Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Battle in the Senate over FDA

In the congressional battle over the safety of America's prescription drugs, two University of Washington experts with opposing views have been enlisted into the fray.

7 Mar 2005

A weighty issue: can your eating habits make you infertile?

The societal pressures on women to be attractive, successful, and thin are stronger than ever. The desirable woman portrayed in the media is much thinner than the average woman. Popular slogans such as "thin is in" and "you can never be too rich or too thin" have equated thinness with happiness. The result is that for the first time in history, being attractive means being thin.

7 Mar 2005

Stent trial fails to meet endpoints

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals has announced that results from the REALITY Trial, a head-to-head trial sponsored by Cordis Corporation, comparing the JNJ CYPHER® stent and the TAXUS® stent, were presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session. The trial failed to meet its primary endpoint.

7 Mar 2005

Underhand methods used to challenge secondhand smoke's link to infant death risk

The link between secondhand smoke and sudden infant death has been discredited in the last few years in scientific articles paid for and influenced by cigarette manufacturers, according to a new study of once-secret industry documents.

7 Mar 2005

Breakthrough noninvasive tool for early cardiovascular disease detection

Physicians and researchers now have access to a noninvasive fingertip test that can identify patients with the earliest stages of cardiovascular disease and replace testing that is done during angiography.

7 Mar 2005

Studies find Aspirin resistance in up to 27% of Aspirin users

While aspirin remains a crucial and cost-effective therapy for the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases, research suggests that a significant percentage of the 25 million Americans on a chronic aspirin regimen are "aspirin resistant," or do not achieve sufficient antiplatelet effects from aspirin.

7 Mar 2005

International expert group discusses alternatives to COX-2 inhibitors

International group of pain specialists meets to develop recommendations for the treatment of chronic moderate-to-severe pain in the wake of the global withdrawal of rofecoxib (Vioxx) and concerns regarding use of other COX-2 inhibitors.

7 Mar 2005

Novel role for cholesterol inside the cell

Cholesterol, often condemned for its role in heart disease, has always been known to be essential for the health of the fatty membranes that surround individual cells.

7 Mar 2005

Cure for heart disease very close despite poor funding

Doctors at Barts and The London NHS Trust are hoping a four-year research programme in stem cell research will bring them closer to finding a miracle cure for heart disease, but are struggling to raise the money. The programme will involve 600 patients.

7 Mar 2005

Good side to cholesterol in controlling cell signals

Cholesterol, often stigmatized for its role in heart disease, has long been known to be essential for the health of the fat-laden membranes that surround individual cells.

6 Mar 2005

St. John's wort increases effectiveness of Plavix

The widely used herbal remedy St. John's wort appears to amplify the action of the popular blood-thinning drug clopidogrel, sold as Plavix, a small new clinical study finds.

6 Mar 2005

Individual mortality rates in Britain

Twenty five heart surgeons in Northwest England publish their individual mortality rates in this week's BMJ. The results show that all surgeons are performing to satisfactory standards.

6 Mar 2005

New method of organising care for adults in the UK who suffer from clinical depression

Researchers at the University of York are investigating a new method of organising care for some of the three million adults in the UK who suffer from clinical depression.

6 Mar 2005

Clearance of beta amyloid accumulation within neurons stops memory decline

Researchers at UC Irvine have identified a trigger at the molecular level that marks the onset of memory decline in mice genetically engineered to develop brain lesions – in the form of plaques and tangles – associated with Alzheimer's disease.

6 Mar 2005

FDA has accepts new drug application for Exubera (inhaled human insulin powder)

Dr. John Patton, co-founder and chief scientific officer for Nektar reported that Pfizer and The Sanofi-Aventis Group have announced that the FDA has accepted for filing a new drug application for Exubera (inhaled human insulin powder).

3 Mar 2005

Meditation may reduce heart disease risk

Black adolescents with high normal blood pressure who practice transcendental meditation improve the ability of their blood vessels to relax and may reduce their risk of becoming adults with cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

3 Mar 2005

Abnormal brain structure tied to spatial, numerical thinking problems when children lack part of chromosome

Certain genetic diseases affect children's educational abilities in a distinctive pattern: impairing their numerical abilities more than their verbal skills. New research sheds light on this split in abilities by investigating how differences in brain structures may influence how the mind works.

3 Mar 2005

Inflammation is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease among rheumatoid arthritis patients

Mayo Clinic epidemiologists have found that the systemic inflammation characterizing rheumatoid arthritis may be to blame for the increased risk of cardiovascular death in patients with the disease.

3 Mar 2005

Expected revolution in medicine, telemedicine, has simply not happened

Despite high expectations, telemedicine and telehealthcare systems, which enable doctors to interact with patients many miles away via video, digital imaging and electronic data transmission, have had only limited impact on the National Health Service, according to a study sponsored by the ESRC.

3 Mar 2005

Gender discrepancies in who gets bypass surgery

A study published in the latest issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly found gender biases and long-standing gender discrepancies in who gets bypass surgery. In 1988, twelve percent of female patients who had profiles consistent with the bypass surgery received it-- as compared to twenty-four percent of men.

3 Mar 2005