Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Cardiovascular / Cardiology News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/cardiovascular/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170113.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170113.php Declining kidney function is linked to a higher risk of heart failure, heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, and early death in individuals with or without kidney disease, according to a pair of studies appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that poor kidney function may raise an individual's risk for cardiovascular complications. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170088.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170088.php One category of medical mysteries that stumps expert doctors and policymakers alike falls under the heading: What works? News reports on two new studies - and one that was never completed - offer insight into that issue. It turns out that "one of the first things you do at a doctor's visit" may not do much to improve your health, the Chicago Tribune reports. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170048.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170048.php Higher levels of phosphorus in the blood are linked to increased calcification of the coronary arteries a key marker of heart disease risk, according to a study in an upcoming issue of Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "This may help to explain why even early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk that is not otherwise explained by traditional risk factors," comments Katherine R. Heart Disease Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170054.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170054.php A study of 2,203 cardiac surgery patients from Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers nationwide revealed that coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) completed "off-pump," meaning without a heart-lung machine, had no advantages in patient outcomes compared to the traditional "on-pump" procedure. A. Laurie Shroyer, Ph.D. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170024.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170024.php Health Minister Edwina Hart will attend the launch of a new initiative to reduce heart disease in Torfaen. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has awarded £1.5million in funding and resources to Torfaen Local Health Board to tackle heart disease in the area. It comes as part of the health charity's UK-wide Hearty Lives programme to reduce geographical inequalities in heart disease. Heart Disease Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170028.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170028.php A new study indicates dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation. Dentistry Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170029.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170029.php Results of a long QT syndrome (LQTS) study published in the current issue of Circulation play an important role in understanding genetic testing's role in diagnosing disease, according to the senior author, Michael Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D. A pediatric cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Ackerman directs Mayo's Long QT Syndrome Clinic and is the director of the Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170010.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170010.php Bone strength and heart health are two of the most important health issues for women. One out of every two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime and more than 50 million women have blood cholesterol levels high enough to pose a risk for heart disease. Now there is a new product available to help address both of these issues at the same time. Bones / Orthopaedics Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169949.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169949.php Coronary Risk Factors Increase After Liver Transplantation (#7991) Patients who have undergone a liver transplant may have a significantly increased risk for developing cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers from New York Medical College assessed the incidence of new coronary risk factors and coronary artery disease in 200 patients (mean age, 58 years) after liver transplantation. All patients received prednisone for the first 3 months after transplantation. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169981.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169981.php While studying how the heart is formed, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine serendipitously found a novel cellular source of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common type of abnormal heart beat. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169935.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169935.php Searching for a needle in a haystack may seem futile, but it's worth it if the needle is a hard-to-detect protein that may identify a person at high risk of a heart attack circulating within a haystack of human serum (liquid component of blood). C-reactive protein (CRP), a molecule produced by the liver in response to inflammation, normally accounts for less than 1/60,000 of a person's total serum protein, or about 1 milligram per liter (mg/L) of serum. Heart Disease Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169843.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169843.php Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have made an important discovery about why potassium builds up to dangerous levels in the bloodstream, a relatively common medical problem that affects about eight percent of hospitalized patients. They have identified a new molecular pathway and a new class of molecules responsible for preventing potassium from being excreted normally through the kidney. Their study was just published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Urology / Nephrology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169770.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169770.php Although statins are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169774.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169774.php A pair of studies in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, lay to rest the decades-long concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer, and in fact lower cholesterol may reduce the risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Demetrius Albanes, M.D., a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, said early studies suggested that low cholesterol could increase the risk of certain types of cancer. Cholesterol Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169751.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169751.php Cardiologists at the University of Illinois Medical Center are using a new heart pump that can be inserted without the need for surgery and allows them to treat high-risk patients with a procedure to unblock their heart arteries. The recently FDA-approved device was used to assist in three angioplasty procedures at the Medical Center last week. Heart Disease Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169740.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169740.php Myocarditis is an important, and often unrecognized cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Several new diagnostic methods, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are useful for diagnosing myocarditis, according to a study published in the November 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "The use of MRI is particularly significant in the diagnosis of patients with myocarditis because it is a standard, noninvasive method," says Leslie Cooper Jr., M.D. Heart Disease Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169715.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169715.php The use of low-dose aspirin to ward off heart attacks and strokes in those yet to develop obvious cardiovascular disease, should be abandoned, says the latest issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). Low-dose aspirin is widely used to prevent further episodes of cardiovascular disease in people who have already had problems such as a heart attack or stroke. This approach - known as secondary prevention - is well established and of confirmed benefit. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169647.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169647.php The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance recommending the use of prasugrel in combination with aspirin as an option for preventing blood clots in the arteries of people with acute coronary syndromes. Acute coronary syndromes refers to a group of heart problems which occur due to narrowed coronary arteries. These heart problems cause chest pain, and specific types of heart attack. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169667.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169667.php A new study suggests that the inner sense of our cardiovascular state, our "interoceptive awareness" of the heart pounding, relies on two independent pathways, contrary to what had been asserted by prominent researchers. The University of Iowa study was published online this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience by researchers in the department of neurology in the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and the graduate programs in neuroscience and psychology. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169610.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169610.php "Heart and cancer doctors will get a smaller fee cut next year from Medicare, the U.S. government program for the elderly, than the Obama administration first sought in a move to shift money to family physicians," Bloomberg reports. Earlier this year, Medicare officials said they would cut 10 percent of payments for the two specialties. Now, they plan on making the reductions over four years, instead. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169576.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169576.php Cardiac complications around the time of noncardiac surgery are relatively common and can be serious. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169550.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169550.php Abbott announced that both the XIENCE PRIME™ Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System1 and the XIENCE V® Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System have received additional new CE Markings (Conformité Européenne) covering the treatment of patients with diabetes. Receiving these new indications among the European Union Member States validates the use of XIENCE PRIME and XIENCE V to treat patients with diabetes. Diabetes Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169546.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169546.php The latest issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) reports that the use of low-dose aspirin to protect against heart attacks and strokes in individuals yet to develop obvious cardiovascular disease, should be abandoned. Low-dose aspirin is widely used to prevent further episodes of cardiovascular disease in people who have already had problems such as a heart attack or stroke. This approach is known as secondary prevention. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169478.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169478.php A research team at Vanderbilt University has developed an innovative optical system to simultaneously image electrical activity and metabolic properties in the same region of a heart, to study the complex mechanisms that lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiovascular / Cardiology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169446.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169446.php Patients with chronic heart failure who agree to take part in clinical trials have a better prognosis than those who do not, according to a study reported in the November European Journal of Heart Failure.(1) The finding, say the authors, may even call into question the commonplace ethical requirement of most clinical trials that by choosing not to take part in the study a patient will not be disadvantaged. Cardiovascular / Cardiology