Heart
Edwards heart valve trial results impress
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A heart valve replacement technique developed by Edwards LifeSciences Corp that spares patients open-heart surgery had a slightly lower death rate at one year, outweighing a higher risk of major stroke.
One year after implantation using the Edwards valve called Sapien, 24.2 percent of patients died—compared with 26.8 percent of those who underwent open-heart surgery in the highly anticipated 699-patient study.
Non-inferiority of the Edwards device was “strongly established,” according to researchers who presented the data at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions.
Cancer breakthrough to prevent heart failure and increase survival rates
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A breakthrough by scientists at Queen’s could help reduce heart failure in cancer patients around the world, and ultimately increase survival rates.
Scientists at Queen’s Centre for Vision and Vascular Science have discovered the role of an enzyme which, when a patient receives chemotherapy, can cause life-threatening damage to the heart. This has, until now, restricted the amount of chemotherapy doses a patient can receive; but while protecting the heart, this dilutes the chemotherapy’s effectiveness in destroying cancerous tumours.
By identifying the role of the enzyme - NADPH oxidase - work can now go ahead into making chemotherapy treatments more effective and reduce the toxic effects of cancer treatment on the heart.
Study shows rapamycin reverses myocardial defects in mouse model of LEOPARD syndrome
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Congenital heart diseases affect approximately one in 100 patients, making them the most common type of birth defect and the number-one cause of pediatric deaths.
Now a new study showing that the mTOR inhibitor drug rapamycin can reverse cardiac muscle damage in a mouse model of the congenital disease LEOPARD syndrome not only identifies the first possible medical treatment for this rare condition, but also demonstrates the importance of targeted therapies in managing congenital diseases.
The research, led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), is published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), which appears on-line today.
Common birth control pill not tied to heart attacks
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Contrary to earlier signs that women on the Pill have a higher risk of heart disease, a new look at the medical literature found no link between heart attacks and the so-called mini-pills.
Such pills, including brands like Micronor and Ovrette, contain the hormone progestin, but not the estrogen of traditional birth control pills. The results also held for other progestin-only birth control products, such as implants and shots.
“I think this is very reassuring that there is no increased risk of heart attack,” said Chrisandra Shufelt of the Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who was not involved in the review.
Heart disease costs to triple in U.S. by 2030: report
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The costs of heart disease in the United States will triple between now and 2030, to more than $800 billion a year, a report commissioned by the American Heart Association predicted on Monday.
Treating high blood pressure will be the most expensive part of the cost, rising to $389 billion by 2030, the report projects, with overall heart disease rising by 10 percent by then.
The report is bad news for the United States, which already has the highest per capita healthcare costs in the developed world and is struggling to lower expenses. Last week the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform, in part, they said, because it did not cut costs.
Cell binding discovery brings hope to those with skin and heart problems
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A University of Manchester scientist has revealed the mechanism that binds skin cells tightly together, which he believes will lead to new treatments for painful and debilitating skin diseases and also lethal heart defects.
Professor David Garrod, in the Faculty of Life Sciences, has found that the glue molecules bind only to similar glue molecules on other cells, making a very tough, resilient structure. Further investigation on why the molecules bind so specifically could lead to the development of clinical applications.
Professor Garrod, whose Medical Research Council-funded work is paper of the week in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) tomorrow (Friday), said: “Our skin is made up of three different layers, the outermost of which is the epidermis. This layer is only about 1/10th of a millimetre thick yet it is tough enough to protect us from the outside environment and withstand the wear and tear of everyday life.
Detection of Cardiac Biomarker Associated with Structural Heart Disease, Increased Risk of Death
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With the use of a highly sensitive test, detection of the blood biomarker cardiac troponin T, a cardiac-specific protein, is associated with structural heart disease and an increased risk of all-cause death, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA.
Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is a preferred biomarker for the diagnosis of heart attack, and increasingly it has been recognized that elevated troponin levels may be detected in several chronic disease states, including coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Some research has suggested that troponin may be useful for detecting subclinical cardiovascular disease and assessing cardiovascular disease risk in the general population; however, the low prevalence of detection with standard tests would limit the use of troponin measurement for these clinical applications, according to background information in the article.
“Recently, a highly sensitive assay for cTnT has been developed that detects levels approximately 10-fold lower than those detectable with the standard assay,” the authors write. “In patients with chronic heart failure and chronic CAD, circulating cTnT is detectable in almost all individuals with the highly sensitive assay, and higher levels correlate strongly with increased cardiovascular mortality.”
Use of omega-3 does not appear to reduce recurrence of atrial fibrillation
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Although some data have suggested that omega-3 fatty acid supplements, such as from fish oil, may improve treatment of atrial fibrillation, a randomized trial with more than 600 patients finds that treatment with high-dose prescription omega-3 did not reduce the recurrence of atrial fibrillation over six months, according to a study that will appear in the December 1 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting.
“Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly prevalent disease that is responsible for reduced quality of life, costly hospitalizations, heart failure, stroke, and death. No current therapy, drug, device, or ablation [removal of tissue or cells] is uniformly effective, and several available therapies have the potential to cause harm. Consequently, useful alternatives are being sought,” the authors write. “Limited data from small trials suggest omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may provide a safe, effective treatment option for AF participants.”
Peter R. Kowey, M.D., of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, Pa., and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the efficacy of a pure prescription formulation of omega-3 fatty acids (prescription omega-3), at a dose considerably higher than what has been tested in previous trials, for preventing recurrent atrial fibrillation. The study included 663 U.S. outpatient participants with confirmed symptomatic paroxysmal (sudden attacks) (n = 542) or persistent (n = 121) AF, with no substantial structural heart disease, who were recruited from November 2006 to July 2009 (final follow-up was January 2010). Participants received prescription omega-3 (8 grams/day) or placebo for the first 7 days; prescription omega-3 (4 grams/day) or placebo thereafter through week 24.
Family ties play big role in atrial fibrillation
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People who have a close family member with atrial fibrillation are 40 percent more likely to develop the heart condition than other people, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.
And the finding was even stronger for people whose relatives developed the heart rhythm problem at a younger age—before they turned 65.
“It was a threefold increased risk,” Dr. Emelia Benjamin of Boston University School of Medicine, who worked on the study to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Many women missing out on the benefits of cardiac rehab
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Cardiac rehabilitation is considered the pillar of preventing a second cardiac event yet those who stand to benefit the most – women and the elderly − are often missing out, Dr. Billie Jean Martin told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
“These two high-risk but universally undertreated groups are less likely attend cardiac rehab than their younger, male counterparts even when they are referred,” says Dr. Martin, PhD(c) and surgical trainee at University Calgary/Libin Cardiovascular Institute, speaking on behalf of her co-authors at the Cardiac Wellness institute of Calgary and APPROACH. “And when women do attend cardiac rehab, they tend to present later and at a more serious stage of the disease.”
The study of 6,000 people living with cardiovascular disease found that participation in cardiac rehab was associated with a decreased risk of emergency room visits and hospitalization and a significantly lower risk of death.
Life and death in the age of the bionic heart
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In September 2007, Verna Schrombeck gathered three of her six children - those who could bear it - to discuss her funeral arrangements. She had been given just months to live and was about to undergo a last-ditch, cutting-edge heart surgery. There was no guarantee she would return home.
Had she organized things well enough, she wondered, so that her eldest son, who was in charge of the estate, would not be burdened? Had she taught her handicapped son, an adult, enough life skills to take care of himself? She asked that the Ave Maria be played at her funeral.
A week later, Verna’s sister drove her 8 hours from Lowell, Indiana to Rochester, Minnesota, to the Mayo Clinic, one of the country’s best hospitals for heart surgery. Her daughter flew in from Kansas. By the time Verna arrived at the hospital she could barely walk to the admissions desk. “I leaned over the railing, gasping for breath,” she said. “I told my daughter, ‘you have to get me a wheelchair.’”
Calcium supplements may raise risk of heart attack
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Calcium supplements, which many people consume hoping to ward off osteoporosis, may increase the risk of heart attack by as much as 30 percent, researchers reported on Friday.
These tiny tablets which carry concentrated doses of calcium were also associated with higher incidences of stroke and death, but they were not statistically significant.
The researchers advised people consuming calcium supplements to seek advice from their doctors, take more calcium-rich foods and try other interventions like exercise, not smoking and keeping a healthy weight to prevent osteoporosis.
New mathematical model could aid studies of cardiac muscle
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Researchers have developed a new mathematical model that may provide a simpler and better way of predicting ventricular function during the cardiac cycle. The new model could help researchers improve treatment options for patients with heart disease. The article appears in the August issue of the Journal of General Physiology (http://www.jgp.org).
Previous mathematical models of striated muscle—including the Huxley scheme developed in 1957, as well as more recent models—have been quite complex and less suitable for routine analysis. Now, Steven Ford and co-workers (Washington State University) present a much simpler model comprising only five parameters, which they recommend for routine use in studies of cardiac muscle. According to Kenneth Campbell (University of Kentucky) in a Commentary accompanying the paper, Ford et al.‘s model may “be the best contractile system yet to integrate into multi-scale models of working hearts.”
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About The Journal of General Physiology
Higher testosterone may raise risk of heart disease in elderly men
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A large U.S. multicenter study shows that older men with higher testosterone levels are more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease in the future. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.
“The study finding contradicts smaller studies that have shown that testosterone levels are not associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease,” said presenting author Kristen Sueoka, MD, a resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Many in the general public are using testosterone supplements for various medical problems, including low sex drive and mood disorders, which are not life-threatening. These men may unknowingly be placing themselves at higher risk for cardiovascular disease,” she said.
Workout music: give me the beat boys
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Rock, hip hop or R&B, if it has a pounding tempo music can really rock your cardio workout.
Fitness experts say boosted by that backbeat you might not even notice that youre working harder.
“Higher tempo certainly seems to drive the intensity of exercise performance,” said Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
