http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. First developed in the 1950s, beta blockers have been a mainstay in medicine for decades, used to treat everything from heart disease to stage fright to glaucoma. But some older classes of beta blockers are causing new concerns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-expert-beta-blocker-habit.html Cardiology Mon, 12 Nov 2012 05:39:09 EST news271921135 (HealthDay)—Women are more likely than men to experience complications and to die within six months of getting an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, according to new research that looked at nearly 39,000 patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-women-dont-fare-men-implanted.html Cardiology Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:30:01 EST news271523256 When a cardiologist attends to heart failure patients, even when the severity of illness is higher, patients have reduced rates of hospital readmissions, compared with those patients who are treated by a hospitalist, according to a trial being presented today at the American Heart Association's scientific sessions in Los Angeles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-hf-patients-cardiologist-hospitalist-readmissions.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:07:17 EST news271429454 Cardiology researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have found that approximately 75 percent of patients taking two common blood-thinning drugs may be receiving the wrong dosage levels, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-percent-patients-popular-blood-thinners-wrong.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:00:01 EST news271413454 If you have optimal heart health in middle age, you may live up to 14 years longer, free of cardiovascular disease, than your peers who have two or more cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-healthy-years-life.html Health Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:38:55 EST news271355925 Czechs on Thursday mourned the death of Jakub Halik, a 38-year-old fireman, who became the first human ever to have survived six months without a heart on artificial life support, but succumbed to liver and kidney failure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-months-heart-czechs.html Cardiology Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:02:57 EST news269773371 Heart attack patients in states that require health care providers to report the outcomes of procedures to open blocked arteries are less likely to receive those live-saving treatments than similar patients in states without public reporting mandates, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-heart-patients-medical-disclosure-side.html Cardiology Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:30:01 EST news269260672 (Medical Xpress)—Eating an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but eating watermelon may just keep the cardiologist at bay. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-watermelon-shown-boost-heart-health.html Health Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:52:33 EST news268469530 (Medical Xpress)—Eating an apple a day might in fact help keep the cardiologist away, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-apple-day-lowers-blood-chemical.html Health Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:36:36 EST news268400095 Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease that substantially hinders the disease's proper diagnosis and treatment, says a cardiologist researching the impact of obesity and weight loss on the heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-obesity-major-contributor-heart-disease.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:02:08 EST news267184920 (Medical Xpress)—A new Northwestern Medicine study shows that smoking during your middle-aged years dramatically increases your lifetime risk of not just getting cancer, but dying from it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-age-smokers-significantly-higher-cancer.html Health Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:00:01 EST news266744462 (Medical Xpress)—Findings from a recent American Heart Association/American Stroke Association survey noted the increased awareness in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation and the correlation between this condition and stroke.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-percentage-patients-aware-link-atrial.html Cardiology Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:19:48 EST news266145558 According to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), adding vorapaxar, an investigational platelet blocker, to standard antiplatelet therapy significantly reduces the long-term risk of recurrent cardiovascular events beyond one year in patients with a history of a prior heart attack. Researchers also identify a low-bleeding risk group among whom the clinical benefit of vorapaxar was particularly favorable. This research is presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2012 and published simultaneously in the Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-anti-platelet-therapy-cardiac-events-patients.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:10:01 EST news265280273 Twenty-three-year-old Paul Corby has a bad heart and a flawed mind. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-medical-debate-autism-block-heart.html Other Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:10:01 EST news264428242 A Cortland woman with a genetic abnormality in her heart is back to her normal routine thanks to the seemingly unusual pairing of a brain surgeon and cardiologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-brain-surgeon-cardiologist-cortland-womans.html Cardiology Wed, 08 Aug 2012 10:47:20 EST news263641588 The very oldest in our society are missing out on simple heart treatments which can prolong and improve their quality of life, Newcastle heart experts say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-quarter-elderly-undiagnosed-treatable-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:00:01 EST news262369789 For the first time, a study has found that intensive cholesterol therapy involving a combination of drugs for 20 years may be more effective over the long run than taking a single statin medication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-intensive-cholesterol-therapy-multiple-drugs.html Medications Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:10:01 EST news259848384 "Anyone can learn CPR - and everyone should!" proclaims the American Heart Association on its website. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-two-step-method-cpr.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:50:01 EST news258720173 Patients who were sexually active before suffering a heart attack were one and a half times more likely to recapture their sex lives if they received guidance on the topic before leaving the hospital, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-doctors-advice-key-heart-victims.html Health Wed, 09 May 2012 08:58:30 EST news255772657 (HealthDay) -- U.S. health officials announced Tuesday that birth controls pills containing drospirenone -- a man-made version of the hormone progesterone -- may be associated with a higher risk of blood clots and will require new labels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-birth-pills-higher-blood-clot.html Medications Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:47:51 EST news253295261 A pre-procedure bleeding risk score can accurately identify high-risk, high-cost patients and may provide an opportunity to employ bleeding avoidance strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce total costs related to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures, according to a retrospective study being presented March 26 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-pre-pci-score-greater-higher.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:10:01 EST news251977754 (HealthDay) -- Lack of time seems to be the key reason why only 12 percent of American adults regularly practice such healthy habits as eating right, exercising, and brushing and flossing their teeth, according to an American Heart Association (AHA) survey. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-survey-people-healthy-habits.html Health Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:05:34 EST news250535128 A software monitoring program that tracks implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) function could detect problems with the devices earlier than current monitoring processes, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-software-implantable-cardioverter-defibrillator-malfunctions-sooner.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:00:06 EST news250263668 (Medical Xpress) -- Being involved in a healthy, loving relationship is good for the heart, says Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute cardiologist Julie Damp, M.D. “There are a couple of different theories behind why that might be,” Damp said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-chocolate-good-heart-cardiologist.html Health Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:20:01 EST news248420078 A new study by Dr. Andrew Krahn shows that over a quarter of unexplained cardiac arrests occurred after the patient had an event of fainting, known as syncope. According to Dr. Krahn, a Cardiologist at London Health Sciences Centre and a Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, more than half of the fainting episodes had characteristics that would point to a serious heart rhythm problem, based on a simple fainting questionnaire that can be administered in a doctor's office or emergency room. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fainting-factor-cardiac.html Cardiology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:54:59 EST news248014486 Heart disease is the nation's No. 1 killer for both men and women. But what's most astonishing is that almost 80 percent of heart disease is preventable, and even small lifestyle changes can have a big impact. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-mayo-clinic-action-heart-disease.html Health Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:39:49 EST news247149577 Contrary to current guidelines, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that angioplasties performed at centers without on-site cardiac surgery capabilities pose no increased risk for patient death or emergency bypass surgery. Results of the study were published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association and have implications for how care can be delivered to heart attack victims and for performance of angioplasties at centers without on-site surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-angioplasties-centers-on-site-surgery-safe.html Surgery Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:00:01 EST news243004490 Urban legend warns shoveling snow causes heart attacks, and the legend seems all too accurate, especially for male wintery excavators with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. However, until recently this warning was based on anecdotal reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-scoop-dangers-shoveling.html Cardiology Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:22:58 EST news241269764 A drug-coated balloon inserted in a narrowed bare metal stent is a promising therapy for restoring blood flow, according to research (Abstract 10244) presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-drug-eluting-balloons-tool-treatment-narrowed.html Cardiology Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:43:52 EST news240659023 A targeted, nanoparticle gelatin-based clot-busting treatment dissolved significantly more blood clots than a currently used drug in an animal study of acute coronary syndrome presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-gelatin-based-nanoparticle-treatment-effective-clot.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:47:06 EST news240508011