Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Generic Coreg (carvedilol) approved in U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Coreg (carvedilol). Coreg is a widely used medication that is FDA-approved to treat high blood pressure, mild to severe chronic heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction following a heart attack.

10 Sep 2007

Experts say screening families of heart attack victims could save many lives

Scottish researchers say by screening the relatives of middle-aged heart attack sufferers many lives would be saved.

9 Sep 2007

Health benefits of fruit juice

In years past, family physician Pamela Rockwell told parents not to let their children drink too much fruit juice because of its link to obesity.

5 Sep 2007

Myoendothelial cells identified as new human source of stem cells with potential to repair muscle

For the first time, scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have discovered a unique population of adult stem cells derived from human muscle that could be used to treat muscle injuries and diseases such as heart attack and muscular dystrophy.

5 Sep 2007

Fatty hearts in pre-diabetics

A simple imaging technique developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has revealed fat buildup in the hearts of pre-diabetic people long before symptoms of heart disease or diabetes appear.

5 Sep 2007

Improved dosing formula for warfarin (Coumadin)

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients.

5 Sep 2007

Do not ignore fatigue

Jennifer Sieck knew something had to be done when she would lie in bed most of the day and night.

5 Sep 2007

Benefits and limitations of health tests offered in community settings

Consumers who queue up for health screenings at the mall, a senior center, a drug store or other retail business could benefit from the information they learn.

5 Sep 2007

Perindopril - indapamide drug combo cuts death rate in type 2 diabetes

The largest-ever study of treatments for type 2 diabetes has shown that a combination of two blood pressure lowering drugs reduced the risk of death, as well as the risks of heart and kidney disease.

5 Sep 2007

Lower blood pressure to manage type 2 diabetes

A small reduction in blood pressure produced a significant benefit in the largest study ever done on the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, presented on Sunday in Vienna at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, and published online in the Lancet the same day.

5 Sep 2007

N-acetylcysteine may not be as safe as once thought

Certain preparations taken to enhance athletic performance or stave off disease contain an anti-oxidant that could cause harm.

5 Sep 2007

Experts call for more resources worldwide to deal with mental illness

Experts in Britain are calling for better recognition of the impact of mental illness on other health problems and for more resources worldwide to deal with mental health issues.

5 Sep 2007

Secondhand smoke affects pets too

The threat of secondhand smoke to the health of non-smokers has been known for years but now researchers say pets can also suffer from the effects of secondhand smoke.

5 Sep 2007

Blood pressure pill offers diabetics a longer life

A team of Australian researchers say a once-a-day pill to lower blood pressure should be given routinely to people with diabetes to prevent heart disease, strokes and other medical complications.

5 Sep 2007

New blood pressure drug Tekturna benefits heart failure patients too

A new blood pressure drug called Tekturna made by Novartis has been found to benefit heart failure patients also.

4 Sep 2007

Patients with depression may not recover their heart rate variability following heart attack

Patients with depression appear to have an impaired ability to recover their heart rate variability following acute coronary syndromes such as heart attack, a factor that could increase their risk of coronary death, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Sep 2007

Hamburg to become Europe's hub of drug discovery

Hamburg is on its way to becoming a leading hub of Europe's academic drug discovery, with the northern German city's town hall today announcing the foundation of European ScreeningPort GmbH, a company that will run a state-of-the-art drug discovery service centre.

4 Sep 2007

Low salt foods just as safe as conventionally processed ones

Low salt foods are just as safe or safer than high salt level products in spite of expectations that cutting salt levels in food would increase the risk of spoilage by bacteria, say scientists today (Tuesday 4 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology¡¦s 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

4 Sep 2007

Drug eluting stents should be used with caution in acute myocardial infarction

Drug-eluting stents are extremely effective devices to prevent restenosis following angioplasty. Yet, since last year, there is some debate and persistent uncertainty regarding the long term safety of these devices. Specifically, there is concern that some of these stents may occlude abruptly more than 1 year after placement, due to "late stent thrombosis".

3 Sep 2007

Gender (dis)advantages in cardiac remodeling

The topic of gender-related differences in cardiac care is an extremely complex one. Unfortunately women have been neglected in several fields of medicine for too long. I think that cardiology is only one of the many fields in the past where the male predominance was obvious.

3 Sep 2007