Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Heart disease in Europe

New figures published by the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network this month, highlighted the significant differences in cardiovascular disease across Europe.

27 Feb 2008

Risks of CVD for COX-2 inhibitors lower than previously reported

In an article published in the March issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) assess the totality of evidence, including strengths and limitations of different types of evidence contributing to the debate about cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

27 Feb 2008

Heart attack rates drop following national smoking bans in France

French researchers announced a striking 15% decrease in admissions of patients with myocardial infarction to emergency wards since the public ban on smoking came into effect in restaurants, hotels and casinos in France last January.

27 Feb 2008

Adult-onset obesity seen in mice when gene ubiquitin disrupted

Texas and California scientists who disrupted one type of the gene ubiquitin (Ubb) in mice observed neuronal death in the hypothalamus, impaired control of energy balance and adult-onset obesity in the rodents.

27 Feb 2008

Smoking and pre-eclampsia

Pregnant women who suffer from the high risk condition pre-eclampsia which leads to the death of hundreds of babies every year are putting the lives of their unborn children at significantly increased risk if they continue to smoke during pregnancy.

26 Feb 2008

Moderate level of aerobic fitness may lower stroke risk

A moderate level of aerobic fitness can significantly reduce stroke risk for men and women, according to a large, long-running study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.

22 Feb 2008

Kidney donor age linked to aortic siffening

Transplantation of kidneys from older donors is followed by increased stiffening of the recipient's aorta - which may help to explain the higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death in patients receiving kidneys from "expanded criteria" donors, reports a study in the April Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

22 Feb 2008

Reducing kids' salt intake may lower soft drink consumption

Children who eat less salt drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers reported in the print and online issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

21 Feb 2008

Vitamin D isn't just for bones anymore

Researchers at The Rockefeller University Hospital have begun a clinical study to explore a possible connection between vitamin D deficiency and insulin resistance.

21 Feb 2008

Drinking milk may help women lower risk for hypertension

Women who drank more fat free milk and had higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D from foods, and not supplements, tended to have a lower risk for developing hypertension or high blood pressure, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension.

21 Feb 2008

Risk factors for Parkinson's disease focus of new research

A new study demonstrates that high levels of MAO-B, an enzyme that regulates nerve activity in the brain, cause Parkinson's-like symptoms in mice genetically engineered to overexpress the protein.

20 Feb 2008

Obese teens need more help and U.S. expert says surgical solutions should not be dismissed

A recent report which has found Victorian hospitals are having to treat hundreds of obese children each year, has highlighted the seriousness of the obesity epidemic and how ill equipped and under-resourced services treating childhood obesity are.

18 Feb 2008

Transplanted cells can cure hemophilia

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that transplanted cells can cure hemophilia A (the most common form of the disease) in an animal model.

18 Feb 2008

Fast food and no exercise damages the liver

Too much fast food and too little exercise can harm the liver, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the journal Gut.

18 Feb 2008

Is your job making you sick?

Managers and administrators are less likely to suffer from cancers according to a University of Sydney study published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

18 Feb 2008

Looking after the health of older workers will keep them in the work force

According to new research by Australian scientists, in order to keep Australia's older workers in the labour force more will have to be done in future to prevent them developing chronic health conditions.

17 Feb 2008

Disability does not necessarily follow disease in living to old age

Researchers from Boston Medical Center's (BMC) New England Centenarian Study report that for a substantial proportion of their centenarian subjects, avoiding age-related diseases (i.e. stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes) may not be the key to their longevity; rather, the avoidance of disability may be a key feature in their exceptional survival.

12 Feb 2008

Researchers find new U.S. trend in antibiotic resistance

A research team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, examining bacterial isolates obtained in hospital and non-hospital clinical settings between 2000 and 2006, has identified drug-resistant strains of E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria in more than 50 blood, urine and respiratory samples.

11 Feb 2008

HIV drugs, Abacavir and Didanosine increase the risk of heart attack

A study to assess the adverse effects of anti-retroviral drugs shows that two widely-used HIV drugs are associated with an increased risk of heart attack/the formation of blood clots in the heart.

8 Feb 2008

Whole grain diets lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Diets with high amounts of whole grains may help achieve significant weight loss, and also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a team of Penn State researchers at University Park and the College of Medicine.

7 Feb 2008