Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

A new book of pocket-charts that will help health workers to identify people at risk of heart attacks and strokes and save lives by prescribing the most appropriate treatment is published today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts can be adapted for use in any setting, in any country, with any patient.

12 Sep 2007

American life expectancy reaches an all-time high of 78

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years.

12 Sep 2007

Researchers question safety of Avandia and it's longterm use

Researchers in the U.S. say the long-term use of a medication used in patients with type 2 Diabetes and people with glucose intolerance, increases the risk for heart failure and heart attacks.

12 Sep 2007

Rochester receives $1.2 million to battle rare childhood disease

"For an orphan disease like Batten, which has such a clear-cut course of deterioration and no present cure, this grant is transformative both for these families and for us, as clinicians and researchers."

12 Sep 2007

Ultraconserved non-coding RNAs may be important in human cancer

Research here shows that an obscure form of RNA, part of the protein-making machinery in all cells, might play an important role in human cancer.

12 Sep 2007

Long-term use of rosiglitazone (Avandia) increases heart attack risk by more than 40 percent

An analysis of four studies involving more than 14,000 patients found that long-term use of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) increased the risk of heart attack by 42 percent and doubled the risk of heart failure, according to a new report from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

12 Sep 2007

Glycemic control medication appears to have favorable effect regarding risk of cardiovascular events

A meta-analysis of previous research suggests that use of pioglitazone, a glycemic control medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, but increases the risk for serious heart failure, according to an article in the September 12 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Sep 2007

GlaxoSmithKline responds to Journal of the American Medical Association articles

GlaxoSmithKline believes that conclusions drawn from the most recent meta-analyses published by Drs. Nissen et. al. and Furberg et. al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association do not confirm a difference in the safety profile of Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone).

12 Sep 2007

Generic prostate drug finasteride helps find high-risk cancers early

Men now have another good reason to consider taking finasteride, a well-known generic drug that shrinks an enlarged prostate and reduces the risk of getting prostate cancer by 25 percent.

12 Sep 2007

Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.

12 Sep 2007

Carvedilol used for treatment for heart failure in adults may not be beneficial for children and teens

Preliminary findings indicate a heart failure medication used by adults, carvedilol, may not significantly improve heart failure outcomes for children and adolescents, according to an article in the September 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Sep 2007

Diesel exhaust kills throat cells

Researchers at Deakin University have found that diesel exhaust is far more damaging to our health than exhaust from biodiesel, the plant-based fuel.

12 Sep 2007

Diabetes drug Pioglitazone reduces risk of death, heart attack and stroke, but increases risk of heart failure

A drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes has been found to reduce the risk of death, heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke when used alone or in combination with other therapies for diabetes, according to a Cleveland Clinic study.

12 Sep 2007

Children who learn heart healthy eating habits lower heart disease risk

A new study in a mid-August edition of Circulation: Journal of the America Heart Association confirms that when young children learn about heart healthy eating habits, it can strongly influence their heart disease risk later in life.

12 Sep 2007

Call for closer examination of 'brain death' as the end of life

The medical diagnosis of brain death is at odds with our traditional view of when death actually occurs, says a leading academic speaking at an international conference on Death, dying & disposal in Bath today (Wednesday 12 September 2007).

12 Sep 2007

U.S. has highest level of health spending compared to other OECD countries

The United States continues to spend the most on health care when compared to other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

11 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007

Preventing enlarged heart reduces heart failure

For high-blood-pressure patients, preventing or reducing enlarged heart (left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH) reduces risk of heart failure. The study is published in the Sept. 4 Annals of Internal Medicine and led by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

11 Sep 2007

Some GPs over-estimate adverse risks associated with the use of beta blocker drugs for heart disease

Some General Practitioners (GPs) over-estimate adverse risks associated with the use of beta blocker drugs in the fight against heart disease, according to research launched today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

11 Sep 2007

Women with a family history of heart disease are less likely than men to drop bad habits

Smoking, eating fattening foods and not getting enough exercise are all lifestyle habits that can lead to poor health and cardiovascular disease – more so if you have a family history.

11 Sep 2007