A New Way to Prevent Heart Disease
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research InstituteGut bacteria inhibitor may prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis.
Gut bacteria inhibitor may prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis.
While February is associated with red-ruffled hearts and chocolate candy for Valentine’s Day, it’s also “American Heart Month, and “There’s no better time to focus on heart disease and kick-start your New Year’s resolution to lose weight, eat better and start exercising,” says Dr. Ravi Dave, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Dr. Dave offers 7 simple steps to better heart-health.
Daniel J. Conklin of the University of Louisville will share new data showing that e-cigarettes have been shown to speed up atherosclerosis – the plaque-causing disease that leads to heart attack, stroke and peripheral arterial disease.
New research challenges assumption that people can be too old for surgery.
By genetically reprogramming the most common type of cell in mammalian connective tissue, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have generated master heart cells — primitive progenitors that form the developing heart. If replicated in human cells, the feat could one day fuel drug discovery, powerful new models for heart disease and the raw material for treating diseased hearts.
Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found that a daily dose of beetroot juice significantly improved exercise endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF).
Building on previous studies, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated significant health improvements in the vascular system of mice following repeated treatments to remove senescent cells. They say this is the first study to show that regular and continual clearance of senescent cells improves age-related vascular conditions – and that the method may be a viable approach to reduce cardiovascular disease and death. The findings appear online in Aging Cell.
Combined health coaching and remote monitoring did not reduce all-cause 180-day hospital readmissions among heart failure patients, and did not have significant effects on 30-day hospital readmissions, 30-day mortality, or 180-day mortality. But patients reported significantly improved quality of life.
When having a heart attack, most people will experience some kind of chest pain or pressure that worsens. But it's the uncommon symptoms that confuse people and often lead to delayed treatment and increased injury -- especially in women.
NIBIB-funded researchers used ultrasound-activated microbubbles to improve preservation of heart muscle and function in a pig heart attack model. The method is now in phase I human clinical trials. The promising treatment could be administered to heart attack patients arriving at the emergency room (or even while in the ambulance), and could preserve heart muscle before patients receive invasive interventions to open blocked arteries.
Just two years old at the time, Zoey Jones was told she would need a heart and lung transplant for her failing organs, a complication due to the single ventricle heart defect she was born with. She was referred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where they began to prepare for a transplant, when a second look in the catheterization laboratory (cath lab) led doctors to believe her heart and lungs were strong enough to avoid transplant altogether.
With fewer than 3,500 episodes a year, cardiac arrest in children is decidedly rare, but it could be a dramatic signal that the victim’s family members may be at a heightened risk for sudden cardiac death. This is why, in the aftermath of such a traumatic event, clinical evaluation of the child’s parents and siblings could lead to lifesaving diagnoses and therapies, averting further tragedy, say cardiologists at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
In a finding that could lead to new drugs to treat heart failure, researchers have uncovered the molecular mechanism that regulates how the heart pumps blood. The finding is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The key molecular player in this mechanism is a giant protein called titin, according to a study led by senior author Pieter de Tombe, PhD of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. The study was published Feb. 8, 2016 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mutations in the gene TBX5 have been shown to cause both rare and more prevalent forms of congenital heart disease, yet the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear. A team led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has now found evidence pointing to a culprit.
Stem cell-derived heart muscle cells may fail to effectively replace damaged cardiac tissue because they don’t contract strongly enough, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The study, “Coupling Primary and Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes in an In Vitro Model of Cardiac Cell Therapy,” by Yvonne Aratyn-Schaus and Francesco Pasqualini and colleagues, may help explain why stem cell-based therapies have so far shown limited benefits for heart attack patients in clinical trials.
A team of Harvard scientists and colleagues has used University of Vermont findings from 2000 to develop a possible treatment to prevent hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited disease that can cause the heart to thicken and stop pumping blood effectively, leading to heart failure
Award demonstrates commitment to quality care for stroke patients.
In celebration of February American Heart Month, Meridian CardioVascular Network is kicking off a series of fun and fabulous community events providing expert advice, heart healthy tips, and the latest information about prevention and treatments. The events will take place at Meridian Health locations throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, and embrace American Heart Month’s signature red symbols.
MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center has partnered with the American College of Cardiology’s Find Your Heart a Home™ pilot program, to help patients make informed choices about where to receive their cardiac care. It is one of only two hospitals in the nation selected to participate in the program.
Men who as children experienced a family member’s incarceration are approximately twice as likely to have a heart attack in later adulthood in comparison with men who were not exposed to such a childhood trauma, according to a study in the March Journal of Criminal Justice.
African-American patients with connective tissue diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis are twice as likely as white patients to suffer from atherosclerotic blood vessels, which increase the risk of a heart attack, stroke or death.
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute Florida campus have been awarded nearly $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health to create a series of drug candidates that advance treatments for such conditions as obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and muscle atrophy.
James Galas, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist on staff at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, part of the Detroit Medical Center, has an interest in providing public awareness programs to the community. “Studies suggest that in the majority of cases of sudden cardiac death, the athlete does not recognize symptoms until the actual cardiac arrest,” Dr. Galas says.
Yoga practitioners have been touting yoga’s psychological and physical benefits for more than 5,000 years. Increasingly, yoga is being recommended for some patients with heart disease.
Many believe that heart health involves strenuous tasks and countless hours at the gym. But just 30 minutes of exercise five out of seven days a week can reduce heart attack risk by up to 50 percent.
Leading Female Cardiovascular Experts from Mount Sinai Heart Share Advice in Celebration of February’s American Heart Month and National Go Red Day Friday, February 5
Young African-Americans often hold a distorted view of their personal risk for a stroke, two nursing researchers at Georgia State University’s Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions say in a recently published study in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Henry Ford Health System report evidence that higher levels of physical fitness may not only reduce risk of heart attacks and death from all causes, but also possibly improve the chances of survival after a first attack.
People who are fit are more likely to survive their first heart attack, according to a study of nearly 70,000 patients of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The results of the study by Henry Ford and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will be published online February 1 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has found that the University of Minnesota's "Ask About Aspirin" initiative, a statewide public health campaign, is likely a beneficial and cost-effective way to reduce the incidence of a first heart attack or stroke.
The findings of a major study led by cardiovascular imaging specialists at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), part of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN), suggest that magnetic resonance imaging is a safe and effective diagnostic procedure for patients with implantable cardiac devices. The research, believed to be the first ever focused solely on the value of MRI in this patient population, is being presented today at the annual Society of Cardiovascular MRI Scientific Sessions meeting in Los Angeles.
Latest Research Highlights from ACSM
Bruce Lytle, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon who until recently served as chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute, has joined The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano.
Frequent measurement of blood flow changes could improve the ability of health care providers to diagnose and treat patients with vascular conditions. A U.S.-Chinese team that included researchers from NIH conducted a pilot study showing that an ultrathin, skin-conforming sensor—resembling a peel-away tattoo—provides non-invasive, precise, and continuous monitoring of circulation, including blood flow within the smallest vessels.
A new clinical study published in the January issue of Gene Therapy reports the promising results of an innovative DNA-based gene therapy that may offer a potential therapeutic option for a disease with unmet medical needs.
Findings suggest a new approach to treat early heart failure
A new study finds that educating and involving family members in the care of a loved one who has memory loss may significantly reduce hospital readmissions. When researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit evaluated the strategy in treating 489 patients in its congestive heart failure (CHF) unit, the results were impressive: the 30-day readmission rate dropped to 16 percent from 23 percent – a 30 percent decline.
The CTO Summit 2016 is a two-day course featuring the latest research and state-of-the-art technologies for chronic total occlusions. This year’s conference will emphasize advanced techniques, evidence-based medicine, and live case transmissions featuring the world’s leading experts in CTO stenting. Sessions showcasing the latest research on CTOs will focus on procedural outcomes, registry updates, and new stent technologies.
February is American Heart Month and Mount Sinai experts are sharing tips on prevention.
Jefferson researchers have shown that early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea is associated with reduced six-month readmissions for patients hospitalized with heart failure.
Iowa State's Ming-Chen Hsu and his research group are developing computer modeling technologies that help engineers design better machines. The models are being applied to wind turbines, artificial hearts and gas turbines.
Contrary to current clinical belief, regular caffeine consumption does not lead to extra heartbeats, which, while common, can lead in rare cases to heart- or stroke-related morbidity and mortality, according to UC San Francisco researchers.
Two home visits by a physician’s assistant (PA) during the week after hospital discharge significantly reduces the chance that a heart surgery patient will be readmitted, and reduces overall costs associated with the heart surgery
Internationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon Joseph E. Bavaria, MD today was elected as President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons during the organization’s 52nd Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
Robert A. Guyton, MD is the recipient of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 2016 Distinguished Service Award, presented Monday evening at the Society’s 52nd Annual Meeting.
A new scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association underscores knowledge gaps that remain when it comes to women and heart attacks, and outlines the priority steps needed to better understand and treat heart disease in women. The statement, chaired by Dr. Laxmi Mehta, from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, compiles the newest data on symptoms, treatments and the types of heart attacks among women.