Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

1 in 5 youth with diabetes has heart risk

With the epidemic of obesity in the United States leading to a greater incidence of diabetes among youth, a new study highlights why Americans cannot afford to ignore this dangerous trend: One in five youth with diabetes has already developed two or more additional risk factors for premature heart disease.

27 Jul 2006

Guideline helps predict outcome in comatose survivors after CPR

Certain tests can predict with great accuracy whether a person in a coma after CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) will have a poor outcome, according to new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Jul 2006

Don't cut direct line to Welsh doctors says BMA

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has been warned he will cut through his only 'direct line' to Welsh doctors if presses ahead with controversial plans to strip medical committees of their statutory advisory functions.

26 Jul 2006

Nitric oxide reduces lung disease in premature, very-low-birth-weight infants

Delivering nitric oxide to the lungs of premature, very-low-birth-weight infants during their second week of life improves their chances of surviving without chronic lung disease, according to a national study of nearly 600 babies.

26 Jul 2006

Hospitals and physicians organize and market services targeted at specific diseases, organ systems and populations, raising cost and quality concerns

The proliferation of heart institutes, cancer centers, orthopedic hospitals and other niche specialty centers signals an escalation in a new medical arms race as hospitals and physicians develop and market profitable specialty-service lines.

26 Jul 2006

Burgess bill important step toward ensuring seniors get needed health care

Rep. Michael C. Burgess, MD. (R-TX) took an important step toward replacing the flawed Medicare physician payment formula with the introduction of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Bill and Quality Improvement Act of 2006.

26 Jul 2006

Increasing rates of diabetes among U.S. adults

Adults in the United States have increasingly become overweight or obese in recent years, according to a national survey conducted for Indiana University, dispelling the notion of a plateau and injecting a note of urgency into efforts to help Americans achieve a healthier weight.

26 Jul 2006

Study shows heart drug digitalis safe in patients with diastolic heart failure

Despite a widely held belief that the heart drug digitalis shouldn't be given to patients with diastolic heart failure, a new analysis shows it is relatively safe.

26 Jul 2006

New faster magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data-acquisition technique

A faster magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data-acquisition technique will cut the time many patients spend in a cramped magnetic resonance scanner, yet deliver more precise 3-D images of their bodies.

26 Jul 2006

NICE backs use of Enbrel and Raptiva to treat severe psoriasis

NICE has today issued guidance for the use of the targeted biological therapies, Enbrel (etanercept) and Raptiva (efalizumab), to treat adult patients with severe plaque psoriasis.

26 Jul 2006

How does the immune system isolate and destroy intruders?

Dendritic cells are the body's "watchdogs". They recognize and then degrade pathogens, isolating characteristic fragments that are recognized by the immune system thus triggering targeted responses.

25 Jul 2006

Mechanism linking alcohol to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease may be related to inflammation

Older adults who consume one to seven alcoholic beverages a week may live longer and have a reduced risk for cardiac events than those who do not drink - an association that appears independent of the anti-inflammatory effects of alcohol.

25 Jul 2006

Discovery could help identify genes that cause human heart defects

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a group of fruit fly gene mutations responsible for "broken hearts" in the embryonic stages of development, a discovery that could help identify genes that cause human heart defects.

25 Jul 2006

Low-glycemic index diet promotes weight loss

A diet high in carbohydrates but low on the glycemic index, which measures the impact of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels, may help promote weight loss, decrease body fat and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

25 Jul 2006

Belfer Foundation funds new translational cancer institute

The Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation has pledged $8 million to create the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

25 Jul 2006

Usefulness of BMI is suspect

For years doctors have used the body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height and weight, to characterize the clinical weight status of their patients.

24 Jul 2006

Serotonin reciprocally regulates melanocortin neurons to modulate food intake

Some of the most important weight-loss drugs work by enhancing the effect of the brain chemical serotonin.

24 Jul 2006

Gleevec may cause heart problems

Gleevec, the wildly successful poster-child of a new generation of cancer drugs aimed at specific targets in the cancer cell, can be dangerous to the heart.

24 Jul 2006

Link between psychological stress and ovarian tumor growth

When mice with ovarian cancer are stressed, their tumors grow and spread more quickly, but that effect can be blocked using a medication commonly prescribed for heart disease.

24 Jul 2006

Digital magnetofluidics holds hope for better medicine

Critical advances in medicine and environmental protection promise to emerge from a new method for biochemical analysis of fluids developed by an international science team led in part by Arizona State University researchers.

21 Jul 2006