http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a deterioration in cardiac function that occurs in pregnant women during the last month or in the months following their pregnancy. This disorder can occur in women with no prior history of heart disease and the causes are not well understood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-potential-biomarker-pregnancy-associated-heart-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:01 EST news286022761 MR images taken when the ventricles of the heart relax and fill with blood and then when the ventricles contract and eject blood to the rest of the body provide a more complete picture of the extent of myocardial scar in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-images-systole-phase-scars-heart.html Cardiology Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:00:05 EST news284992313 The risk of cardiovascular sudden death was very small and only about 30% of the incidence were due to diseases that could be reliably detected by pre-participation screening, even with 12-lead ECGs, according to research in a U.S. high school athlete population presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-ecg-screening-competitive-athletes-sudden.html Cardiology Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:27:17 EST news282144428 Even though a newly recognized cardiomyopathy, which mainly impacts women, is typically treatable, Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy can also be deadly when compounded by other co-morbidities, such as heart failure, according to a study being presented March 9 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-beware-newly-heart-cardiomyopathy-benign.html Cardiology Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:51:34 EST news282063077 (HealthDay)—Delivery of an SDF-1 encoding plasmid (JVS-100) acts a homing signal for stem cells and improves clinical status in patients with symptomatic heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy (IsCM), according to a study published online Feb. 21 in Circulation Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-gene-therapy-stem-cells-heart.html Cardiology Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:10:03 EST news280765743 Researchers use skin cells from patients with an inherited heart condition to recreate the adult-onset disease in a laboratory dish—producing the first maturation-based disease model for testing new therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-patients-skin-cells-heart-disease.html Medical research Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:00:06 EST news278503409 When a young athlete dies unexpectedly on the basketball court or the football field, it's both shocking and tragic. Now Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular basis for a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is the most common cause for this type of sudden cardiac death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-stem-cells-common-sudden-cardiac.html Medical research Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:00:07 EST news276427102 Unfortunately, newspaper articles about young athletes dying suddenly on the field are not unheard of. Such reports fuel discussions about compulsory screening, for example of young footballers, for heart failure. Research by scientists from Ghent (VIB/UGent) and Italy will benefit these screening methods. They have discovered a link between mutations in a certain gene and the heart condition Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-discovery-screening-sudden-cardiac-death.html Cardiology Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:39:58 EST news274531181 Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-relatives-people-dying-suddenly-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:00:05 EST news272047034 A multicenter registry has demonstrated that the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to combat sudden cardiac death in high-risk pediatric patients suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The study is being presented Nov. 5 at the 2012 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Los Angeles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-icds-sudden-death-young-patients.html Cardiology Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:25:15 EST news271355095 Meet Ossie: a friendly green popsicle who has already been fired through the LHC and frozen to absolute zero in a bid to explain cutting edge science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-animation-impact-genetics-patients.html Genetics Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:32:12 EST news268554721 Results from the world's first registry of pregnancy and heart disease have shown that most women with heart disease can go through pregnancy and delivery safely, so long as they are adequately evaluated, counselled and receive high quality care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-results-world-registry-pregnancy-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:20:01 EST news266598263 (HealthDay)—Beta blockers (BBs) are effective as an early prophylactic pharmacologic treatment for patients with mild hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) who have exercise-induced left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-early-prophylactic-tx-beneficial-hypertrophic.html Cardiology Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:36:27 EST news266517382 (HealthDay) -- Post-heart transplant survival does not differ significantly between patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) and those with other types of heart disease, according to a study published in the Aug. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-good-transplant-outcomes-hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy.html Other Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:00:01 EST news264428104 Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant drug used in a variety of disease indications and under study in aging research labs around the world, improved function and extended survival in mice suffering from a genetic mutation which leads to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and rare muscular dystrophies in humans. There are currently no effective treatment for the diseases, which include Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy and Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. The familial form of DCM often leads to sudden heart failure and death when those affected reach their 40's and 50's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-rapamycin-effective-mouse-inherited-heart.html Medical research Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:00:02 EST news262439397 A detailed study of heart muscle function in mice has uncovered evidence to explain why exercise is beneficial for heart function in type 2 diabetes. The research team, led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that greater amounts of fatty acids used by the heart during stressful conditions like exercise can counteract the detrimental effects of excess glucose and improve the diabetic heart's pumping ability in several ways. The findings also shed light on the complex chain of events that lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure that is a life-threatening complication of type 2 diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-heart-function-diabetics.html Diabetes Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:50:57 EST news261741050 A condition that temporarily causes heart failure in people who experience severe stress might actually protect the heart from very high levels of adrenaline, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation. The research provides the first physiological explanation for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called "broken heart syndrome" because it affects people who suffer severe emotional stress after bereavement, and suggests guidance for treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-broken-heart-syndrome-adrenaline-overload.html Cardiology Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:44:11 EST news260009033 A significant number of physicians would recommend colorectal cancer screening for elderly patients with a severe illness, according to David Haggstrom from the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis in the US and his team. Such patients would not benefit from the procedure and, in fact, unnecessary screening may do more harm than good. Their work appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-physicians-unnecessary-cancer-screening-sick.html Health Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:56:07 EST news258029755 (HealthDay) -- Patients with HIV/AIDS have a significantly increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), according to a study published in the May 22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-sudden-cardiac-death-hiv-patients.html Cardiology Wed, 16 May 2012 17:10:02 EST news256399704 (HealthDay) -- The blockbuster drug Plavix (clopidogrel), used to prevent clotting in some heart patients, will go off patent in the United States on Thursday, making it considerably more affordable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-plavix-status-boon-patients.html Medications Tue, 15 May 2012 16:20:01 EST news256316529 (HealthDay) -- For patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, treatment with an autologous bone marrow-derived, expanded multi-cell product, ixmyelocel-T, is well tolerated and associated with improved symptoms at one year, according to a study presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions 2012 Scientific Sessions, held from May 9 to 12 in Las Vegas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scai-ixmyelocel-t-dilated-cardiomyopathy.html Cardiology Tue, 15 May 2012 05:50:01 EST news256276097 Peripartum cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure that by definition develops late in pregnancy or shortly after delivery, results in a frightening turn of events that can leave new mothers suffering from a lifelong chronic heart condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-uncover-important-clues-peripartum.html Cardiology Wed, 09 May 2012 13:00:31 EST news255778602 Dubai (20 April 2012): Women with heart disease are more likely to give birth to female rather than male babies according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology. The study found that three-quarters of the 216 children born to 200 pregnant women with diagnosed heart disease were female. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-women-heart-disease-baby-girls.html Cardiology Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:09:52 EST news254120984 Cardiomyopathy comprises a deterioration of the heart muscle that affects the organ's ability to efficiently pump blood through the body. Previously researchers have tied forms of the disease to the alternative splicing of titin, a giant protein that determines the structure and biomechanical properties of the heart, but the molecular mechanism remained unknown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-elucidate-molecular-mechanism-contributing.html Cardiology Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:00:07 EST news252494529 Cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillators (CRT-D) is appropriate for patients who have left ventricular dysfunction and require chronic ventricular pacing, based on the findings of an observational study that being presented March 26 that the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chronic-ventricular-pacing-icd-patients.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:41:02 EST news251973656 Some patients with advanced heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy, the deterioration of function of the heart muscle, are benefitting from a new recovery protocol at the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital, a part of KentuckyOne Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-university-louisvillejewish-hospital-heart-transplant.html Cardiology Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:52:43 EST news250789952 (HealthDay) -- Each year, between one and six of every 100,000 U.S. children are a victim of sudden cardiac death. In many of these cases, underlying, undiagnosed heart trouble is responsible, and a new study suggests that routine mass electrocardiogram (EKG) screening could help identify these problems earlier, and potentially save children's lives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-ekg-fatal-heart-conditions-children.html Cardiology Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:03:17 EST news250531347 For decades, researchers have sought a genetic explanation for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a weakening and enlargement of the heart that puts an estimated 1.6 million Americans at risk of heart failure each year. Because idiopathic DCM occurs as a familial disorder, researchers have long searched for genetic causes, but for most patients the etiology for their heart disease remained unknown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-genetic-mutation-implicated-broken-heart.html Genetics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:04 EST news248543683 Millions of people suffer from type 2 diabetes. The leading cause of death in these patients is heart disease. Joseph Hill and colleagues, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, have now identified, through their work in mice, a potential new therapeutic approach to reduce the prevalence of heart failure and improve the long-term survival of patients with type 2 diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-death-diabetics-heart-problem.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:37:07 EST news248362600 On Valentine's Day, people who have been unlucky in love are sometimes said to suffering from a "broken heart." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-broken-heart.html Health Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:43:46 EST news247912995