http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society, along with key specialty societies, today released appropriate use criteria for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The document provides assessed levels of appropriateness for implanting the devices in 369 real-life clinical scenarios, with the goal of enhancing physician and patient decision making and improving care and health outcomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-acchrs-criteria-icds-crt.html Cardiology Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:11:22 EST news281293876 A national shortage of critical care physicians and beds means difficult decisions for healthcare professionals: how to determine which of the sickest patients are most in need of access to the intensive care unit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-electronic-health-patients-icu-resources.html Health Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:41:22 EST news278851262 Patients who feel strongly threatened by their heart disease immediately after their heart attack have a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms. The data derived from this study can lead to better heart patient management. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-depression-heart-threat-perception.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:16:06 EST news277370157 (Medical Xpress)—Cardiac patients suffering from depression are at greater risk for new cardiac events or cardiac death than patients without depression. It is still unclear which underlying mechanisms play a role in this adverse relationship. Researchers from Tilburg University, the Veterans Affair Hospital in San Francisco, and VU University Medical Center in the Netherlands suggest that inflammatory processes could be involved (Psychoneuroendocrinology, August 2012). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-white-blood-cells-cardiac-patients.html Cardiology Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:50:32 EST news266140206 Air pollution, a serious danger to the environment, is also a major health risk, associated with respiratory infections, lung cancer and heart disease. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has concluded that not only does air pollution impact cardiac events such as heart attack and stroke, but it also causes repeated episodes over the long term. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-high-air-pollution-heart-percent.html Cardiology Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:47:04 EST news258115615 A research conducted at the University of Granada has demonstrated the efficiency of a heart rehabilitation program aimed at patients suffering from heart disease. The authors of this study affirm that it is essential that heart rehabilitation programs aimed at cardiac patients are established. In Spain, a low percentage of cardiac patients participate in this type of programs, as compared to the rest of Europe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-positive-effects-heart-patients.html Cardiology Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news255261483 Allergies to Plavix, also know by its chemical name, Clopidogrel occur in about six percent of patients given the drug, vital for the prevention of life-threatening stent thrombosis after angioplasty and percutaneous coronary interventions. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that a combination of steroids and antihistamines can successfully alleviate the allergic reaction and enable patients to remain on the drug. Until now, hypersensitivity required drug interruption, placing the patient at risk for restenosis or a major coronary event. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-allergy-plavix.html Medications Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:03:27 EST news245934198 Newly discovered subtle markers of heart damage hidden in plain sight among hours of EKG recordings could help doctors identify which heart attack patients are at high risk of dying soon. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-ekg-anomalies-heart-fatal.html Cardiology Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:00:06 EST news236432792 Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have discovered that cardiac patients receiving medicated stents -- a procedure that occurs often when blood vessels are blocked -- have a lower likelihood of suffering heart attacks or developing new blockages in the vessel downstream from the stent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-stents-heart-downstream-medication.html Medical research Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:59:50 EST news235306777 For patients undergoing rehabilitation following cardiac events, aerobic exercise training (AT) is widely recommended. Resistance training (RT) has also been shown to be beneficial because it enhances muscular strength and endurance, functional capacity and independence, and quality of life, while reducing disability. In a study scheduled for publication in the October issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers compared two RT regimens of different intensity in combination with AT. They determined that higher volume of RT in combination with AT does not yield any additional benefits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-resistance-benefit-cardiac-patients.html Health Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:09:57 EST news234094182 When it comes to defibrillators, simpler may be safer, even though more complex machines are used on a majority of patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-commonly-defibrillators-problems.html Cardiology Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:39:19 EST news234020235 Researchers from the Heart Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, have demonstrated the benefits of the 8-week 'Beating Heart Problems' group programme in a randomised controlled trial. According to Principal Research Fellow at the Centre, Dr Barbara Murphy, depressed participants appear to have benefited from the contact with their non-depressed peers: "In groups for depressed patients, progress can be slow. With our programme, which involved depressed and non-depressed patients in a group together, we saw that the depressed patients improved dramatically. We believe that the 'well' patients were positive role models for the depressed patients, helping them to embrace healthy behaviours and a more positive mood." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-heart-problems-combined-group-therapy.html Cardiology Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:47:44 EST news233837246 Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center attempting to identify the vital signs that best predict those hospitalized patients at greatest risk for cardiac arrest found that a composite index used in some hospitals to activate a rapid response team and by emergency room physicians to assess the likelihood of a patient dying was a better predictor of cardiac arrest than any single vital sign. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-vital-cardiac-wards.html Cardiology Mon, 16 May 2011 16:15:59 EST news224781328