Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Discovery of gene that plays key role in process of converting dietary carbohydrates to fat

In a new study, they disabled this gene in mice, which consequently had lower levels of body fat than their normal counterparts, despite being fed the equivalent of an 'all-you-can-eat' pasta buffet.

20 Mar 2009

Millions could benefit from statins to prevent heart attacks, strokes

Millions more patients could benefit from taking statins, drugs typically used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, than current prescribing guidelines suggest, Johns Hopkins doctors report in a new study.

19 Mar 2009

Drug pactimibe does not appear to reduce progression of atherosclerosis

Compared to placebo, the drug pactimibe did not effect certain measures of atherosclerosis for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol levels), but these patients did have an increased incidence of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the March 18 issue of JAMA.

17 Mar 2009

Aspirin decreases first heart attacks in men and first strokes in women

Patients and clinicians should consider risk factors -- including age, gender, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking and risk of gastrointestinal bleeding -- before deciding whether to use aspirin to prevent heart attacks or strokes, according to new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

16 Mar 2009

Risks of using aspirin to prevent heart attack or stroke differ by gender and age

Patients and clinicians should consider risk factors-- including age, gender, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking and risk of gastrointestinal bleeding-- before deciding whether to use aspirin to prevent heart attacks or strokes, according to new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

16 Mar 2009

Defibrillators may provide little benefit for seniors with two or more illnesses

Older people with comorbidities and those with multiple hospital admissions related to heart failure are unlikely to receive a meaningful survival benefit from implanted defibrillators, found a study in CMAJ by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

16 Mar 2009

Big link between driving and heart attacks

People who have had a heart attack are likely to report having been in traffic shortly before their symptoms began, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

15 Mar 2009

Statins reduce odds of an asthma-related hospitalization or ER visit

Results of a new study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (AAAAI) show dramatic reductions in emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations for asthma patients taking cholesterol-lowering statins in addition to common asthma treatments.

15 Mar 2009

Simple interventions help prevent adverse cardiovascular effects caused by pollution

Diesel exhaust causes arteries to lose their flexibility. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that exposure to engine pollution resulted in arterial stiffness in a group of healthy volunteers.

15 Mar 2009

Treatment of European coronary patients fails to meet standards of international guidelines

Large proportions of European coronary patients are failing to achieve lifestyle, risk factor and therapeutic targets for the prevention of further disease, according to results of the third EUROASPIRE survey.

12 Mar 2009

Lack of vitamin D in the diet could mean too much fat on adolescents

Too little vitamin D could be bad for more than your bones; it may also lead to fatter adolescents, researchers say.

12 Mar 2009

New project to develop blood tests for heart disease and stroke

The landmark Framingham Heart Study (FHS) is launching a major initiative to discover risk factors and markers that could lead to new blood tests to identify individuals at high risk of heart disease and stroke.

12 Mar 2009

People who sleep less than six hours nightly risk developing diabetes

To the many problems associated with lack of sleep -- moodiness, memory problems, difficulty concentrating -- add the risk of developing diabetes.

12 Mar 2009

Discovery of link between atrial fibrillation and increased risk of death in diabetic patients

Results from a large, international, randomised, controlled trial have shown that there is a strong link between diabetics who have an abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) and an increased risk of other heart-related problems and death.

11 Mar 2009

One in seven American adolescents is vitamin D deficient

One in seven American adolescents is vitamin D deficient, according to a new study by researchers in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College.

11 Mar 2009

Low levels of vitamin D linked to several risk factors in teenagers

Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

11 Mar 2009

Consuming a little less salt could mean fewer deaths

For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

11 Mar 2009

Teenage stress carries forward to adulthood

Most of us remember our teenage years with a mix of fondness and relief. Fondness for the good memories, and relief that all that teenage stress, angst and drama - first love, gossip, SATs, fights with parents - is behind us.

11 Mar 2009

Simple test helps predict heart attack risk

The use of common and readily available screening tests - like the ankle brachial index (ABI) - along with traditional risk scoring systems - such as the Framingham Risk Score - has the potential to prevent devastating heart attacks in thousands of individuals who are not originally thought to be at high risk (according to Framingham alone), say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting.

11 Mar 2009

Identifying and treating depression plus exercise in African-Americans may reduce heart disease

Identifying and treating depression, including increasing physical activity, may improve quality of life and reduce cardiovascular disease and death in African Americans, according to reports presented at the American Heart Association's 2009 Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

11 Mar 2009