Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Closure of holes in heart important treatment for young stroke patients

Placement of devices to close holes in the heart is a successful treatment for young stroke patients, finds a study involving three medical centers.

17 May 2006

Newly discovered gene MCPIP may lead to treatments for preventing inflammation that cause heart disease

A newly discovered gene known as MCPIP could provide scientists with the key to developing treatments for preventing inflammation that can cause heart disease, University of Central Florida researchers have discovered.

17 May 2006

Study calls for more consistent use of anti-clotting medications in women

High-risk women with acute coronary syndrome benefit as much as men from a trip to the cardiac cath lab shortly after being hospitalized, according to a study reported recently at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 29th Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

17 May 2006

No link between low air-pressure on long-haul flights and DVT

Researchers simulating conditions of reduced cabin pressure and reduced oxygen levels, such as may be encountered during an 8-hour aeroplane flight, found no increase in the activation of the blood clotting system among healthy individuals

17 May 2006

Cannabis effective at relieving pain after major surgery

A cannabis plant extract provides pain relief for patients after major surgery such as knee replacements, a study by Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council has shown.

17 May 2006

DVT and long haul flights - air pressure and oxygen levels not the culprits

According to new research from the UK the reduced air pressure and oxygen levels experienced by travellers on long flights are not responsible for the formation of deadly blood clots often referred to as "economy class syndrome".

17 May 2006

Common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease

Caucasians who carry this polymorphism, named K55R, were at significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease, independent of other risk factors, like cigarette smoking, diabetes, and hypertension.

16 May 2006

Diabetes troubles Australia

The Australia-wide study was conducted by the International Diabetes Institute over the last 15 months and is the first to have measured how many new cases of these diseases occur in Australia annually.

16 May 2006

Low affinity analogs of thyrotropin-releasing hormone are super-agonists

Chemical knockoffs resembling a key thyroid-related hormone are, in certain cases, more effective than the real thing at activating the target receptor.

16 May 2006

Cardiovascular disease costs the UK economy £29 billion a year

Cardiovascular disease costs the UK economy £29 billion a year in healthcare expenditure and lost productivity, reveals research published ahead of print in Heart.

16 May 2006

Role of acetaminophen in acute myocardial infarction

Acetaminophen is safe to use as a pain reliever and fever reducer after a heart attack, but it does not protect the heart muscle, a new study using sheep and rabbits concluded.

16 May 2006

Nine million Americans with double whammy of obesity and smoking

According to new research from the American Legacy Foundation as many as nine million adults in the United States are affected by both obesity and smoking, two of the nation's top public health epidemics.

15 May 2006

Experts say Vioxx poses risks long after patients stop taking it

According to a leading American cardiologist patients who have taken the drug Vioxx are still at high risk of heart attacks or strokes even after they stop taking the medication.

14 May 2006

Discovery of two gene variants associated with increased risk for early heart attack

Scientists at University of California - San Francisco (UCSF), Celera Genomics and The Cleveland Clinic have discovered two gene variants associated with a significantly increased risk for early heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI).

12 May 2006

K55R polymorphism gene variation linked to coronary heart disease

New research at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, found that a common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2006

Chantix new quit smoking drug approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the sale of the first smoking cessation drug in almost ten years.

11 May 2006

Healthy habits and appropriate treatments help prevent stroke

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a major source of disability in the United States. Every year about 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, resulting in nearly 158,000 deaths.

10 May 2006

Boys more vulnerable and emotionally engaged in romantic relationships than previously thought

Teenage boys have feelings, too, and when it comes to matters of the heart, they may not be so fleeting after all. Not far beneath the bravado often on display is an unsure adolescent who finds it hard to express emotions that, while new, are nonetheless often sincerely felt.

10 May 2006

Inhaled corticosteroids can reduce breathing problems in children at high risk for asthma

Studies in older children and adults show that the most effective long-term control medicine for persistent asthma (symptoms more than two days a week or more than twice a month at night) is inhaled corticosteroids, which reduce airway swelling and help prevent asthma symptoms (e.g., asthma attacks).

10 May 2006

Local clinical quality monitoring for detection of excess operative deaths

If convicted murderer Dr Harold Shipman had been working as a surgeon or anaesthetist at a specialist UK heart hospital in Cambridge, increased patient death rates would have alerted clinical audit staff after eight to ten months, according to research in the latest issue of Anaesthesia.

10 May 2006