While current American Heart Association heart failure prevention guidelines warn against habitual coffee consumption, some studies propose a protective benefit, and still others find no association at all. Amidst this conflicting information, research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center attempts to shift the conversation from a definitive yes or no, to a question of how much.
Many patients with type 2 diabetes may be aspirin resistant. That means the standard aspirin dose may not protect them against blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes among diabetics, a new clinical study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
Among individuals without known cardiovascular disease (CVD), the addition of certain apolipoproteins and lipoproteins to risk scores containing total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was associated with slight improvement in CVD prediction, according to a study in the June 20 issue of JAMA.
Researchers at the U-M reveal that digoxin, the active ingredient in Foxglove, can enhance the body’s own protective mechanism against high blood pressure and heart failure.
Cardiologists at NYU Langone Medical Center regularly track three important numbers to help keep men healthy including blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). As Father’s Day approaches, it’s a good time for men and their families to recognize their risk for cardiovascular diseases and to understand specific numbers they can monitor to maintain their health.
In a study of more than 1,000 adults, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are more likely than non-users to experience decreased energy, fatigue upon exertion, or both. The researchers suggest that these findings should be taken into account by doctors when weighing risk versus benefit in prescribing statins.
Researchers at the University of Missouri have demonstrated the effectiveness of a potential new therapy for stroke patients in an article published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration. Created to target a specific enzyme known to affect important brain functions, the new compound being studied at MU is designed to stop the spread of brain bleeds and protect brain cells from further damage in the crucial hours after a stroke.
A new study from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has identified molecular changes responsible for abnormal cholesterol production and metabolism in the livers of patients with a common liver condition, and these changes may explain the severity of a patient’s liver disease and risks to their heart health.
People with insomnia may now have one more thing to keep them up at night: an increased likelihood of developing hypertension, according to a study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The study will be presented Tuesday, June 12 at the Sleep 2012 Conference in Boston.
Evidence is presented that erectile dysfunction (ED) related to vascular factors is also related to vitamin D deficiency. Those who develop vascular-related ED have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Taking vitamin D after diagnosis of vascular-related ED may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
The term “holiday heart syndrome” was coined in a 1978 study to describe patients with atrial fibrillation who experienced a common and potentially dangerous form of heart palpitation after excessive drinking, which can be common during the winter holiday season. The symptoms usually went away when the revelers stopped drinking. Now, research from UCSF builds on that finding, establishing a stronger causal link between alcohol consumption and serious palpitations in patients with atrial fibrillation, the most common form of arrhythmia.
Heart disease risk assessment tools commonly used by physicians often underestimate the cardiovascular disease danger faced by rheumatoid arthritis patients, a Mayo Clinic study has found.
The Endocrine Society’s new scientific statement published online today represents the first comprehensive evaluation of both the basic and clinical evidence related to the non-skeletal effects of vitamin D.
In a comprehensive, 10-year UCSF study, researchers found patients with HIV/AIDS suffered sudden cardiac death at a rate four times higher than the general population.
Following a stroke, factors as varied as blood sugar, body temperature and position in bed can affect patient outcomes, Loyola University Medical Center researchers report.
For the first time, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers have discovered preclinical evidence demonstrating that the inflammatory skin disease leads to cardiovascular disease. Further, the research demonstrated that aggressive reversal of psoriasis reduces the cardiovascular risk as well.
In a study that examined use of the anticoagulant medication warfarin and risk of stroke following a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in older patients, women, especially those 75 years or older, had a higher risk of stroke than men, regardless of their risk profile and use of warfarin, suggesting that current anticoagulant therapy to prevent stroke might not be sufficient for older women, according to a study in the May 9 issue of JAMA.
Living close to a major highway poses a significant risk to heart attack survivors, reinforcing the need to isolate housing developments from heavy traffic areas, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center study concludes.
A popular smoking cessation medication has been under a cloud of suspicion ever since the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a study July 2011 reporting “risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events associated with varenicline.” Varenicline, also known as Chantix, blocks the pleasant effects of nicotine on the smoker’s brain and lessens nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
Engineers at the University of Arkansas have developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient information, regardless of the patient’s location, and communicates that information in real time to a physician, hospital or the patient herself. The system includes a series of nanostructured, textile sensors integrated into a conventional sports bra for women and vest for men.
Previously, scientists thought the blood protein Junctional Adhesion Molecule A (JAM-A) stimulated platelets to form clots. Now UD researchers have shown that JAM-A actually inhibits the formation of clots--the direct cause of heart attacks and strokes.
After nearly 13 years of study and intense debate, a pair of new papers from the Perelman School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania have confirmed exactly how a once-popular class of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to cardiovascular risk for people taking it.
If a patient with a pacemaker needs an MRI for the brain or orthopedic injury, doctors at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston can now reprogram the device so they can now receive one.
New findings could help explain why women are more likely than men to have coronary symptoms after emotional upsets.
Taking an omega-3 supplement daily for three months didn’t change diastolic function in older adults, suggesting that omega-3’s benefits might fall on other aspects of cardiovascular function.
Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean emeritus and co-chairman of the board of overseers at Weill Cornell Medical College, is the co-author of a new book called The Living Heart in the 21st Century. The book, a new edition in The Living Heart best-selling series, is the essential resource guide for patients about cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.
Study of anti-hypertensive drug moxonidine finds, in an animal model, that the drug can improve heart function and survival independent of its effect on blood pressure
(NEW ORLEANS) – Howard Weitz, M.D., FACP, FACC, director of the division of Cardiology and the Jefferson Heart Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Bernard L. Segal Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and his colleagues will again lead a pre-course session, Cardiology for the Internist, at the American College of Physicians’ Internal Medicine 2012 in New Orleans. The session will educate internists on the diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic approaches to the patient at risk for or with known cardiovascular disease.
Taking large doses of vitamin C may moderately reduce blood pressure, according to an analysis of years of research by Johns Hopkins scientists. But the researchers stopped short of suggesting people load up on supplements.
Patients with heart and vascular disease will be cared for in spacious, state-of-the-art private rooms when Johns Hopkins opens its new hospital building to the first patients on April 29. The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute occupies a major part of the 1.6 million-square-foot facility, which has 560 all-private patient rooms with private baths and 33 expansive operating rooms.
Hypertension becoming a greater health issue among young patients and isn’t always obvious from blood pressure readings, new guide for physicians says
Cardiologists have long grappled with how to best manage patients with coronary artery disease who report skin hypersensitivity to nickel or other metal components found in stents -- small tubes placed in narrowed or weakened arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart. But new Mayo Clinic research, published in the April 16, 2012, issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, may help allay these concerns.
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered that changes in the gene expression of a key enzyme may contribute to high blood pressure and increase susceptibility to forming blood clots in pregnant women with preeclampsia.
Patients who went to the emergency room with chest pain but were at low risk for a heart attack were less likely to seek more tests after their conditions were explained to them using an educational tool known as a decision aid, a Mayo Clinic study found.
Can a simple diagnostic test used to measure a heart’s electrical activity help predict heart attacks? And can that knowledge help doctors reroute their patients away from coronary heart disease?
Levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) among statin-treated patients appears to be associated with the risk of developing a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, as are levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B, according to a meta-analysis of data from previously published studies appearing in the March 28 issue of JAMA.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers presented 86 abstracts and plenary sessions at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 61st Annual Scientific Session, including ground-breaking research on aggressive statin therapy, the prevalence of unrecognized cardiovascular disease symptoms in women, and morbidity associated with non-adherence to medication after stent implantation.
Patients experiencing symptoms such as chest pain who received from paramedics a certain intravenous solution had no reduction in the rate of progression to heart attack and no improvement in 30-day survival.
Less than 20 percent of patients eligible for cardiac rehab are referred to a program, which can reduce mortality by up to 35 percent.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and a multicenter team of investigators have found that carotid artery stenting (CAS) is safe and effective in patients age 70 and older.
Patients diagnosed with aortic stenosis who are too sick for open-heart surgery have better survival rates and an improved quality of life after undergoing catheter-based heart valve replacement than if the patients had been treated with standard medical therapy, according to a study authored by a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute physician based on results from a multicenter clinical trial.
Coronary CT scans help determine more quickly which patients at low-to intermediate-risk for heart attack can be discharged from hospital emergency rooms than traditional methods, according to an American College of Radiology Imaging Network study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Low-carb, high-fat diets led to more damaging, more deadly heart attacks and impaired recovery of heart function in study.
Administration of a bolus dose of the anticoagulant drug abciximab into the coronary artery involved in causing a certain type of heart attack among patients who were undergoing a PCI and also receiving another anticoagulant resulted in reduction in the size of damage to the heart muscle.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital discovered that blockages in the right coronary artery and those in bending areas of the coronary artery are the most common places for coronary dissection, a tear in the artery that can occur during balloon angioplasty of the coronary arteries.
Use of a patient’s bone marrow cells for treating chronic ischemic heart failure did not result in improvement on most measures of heart function, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology’s annual scientific sessions.
A research network led by a Mayo Clinic physician found that stem cells derived from heart failure patients’ own bone marrow and injected into their hearts improved the function of the left ventricle, the heart’s pumping chamber. Researchers also found that certain types of the stem cells were associated with the largest improvement and warrant further study.
Clinical scientist available to comment on late-breaking study on a monoclonal antibody that is being presented at the American College of Cardiology Meeting.
With transcatheter aortic valve replacement, a patient undergoes a 60 to 90-minute procedure, compared with four to six hours for open-heart surgery.
In a study that included a nationally representative sample of nearly 45,000 adults, participants who met more of seven recommended cardiovascular health behaviors or factors (such as not smoking, having normal cholesterol levels, eating a healthy diet), had a lower risk of death compared to participants who met fewer factors, although only a low percentage of adults met all seven factors, according to a study appearing in JAMA.
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