After FDA warnings on side effects of popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, study finds that some patients potentially exposed to high-dose medication risks unnecessarily.
Are you stressed? Results of a new meta-analysis of six studies involving nearly 120,000 people indicate that the answer to that question may help predict one’s risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) or death from CHD. The study, led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, was published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
A research team led by scientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have decoded the entire pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels — a condition that promotes a wide number of disorders, such as heart disease, cancer growth and spread, inflammation and respiratory distress.
In a study of 400 healthy volunteers, researchers went looking for people who are truly resistant to the benefits of aspirin. They failed to find one case of aspirin resistance; rather, they found “pseudoresistance,” due to the coating found on most brands of aspirin, often preferred by patients for the protection it is claimed to provide the stomach. A urine biomarker of platelet stickiness was not able to find which volunteers were even pseudoresistant.
People acting as caregivers for family members with cardiovascular disease may inadvertently increase their own risk for heart disease by neglecting their own health, according to a new study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
During embryonic development, the all-important coronary arteries arise from cells previously considered incapable of producing them, according to scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (http://einstein.yu.edu/) of Yeshiva University. The research, carried out in mice and published today in the online edition of the journal Cell, may speed development of regenerative therapies for heart disease.
Scientists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented new findings this week in pediatric heart disease. Topics included racial disparities in sudden cardiac death, novel 3D imaging and concurrent organ transplants.
Researchers at The Methodist Hospital Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and the Baylor College of Medicine presented new data today that show two biomarkers can improve heart failure risk prediction as part of a simpler model.
Heart failure patients with a condition called “heart block” derive significant benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), according to the results of the Block HF clinical trial, presented today at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2012 meeting in Los Angeles.
A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that having chronic lung, kidney or heart disease more than doubles a patient's risk of future sepsis. Worse yet, the risks are additive.
A single junk food meal – composed mainly of saturated fat – is detrimental to the health of the arteries, while no damage occurs after consuming a Mediterranean meal rich in good fats such as mono-and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
New Chicago adult congenital heart network holds first conference to address lack of adequate adult care for congenital heart defect patients.
A comprehensive new review on how to treat high cholesterol and other blood lipid problems suggests that intensive treatment with high doses of statin drugs is usually the best approach. But some statins work much better for this than others, the review concluded, and additional lipid-lowering medications added to a statin have far less value.
U-M Cardiovascular Research Center harnesses expertise in basic research to find new treatment options for heart and vascular conditions.
Researchers have found that a diet high in saturated fat raises levels of endothelial lipase (EL), an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis, and, conversely, that a diet high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fat lowers levels of this enzyme. The findings establish a “new” link between diet and atherosclerosis and suggest a novel way to prevent cardiovascular heart disease. In addition, the research may help to explain why the type 2 diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) has been linked to heart problems.
A new study has outlined for the first time a biological mechanism by which zinc deficiency can develop with age, leading to a decline of the immune system and increased inflammation associated with many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes.
Since moderate drinking is common for more than a third of the population, the findings suggest the effect of increased alcohol consumption, even in moderate amounts, on atrial fibrillation risk in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease may be considerable.
Women who experience early menopause are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than women whose menopause occurs at a later age, according to a new study by Melissa Wellons, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine in the Vanderbilt Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Women who go into early menopause are twice as likely to suffer from coronary heart disease and stroke, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests. The association holds true in patients from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, the study found, and is independent of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, the scientists say.
Doctors who believe that women have “atypical” coronary heart disease symptoms are less certain when diagnosing heart disease in women. As a result, women are less likely than men to receive treatments for an urgent cardiac event, finds a new study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have found that cardiac stem cells (CSCs) from newborns have a three-fold ability to restore heart function to nearly normal levels compared with adult CSCs. Further, in animal models of heart attack, hearts treated with neonatal stem cells pumped stronger than those given adult cells.
• For the first time, a new test can measure the propensity for calcification to occur in an individual’s blood. • The test could identify people at risk for vascular calcification, a major cause of heart disease.
A study from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, published August 22 online by PLoS ONE, reports that muscle problems reported by patients taking statins were related to the strength or potency of the given cholesterol-lowering drugs.
A study of adults >50 years old has found no lasting adverse effects from running marathons, similar to findings of adults aged 18-40.
Heart calcium scans are far superior to other assessment tools in predicting the development of cardiovascular disease in individuals currently classified at intermediate risk by their doctors, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have identified the specific type of immune cells (CD4 T cells) that orchestrate the inflammatory attack on the artery wall, which is a major contributor to plaque buildup in heart disease. Further, the researchers discovered that these immune cells are launching their attack in response to normal proteins that the body mistakes as being foreign, an autoimmune type response, which points up the possibility of developing a tolerogenic vaccine for heart disease.
Rapamycin, an FDA-approved immunosuppressant drug under study in aging research labs, improved function and extended survival in mice suffering from a genetic mutation which leads to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and rare muscular dystrophies in humans. There are currently no effective treatment for the diseases, which include Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy and Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy.
Cedars-Sinai researchers have linked Kawasaki Disease, a serious childhood illness that causes inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body, with early-onset and accelerated atherosclerosis, a leading cause of heart disease in adults.
Middle-aged women who report having been physically abused as children are about two times more likely than other women their age to have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, a larger waistline and poor cholesterol levels, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
The American Heart Association, Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, yesterday applauded passage of important legislation that would make crucial data available about how new drugs and medical devices affect women, minorities and ethnic groups.
Two new blood tests for vitamin D are inaccurate in at least 40 percent of laboratory specimens analyzed, a new study finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
For the first time, a study has found that intensive cholesterol therapy involving a combination of drugs for 20 years may be more effective over the long run than taking a single statin medication.
The hot flashes and night sweats that most women experience early in menopause are not linked to increased levels of cardiovascular disease risk markers unless the symptoms persist or start many years after menopause begins. These new study results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
An overactive thyroid gland, or hyperthyroidism, may increase the risk of hospitalization for heart and blood-vessel disease even after surgery to remove the gland, according to a new study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.
One in eight people who suffer a heart attack or other acute coronary event experience clinically significant symptoms of PTSD, according to a meta-analysis of 24 studies. The study also shows that heart patients who suffer PTSD face twice the risk of having another cardiac event or of dying within one to three years, compared with those without PTSD.
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 McMaster University have discovered that long-term insulin use does not harm people with diabetes or pre-diabetes or put them at risk of heart attacks, strokes or cancer.
Special echocardiograms show promise for early detection of a potentially deadly complication in rheumatoid arthritis: heart disease, Mayo Clinic research shows.
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine are pioneering new ultrasound techniques that provide the first characterization of multidirectional blood flow in the heart. By focusing on fluid dynamics – specifically, the efficiency with which blood enters and exits the heart’s left ventricle – the researchers believe they can detect heart disease even when traditional measures show no sign of trouble.
A study led by researchers from McGill University provides new insights into the structure of muscle tissue in the heart – a finding that promises to contribute to the study of heart diseases and to the engineering of artificial heart tissue.
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.
New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).
Sildenafil, also known as the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, may give a boost to underdeveloped hearts in children and young adults with congenital heart defects.
The cells that line the pipes leading to the heart pull more tightly together in areas of fast-flowing blood. The discovery could help to reduce vascular leakage and better treat heart disease.
Clinical trial at the Orlando Health Heart Institute evaluates the use of stem cells from the pelvic bone marrow to improve heart function. Patients’ own stem cells may preserve heart muscle function after a heart attack.
Writing the first commentary for a new feature in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), called Viewpoint, Johns Hopkins cardiologists make the case for why a 55-year-old man with a 10 percent estimated risk of heart attack over the next 10 years should be offered statin medication. They were invited to debate a professor who argues against prescribing statins for “primary” prevention—for those who have not had a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack—even though they may be considered at “intermediate” risk because of elevated cholesterol or other factors. Readers are then invited to vote on which viewpoint they endorse.
In a study that included elderly men and women without preexisting cardiovascular disease, major and minor electrocardiographic abnormalities were associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events and improved the prediction of CHD events such as heart attack, beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors, according to a study in the April 11 issue of JAMA.
Although observational studies have suggested that losartan, a drug used primarily for the treatment of hypertension, may be associated with an increased risk of death among patients with heart failure compared with other medications in the same class of drugs, an analysis that included nearly 6,500 patients found that overall, use of losartan was not associated with increased all-cause death or cardiovascular death compared with use of the ARB candesartan, according to a study in the April 11 issue of JAMA.
In work published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation researchers question the wisdom of blocking the DP1 receptor in patients prone to cardiovascular disease, especially those taking niacin.
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