Copyright 2012 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/cardiovascular/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242442.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242442.phpAccording to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins, heart transplant patients are considerably more likely to survive at least a decade after their operation if they underwent the procedure before the age of 55 at a hospital that performs at least 9 heart transplants per year. The study is published in the March issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242387.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242387.phpResearchers at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, in collaboration with Amgen Inc. and several academic institutions, have discovered a way to block the body's response to cold using a drug. This finding could have significant implications in treating conditions such as stroke and cardiac arrest...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242369.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242369.php About 350,000 Canadians suffer from atrial fibrillation, according to estimates of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation. A new study, in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), shows a strong link between an irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation (AF), and a higher risk of dementia...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242351.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242351.php An initial genetic analysis of a 5,000-year-old mummy that has become known as Oetzi the Tyrolean Iceman, reveals he was predisposed to cardiovascular diseases. The finding appears to be confirmed by the fact scientists also found that Oetzi, the world's oldest glacier mummy, had arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries...Genetics Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242336.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242336.phpPatients who had leaky mitral heart valves repaired along with bypass surgery had healthier hearts than those who had bypass only, according to new research presented in the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series webinar. The mitral valve separates the heart's left atrium (upper chamber) from the left ventricle (lower chamber)...Heart Disease Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242319.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242319.phpThe Guidelines Committee of the Heart Failure Society of America has updated its recommendations after reviewing the latest evidence. The recommendations, published in the February issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure, now recommend that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) should also include larger patient groups with mild heart failure symptoms...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242277.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242277.phpIn the United States alone, approximately 6 million people suffer from an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (AF), and since the incidence increases with age, it is predicted that 15.9 million Americans will be affected by 2050. The most devastating side effect of AF is stroke, but a new device from Boston Scientific may prevent them from occurring...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242269.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242269.phpReconstructing family trees dating back to 1811, Dutch researchers have estimated the death risk for people with inherited heart rhythm disorders, according to a study in Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, a journal of the American Heart Association...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242231.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242231.phpBased on a review of the latest evidence, the Guidelines Committee of the Heart Failure Society of America now recommends that the use of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) be expanded to a larger group of patients with mild heart failure symptoms. Recommendations for integrating new evidence into clinical practice appear in the February issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure...Heart Disease Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242232.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242232.phpA two-year effort to prevent infections in children healing from cardiac surgery reduced sternum infections by 61 percent, a San Antonio researcher announced at the Cardiology 2012 conference in Orlando, Fla...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242240.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242240.phpHeart transplant patients who receive new organs before the age of 55 and get them at hospitals that perform at least nine heart transplants a year are significantly more likely than other people to survive at least 10 years after their operations, new Johns Hopkins research suggests...Transplants / Organ Donations Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242172.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242172.phpCould blind, buck-toothed, finger-sized naked mole-rats harbor in their brain cells a survival secret that might lead to better heart attack or stroke treatments? University of Illinois at Chicago biologist Thomas Park and colleagues at UIC and the University of Texas Heath Science Center at San Antonio think the subterranean lifestyle of the pasty-looking rodents may indeed...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242173.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242173.phpA large population-based study has found that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are strongly and independently associated with increased risk of heart failure. Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking...Heart Disease Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242180.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242180.phpTo celebrate February as American Heart Month, the News Blog is highlighting some of the latest heart-centric news and stories from all parts of Penn Medicine...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242183.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242183.phpPediatric cardiology researchers and clinicians from almost 50 centers from across the U.S. and around the world are gathering at the Cardiology 2012 Conference sponsored by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Orlando, Fla. The news briefs below summarize 11 research abstracts selected by the conference organizers as featured presentations...Heart Disease Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242163.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242163.phpA study published February 25 in the European Journal of Heart Failure, reveals that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are associated with a higher incidence of heart failure According to the researchers of the large population-based study, this link was apparent in individuals who never smoked and was still apparent after adjusting for smoking status and number of years smoking...Respiratory / Asthma Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242144.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242144.phpThe 2012 Joint European CVD Prevention Guidelines , that will be published at the EuroPRevent 2012 later this year, will be more concise, compact and supported by fewer references, according to Professor Joep Perk, Chairperson of the Task Force of the fifth edition, who states that the aim is to provide guidelines that contain recommendations, which can be readily applied and t...Heart Disease Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242134.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242134.phpCigarette smoke has long been considered the main risk factor for heart disease. But new research from Brown University in Providence, R.I., shows that nicotine itself, a component of cigarette smoke, can contribute to the disease process by changing cell structure in a way that promotes migration and invasion of the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels...Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242078.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242078.phpUniversity of California, San Diego researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks. The study by Karen Christman and colleagues appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242095.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242095.phpScientists have developed a unique compound that in laboratory tests blocks inflammation-causing molecules in blood cells known to fuel ailments like cancer and cardiovascular disease without causing harmful toxicity...Immune System / Vaccines Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242048.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242048.phpThe next Joint European CVD Prevention Guidelines, scheduled for publication later this year at EuroPRevent 2012, will be shorter, tighter and supported by fewer references. The aim, says Professor Joep Perk, Chairperson of the Task Force of the fifth edition, is a set of guidelines whose recommendations can be readily applied and whose evidence is unequivocal...Heart Disease Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242059.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242059.phpA paper from Rhode Island Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit examines whether different presentation formats, presenter characteristics, and patient characteristics affect decision-making for patients requiring treatment for asymptomatic carotid stenosis...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242072.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/242072.phpMindful of lessons from a failed heart drug that cost $800 million to develop, drug companies are taking another shot at new medications that boost levels of so-called "good cholesterol," which removes cholesterol from the body...Cholesterol Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242090.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242090.phpResearchers in the School of Nursing at Yale University in the US are setting up a survey to find out why so many people often wait several hours following a heart attack before seeking medical help. This is of concern because all the evidence points to the fact that treatment is most effective when the heart attack sufferer gets medical attention in the first hour of experiencing symptoms...Cardiovascular / Cardiology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242062.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242062.phpThe University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has developed a unique feeding device, which may lower the risk of failure to thrive (FTT) currently affecting 50% of all newborns with congenital heart defects, even after they had successful surgery...Pediatrics / Children's Health