Latest Cardiovascular / Cardiology News From Medical News Today.

Total news: 542
Last news: May 3, 2008 07:00:00

Coronary heart disease mortality in younger women could be on the rise, according to findings in the open access journal, BMC Public Health, published by BioMed Central. High levels of smoking, increasing obesity and a lack of exercise could all be contributing to this disturbing trend, seen in women under the age of 50.Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. - [Read more]

A study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP is the first known to report that short and long sleepers are more likely to have metabolic syndrome, or a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.The study, authored by Martica H. Hall, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues, focused on 1,214 adults between 30-54 years of age. - [Read more]

A remote monitoring program can improve the condition of heart failure patients who are mobile and may reduce hospital readmissions, according to a pilot study reported at the American Heart Associations 9th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke. - [Read more]

A study, led by University of Iowa researchers, reveals a new dimension for a key heart enzyme and sheds light on an important biological pathway involved in cell death in heart disease. The study, published in the May 2 issue of Cell, has implications for understanding, and potentially for diagnosing and treating, heart failure and arrhythmias.The UI researchers and colleagues from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. - [Read more]

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced U.S. launch of the TigerWire(TM) Steerable Guidewire. The newest member of the St. Jude Medical GuideRight(TM) family of steerable guidewires, the TigerWire Steerable Guidewire is designed to enhance physicians ability to steer through challenging peripheral arteries, the vessels that supply blood to the legs and arms. - [Read more]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final National Coverage Determination (NCD) expanding Medicare coverage of artificial hearts when they are implanted as part of a study that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that meets CMS Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) clinical research criteria. - [Read more]

Device manufacturer Physio-Control, Inc., its parent company Medtronic, Inc., and their two top executives have signed a consent decree of permanent injunction related to Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) manufactured by Physio-Control, Inc. The consent decree prohibits the manufacture, distribution, and export of specified AEDs at or from Physio-Controls facility in Redmond, Wash. - [Read more]

University of Florida researchers have identified a drug compound that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and - in a remarkable finding - prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension. - [Read more]

Governor Brian Schweitzer appeared at Montana State University to celebrate Montanas scientific contribution to the development of barley varieties that serve as a natural way to help manage diabetes, heart disease and obesity. - [Read more]

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the initiation ofATHENA-1, a Phase IV, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating Letairis®(ambrisentan 5 mg and 10 mg tablets) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)demonstrating a sub-optimal response to sildenafil monotherapy. ATHENA-1 is the first of severalPhase IV Letairis studies Gilead plans to initiate in 2008 and 2009. - [Read more]

C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, was found to be elevated even 30 years after a pregnancy distinguished by eclampsia, according to a University of Pittsburgh-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) study (now online) in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association. - [Read more]

On the eve of the British Columbia inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, a review of scientific data in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) finds that in some cases, stun guns may stimulate the heart in experimental models. This evidence is contrary to current views that stun guns only affect skeletal muscles. - [Read more]

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the bodys blood-pumping organ. - [Read more]

More and more children with congenital heart disease are receiving implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to maintain proper heart rhythm. ICDs were first introduced for adults in the 1980s, but little is known about how well they work in children, who account for less than 1 percent of recipients. A report in the April 29 Journal of the American College of Cardiology summarizes the largest pediatric experience to date. - [Read more]

Heart disease is the number one killer in Europe, taking over 2 million lives every year1, yet it is a preventable condition. Some segments of the population such as women and young athletes are not even aware that they are at risk.Experts from all over Europe will gather from today (May 1) in Paris to exchange scientific knowledge, professional experiences, upgrade skills and propose strategies to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease across the continent. - [Read more]

Stem cell researchers at UCLA were able to grow functioning cardiac cells using mouse skin cells that had been reprogrammed into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells.The finding is the first to show that induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells, which dont involve the use of embryos or eggs, can be differentiated into the three types of cardiovascular cells needed to repair the heart and blood vessels. - [Read more]

A nationwide consortium led by the University of Washington in Seattle has completed the first sequence-based map of structural variations in the human genome, giving scientists an overall picture of the large-scale differences in DNA between individuals. The project gives researchers a guide for further research into these structural differences, which are believed to play an important role in human health and disease. The results appear in the May 1 issue of the journal Nature. - [Read more]

Despite the general success of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) used in critically ill heart failure patients, implantation of these devices often leads to increased bleeding and a need for high-volume blood transfusions during and immediately after surgery. A new study published in Artificial Organs provides data suggesting that the incidence of these complications may be significantly reduced by way of a single plasma exchange before surgery. - [Read more]

Home monitoring of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) using smart bathroom scales can save the NHS over £60M each year and save thousands of lives according to award-winning telemedicine specialist Broomwell Healthwatch. Broomwell has developed a telemedical solution for CHF monitoring, which includes weight control scales and a blood pressure monitor. - [Read more]

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) this week announced grant awards to 46 institutions through the SCAI Interventional Cardiology Fellows-in-Training Grant Program. The multi-year, multi-million dollar program, launched in late 2007, awards grants to medical centers to help pay the salary and benefits for physicians training in interventional cardiology. - [Read more]