http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Treatment that consisted of shock wave (procedure using high-dose ultrasound)-mediated preconditioning of the target heart tissue prior to administration of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells was associated with significant, albeit modest improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction) after 4 months in patients with chronic postinfarction heart failure, according to a study in the April 17 issue of JAMA. The results, which require confirmation in larger trials, demonstrate the potential for this type of therapy to reduce adverse clinical events in these chronically ill patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-outcomes-heart-failure-cell-therapy.html Cardiology Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:39:51 EST news285349182 (HealthDay)—There was no effect of intensive versus conventional insulin therapy during the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) on cardiac parameters as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) cohort (follow-up to the DCCT), but prior glycemic exposure had an impact on cardiac parameters, according to research published online March 21 in Diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cardiac-function-unaffected-prior-intensive.html Diabetes Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:59:21 EST news284990356 Digoxin significantly reduces the likelihood of hospital admission due to all causes among ambulatory older patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-digoxin-hospital-admissions-older-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:01:20 EST news282304866 Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (a measure of heart function), administration of sildenafil (commercially known as Viagra) for 24 weeks, compared with placebo, did not result in significant improvement in exercise capacity or clinical status, according to a study published online by JAMA. Some studies have suggested that phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (a class of drugs that includes sildenafil) may improve cardiovascular function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-sildenafil-heart-failure-result-significant.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:30:01 EST news282221479 Among patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction), initiation of the medication aliskiren in addition to standard therapy did not reduce cardiovascular death or HF rehospitalization at 6 or 12 months after discharge, according to a study published online by JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-combination-therapy-heart-failure-cv.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:10:01 EST news282221431 The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), accompanied by mechanical CPR, in patients with massive myocardial infarctions can lead to unexpected survival. These study findings are being presented March 9 at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-teams-ecmo-massive-stemi.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:10:06 EST news282216160 Detection of midwall fibrosis (the presence of scar tissue in the middle of the heart muscle wall) via magnetic resonance imaging among patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (a condition affecting the heart muscle) was associated with an increased likelihood of death, according to a study appearing in the March 6 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-scarring-heart-muscle-linked-death.html Cardiology Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:07 EST news281710213 Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, long-term treatment with the medication spironolactone improved left ventricular diastolic function but did not affect maximal exercise capacity, patient symptoms, or quality of life, according to a study appearing in the February 27 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-long-term-medication-symptoms-heart-failure.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:00:05 EST news281108264 (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 A cocktail of three specific genes can reprogram cells in the scars caused by heart attacks into functioning muscle cells, and the addition of a gene that stimulates the growth of blood vessels enhances that effect, said researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University Medical Center in a report that appears online in the Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-gene-therapy-reprograms-scar-tissue.html Cardiology Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:50:22 EST news276540604 (HealthDay)—For patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early-stage breast cancer, one year of adjuvant trastuzumab should remain the standard of care, according to a study presented at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held from Dec. 4 to 8. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-sabcs-benefit-trastuzumab-her2-breast.html Cancer Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:00:01 EST news274113482 An analysis of two heart failure therapies finds differing outcomes regarding improvement in survival, according to two studies appearing in the November 28 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-therapies-heart-failure-survival.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:02:33 EST news273258143 A large study addressing the effectiveness and safety of aldosterone antagonist therapy for older heart failure patients has found notable differences between the drug's results in clinical trial vs. what occurs in actual practice, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-heart-failure-drug-effective-real.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:59:15 EST news273257922 A novel study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests that commonly used drugs to treat heart failure and high blood pressure may have a wider range of application than earlier known, and also can be used against so called HFPEF—a type of heart failure that until now has been impossible to treat. The study, which is published in the scientific journal JAMA, shows that the mortality rate in a group of HFPEF patients who used these medications decreased. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-common-heart-failure-drugs-benefit.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:55:09 EST news273256549 (HealthDay)—For patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are safe; and delivery of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMC) to patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has no effect on the recovery of left ventricular function, according to two studies published online Nov. 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012, held from Nov. 3 to 7 in Los Angeles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-aha-allogeneic-stem-cells-ischemic.html Cardiology Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:10:01 EST news271488294 Marked sustained improvement in all patients with zero adverse effects. For a phase I clinical trial, these results are the Holy Grail. Yet researchers from the University of Louisville and Brigham and Women's Hospital today reported just such almost-never-attained data. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-years-patients-stem-cell-therapy.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:50:01 EST news271413526 Contrary to previous data, patients with prior open heart surgery, or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), who have a severe heart attack (STEMI) and receive a coronary stent have similar outcomes to patients without previous CABG, based on study of a large, prospective, regional STEMI network, being presented Oct. 23 at the 2012 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-prior-cardiac-surgery-worse-outcomes.html Cardiology Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:10:02 EST news270201445 Personalized antiplatelet treatment leads to better outcomes than standard antiplatelet treatment in patients undergoing coronary stent implantation, according to results from the MADONNA study presented at ESC Congress 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-personalized-antiplatelet-treatment-outcome-pci.html Cardiology Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:09:49 EST news265370983 The percutaneous catheter-based treatment of mitral regurgitation with the MitraClip system improves symptoms and cardiac function at one-year, according to results of a prospective observational study presented here today at ESC Congress 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-effect-mitraclip-therapy-mitral-regurgitation.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:50:01 EST news265287693 Consuming energy drinks can exert acute positive benefits on myocardial performance, according to research presented today at the ESC Congress by Dr Matteo Cameli from University of Siena. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-energy-heart-function.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:51:06 EST news265287061 Women with acute heart failure have similar in-hospital mortality to men but are less treated in the real world, according to results from the global ALARM-HF registry presented today at the ESC Congress 2012. The findings were presented by Dr John T. Parissis from Greece. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-women-acute-heart-failure-similar.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:10:02 EST news265283692 Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists should be considered as a treatment option in hypertensive patients with diastolic heart failure, said Professor Burkert Pieske presenting results today of the Aldosterone Receptor Blockade in Diastolic Heart Failure (Aldo-DHF) study at ESC Congress 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-mechanistic-effects-spironalactone-diastolic-heart.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:06:05 EST news265284358 The novel angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor, LCZ696, demonstrated beneficial effects in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), according to results of the PARAMOUNT (Prospective compArison of ARNI with ARB on Management Of heart failUre with preserved ejectioN fracTion) trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-efficacy-lcz696-patients-heart-failure.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:45:22 EST news265283103 (HealthDay) -- For younger adults with premature coronary artery disease (CAD), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with excellent short- and long-term outcomes, according to a study published in the June 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-pci-excellent-outcomes-younger-adults.html Cardiology Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:50:10 EST news258207849 (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 An invasive heart test used routinely to measure heart function is being dramatically overused, especially among patients who recently underwent similar, more effective tests, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-invasive-heart-overused.html Cardiology Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:53:02 EST news252942480 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 A new study found that using a patient's own bone marrow cells may help repair damaged areas of the heart caused by heart failure, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-stem-cell-therapy-possibly-heart.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:13:33 EST news251971999 A research network led by a Mayo Clinic physician found that stem cells derived from heart failure patients' own bone marrow and injected into their hearts improved the function of the left ventricle, the heart's pumping chamber. Researchers also found that certain types of the stem cells were associated with the largest improvement and warrant further study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bone-marrow-stem-cells-heart.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:12:36 EST news251971945 Cell therapy may present an option for patients with ischemic heart disease to use their own bone marrow cells to repair the damaged areas of their hearts, and may pave the way for future treatment options, according to the FOCUS trial, which will be presented as a late-breaking clinical trial March 24 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cell-therapy-patient-bone-marrow.html Cardiology Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:04:17 EST news251834642