approval and subsequent recall of Merck's troubled arthritis drug, Vioxx, raises serious questions about the FDA's ongoing parallel role in the approval of generic AIDS drugs for widespread use in Africa and the developing world.

19 Nov 2004

U.S. nuclear power workers show no unexepected radiation related cancer

A first-of-its-kind study of more than 53,000 U.S. nuclear power workers has found that employees in the commercial nuclear industry are less likely than the general population to die from cancer or non-cancer diseases due, in large measure, to the so-called "healthy worker effect."

18 Nov 2004