The HeartMate II left ventricular assist device, which is implanted into the body and helps pump blood in patients with severe heart failure. (Credit: Thoratec Corp.) And, in addition to helping 75 percent of patients stay alive for at least six months or until ...
The technique detects fat accumulation in cells of the beating heart in a way no other clinical method can, the researchers said, and may provide a way to screen patients for early signs of heart disease in diabetes. "Hearts beat; people breathe; and magnetic resonance imaging is very sensitive to motion, ...
Dr. Tom Hu (left), director of MCG’s Small Animal Imaging Program, and Dr. Nathan Yanasak, magnetic resonance scientist. (Credit: Medical College of Georgia) "Protons normally would be pointing in many different directions," says Dr. Tom Hu, director of the Small Animal Imaging Program at ...
Professor Klaus Rabe,Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands, and Dr Leonardo Fabbri, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, say: "We propose to add the term chronic systemic inflammatory syndrome to the diagnosis of COPD to stimulate discussion around the frequent complex chronic comorbidities in people with COPD and to ...
"Heart failure due to systemic ventricular dysfunction is a significant medical problem for children and represents the reason for at least 50 percent of pediatric referrals for heart transplantation. To date, there have been no large randomized controlled trials of any medication in children and adolescents with chronic heart failure. ...
An estimated 20 percent of all high-blood-pressure patients, or 12 million Americans, have LVH and are at increased risk of developing heart failure. While the direct relationship between levels of LVH in patients with high blood pressure and risk of cardiac complications—including death, heart attack, stroke and atrial fibrillation—has previously been ...
Despite advances in dialysis and medical therapies, patients with end-stage renal (kidney) disease (ESRD) have annual rates of death that exceed 15 percent. Cardiovascular disease, specifically heart failure or sudden death, is responsible for the majority of deaths, according to background information in the article. Some recent studies have suggested ...
This is a particle of microscopic pollution (magnified 2,000 times and 10,000 times) that appears to trigger fatal heart attacks and strokes. (Credit: Photo by Vinayak P. Dravid) But scientists didn’t have a smoking gun. They couldn’t figure out why the pollution was triggering ...
The protein has a crucial role in correctly targeting protein kinase A (PKA) to a molecular complex that helps control the rate and strength of heart muscle contractions. This complex regulates the uptake of calcium into intracellular stores in the heart, allowing it to relax and prepare for its next ...
Sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of death in the United States. Overall, the risk of sudden cardiac death increases with age and is higher in men than in women, although the sex difference narrows and eventually disappears after age 85 years, according to background information in the article. ...
A literature review published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings finds that with proper screening and treatment, many patients with chronic heart failure can safely engage in sexual activity. Methods Co-authors Stacy Mandras, M.D., Patricia Uber, Pharm. D., and Mandeep Mehra, M.D., conducted systematic independent literature searches using ...
German scientist, Prof Wilfrid Jänig, is in Melbourne this month to collaborate with Florey scientists, Dr Robin McAllen and Dr Bradford Bratton, on his research involving a pathway in the brain that controls blood pressure and may worsen cardiovascular disease. Prof Jänig’s collaboration with the Florey may have important consequences as ...
UF researchers plan to test the experimental therapy in people with severe coronary artery disease and daily chest pain who have not responded to traditional medications or surgical procedures designed to restore blood flow, such as angioplasty or bypass surgery. "The general idea is that by providing these cells of blood ...
Although previous studies have shown that hyperthyroidism—an overactive thyroid—and hypothyroidism can cause heart problems, this is the first time that a large study found a negative effect on heart function when the thyroid was only mildly under-active. “If other studies confirm these findings, then physicians might want to consider treating mild ...
Jonathan Stamler, M.D. (Credit: Duke University Medical Center) Thus, millions of patients are apparently receiving transfusions with blood that is impaired in its ability to deliver oxygen, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. They also found that adding this gas back to stored blood before ...
The HealthGrades study of patient outcomes at the nation’s approximately 5,000 hospitals, the most comprehensive annual study of its kind, covers more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization records over the years 2004 to 2006. The study examines procedures and conditions ranging from heart attack to pneumonia to valve-replacement surgery. Based ...
Matthew T. Naughton, MD, of Alfred Hospital and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, evaluated 21 patients with heart failure who were referred for polysomnography for investigation of a sleep-related breathing disorder. For each subject, two conditions were examined: a sleep-related breathing disorder and stable breathing. There were three main findings ...
Patients with heart failure have higher plasma concentrations of the vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin-1 (a peptide that can cause narrowing of a blood vessel opening), which has been associated with worse clinical or health outcomes, according to background information in the article. Tezosentan is an intravenous short-acting endothelin receptor antagonist (a ...
In a retrospective analysis to be presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2007 on November 4, lead researcher Andrea Russo, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, suggests that despite the proven overall effectiveness of the devices, women had a greater risk of dying than men. Using data from the completed INTRINSIC ...
The length of stay for a group of respiratory-failure patients who received mobility therapy within 48 hours of the insertion of a breathing tube was reduced by an average of three days compared to the stay for patients who did not receive the therapy. This reduced length of stay included ...
"If you have heart failure, exercise training can improve your health status, increase your ability to exercise and reverse patterns of muscle damage that are common in heart failure," said Axel Linke, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and a co-author on both studies. ...
Images of hearts tagged using MRI, gridlines shown expand and contract with heartbeat. (Credit: Johns Hopkins Medicine) The Hopkins team analyzed more than a half-dozen measurements of heart structure and pumping function to assess minute changes in the hearts of 5,004 men and women, ...
The researchers have identified three sisters who have a previously unknown disease that affects the heart and muscles. The oldest child, who was being treated for epilepsy, did not have the energy to play as much as her friends, but in general was considered to be a normal child. At ...
"The lifetime risk of heart failure is estimated at 20 percent (one in five) for both men and women aged 40 years," according to background information in the article. Studies have suggested that the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) and mortality can be reduced with ...
"The fact that we have a technology where the outcomes in women are equal to men is important," said Roberta C. Bogaev, M.D., lead author of the study and medical director of heart failure and cardiac transplantation at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. "Historically, because of their size, ...
The drugs studied are called sulfonylureas and include several commonly used pills to increase insulin release to lower blood sugar. Second-generation sulfonylureas -- known collectively as SU2 -- include glimepiride (Amaryl), glipizide (Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL), and glyburide (DiaBeta, Micronase, Glynase). Significance of the Study The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is growing rapidly, ...
It suggests that long-term administration of the drug captopril, starting at three weeks after patients receive total body irradiation in preparation for bone marrow transplantation (BMT), showed a favorable trend for better long-term kidney function and better long-term patient survival. Chronic kidney failure continues to be a major complication in ...
In the diabetic heart, enhanced activity of PPAR-alpha drives the use of fats as fuel, but the role of PPAR-beta/delta has been unknown. While seeking to understand the role of these proteins in diabetic heart failure, Daniel Kelly and his colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine, Missouri, have discovered ...
The sheer number, and the severity, of these other conditions appears to decrease patients’ ability to manage their diabetes. The type of co-existing condition also matters, as diabetes self-care lags most among patients with conditions that they think aren’t related to their diabetes. The new findings make it more important ...
Lung-on-a-chip. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Michigan) Biomedical engineers used the device to show that the respiratory crackles stethoscopes pick up in patients with diseases including asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia and congestive heart failure aren’t just symptoms, but may actually cause lung damage. "Our lung-on-a-chip ...