Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Amgen, Brigham and Women's Hospital, NIH to launch women's health genome study

Biotechnology company Amgen, Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital and NIH plan to launch the Women's Health Genome Study -- which aims to discover the genetic causes of disorders affecting women, including breast cancer -- the Wall Street Journal reports.

24 Oct 2006

Prevalence of overweight and obesity increasing in Indo-Asian population

Worldwide, Indo-Asian people are among the populations at greatest risk for heart disease. Also, associations between body mass index (BMI) and chronic disease may differ between Indo-Asian and Western populations.

24 Oct 2006

Biomarkers in blood indicate likelihood of having another stroke

People who have just suffered their first ischemic stroke, a blood clot in the brain, often have elevated inflammatory biomarkers in their blood that indicate their likelihood of having another stroke or an increased risk of dying, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

24 Oct 2006

Remote-control software that enables off-site MRI imaging via the Internet

UCLA radiologists and Siemens Medical Solutions have developed remote-control software that enables an off-site imaging expert to operate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine via the Internet.

From Siemens Healthineers 24 Oct 2006

Link discovered between common cold viruses and Alzheimer's disease

According to new research memory loss and Alzheimer's disease may be linked to the very viruses which cause the common cold.

24 Oct 2006

Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may lower risk of heart attack more so than not drinking at all

For men with healthy lifestyle habits, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may be associated with a lower risk of heart attack than drinking heavily or not drinking at all, according to a report in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Oct 2006

Statins can significantly reduce the incidence of stroke, myocardial infarction

The study, presented at CHEST 2006, the 72nd annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), showed that statins notably reduced such incidences in these nonrevascularized patients with chronic high cholesterol, as well.

23 Oct 2006

Combination therapy of salmeterol and fluticasone improves survival in patients with COPD

A combination of two common medications may help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) live longer.

23 Oct 2006

Special bra designed for women who have heart surgery

A Canadian researcher has designed a special bra for women who have had heart surgery.

23 Oct 2006

Overweight women more likely to have polycystic ovary syndrome

Overweight and obese Spanish women appear five times as likely as lean women to have polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that decreases fertility and contributes to other illnesses, according to an article in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Oct 2006

Moderate drinking reduces men's heart attack risk

Even as studies have consistently found an association between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced heart attack risk in men, an important question has persisted: What if the men who drank in moderation were the same individuals who maintained good eating habits, didn't smoke, exercised and watched their weight - How would you know that their reduced risk of myocardial infarction wasn't the result of one or more of these other healthy habits?

23 Oct 2006

Flu vaccinations in Israel back on

According to Israeli health officials the deaths of four men who had received a flu jab were not connected to the vaccination and the flu vaccination programme will now be resumed.

23 Oct 2006

Peripheral arterial disease could predict life or death in heart patients

A growing health problem affecting older Americans puts them at higher risk for dying after heart surgery and other interventional procedures, such as heart catheterizations, according to findings published in the current edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and co-authored by two leading University of Kentucky cardiologists.

23 Oct 2006

Common gene variant increases risk of developing diabetes

Carrying two copies of a common variant of a particular gene doubles your chances of developing diabetes and puts you in a similar risk category to being clinically obese, according to a collaborative study led by UCL (University College London) researchers.

23 Oct 2006

Wall Street Journal examines debate over alternative HRT to treat menopausal symptoms

The Wall Street Journal on Saturday examined the debate over the risks and efficacy of alternatives to hormone replacement therapy for treatment of menopausal symptoms.

23 Oct 2006

Popular ADHD drug Ritalin safe and effective for pre-schoolers

A new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and five other medical centers concludes that carefully measured, low doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) are safe and effective for attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers.

23 Oct 2006

Four die following flu vaccination

Following the death of four men who had been inoculated against flu, Israeli authorities have suspended nationwide flu vaccinations.

23 Oct 2006

Scientists discover how brain turns on system designed to protect nerve cells from toxic "free radicals"

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report they have found how the brain turns on a system designed to protect its nerve cells from toxic "free radicals," a waste product of cell metabolism that has been implicated in some degenerative brain diseases, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and aging.

20 Oct 2006

Gene mutation explains type of brittle bone disease

A newly identified gene mutation helps explain a subset of cases of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease, whose origin had until now remained mysterious.

20 Oct 2006

Blood clotting protein appears to also play a role in fertility

A protein known to play a role in blood clotting and other cell functions is also critical for proper sperm formation in mice, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

20 Oct 2006