http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. People who suffer from insomnia appear to have an increased risk of developing heart failure, according to the largest study to investigate the link. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-insomnia-linked-heart-failure.html Cardiology Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:00:01 EST news281724216 The largest randomised study of the vitamin niacin in patients with occlusive arterial disease (narrowing of the arteries) has shown a significant increase in adverse side-effects when it is combined with statin treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-hps2-thrive-trial-side-effects-quarter-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:04 EST news281124976 Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm, affecting 2.5 million Americans. If left undetected or untreated, atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke. Determining who is at increased risk for atrial fibrillation has been difficult, especially among individuals without established heart disease. But now, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have devised and tested a simple atrial fibrillation risk prediction model, based on six easily obtained factors: a woman's age, height, weight, blood pressure, alcohol consumption and smoking history. The model is published in the online edition of the European Heart Journal on February 26, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-simple-method-atrial-fibrillation-women.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:00:02 EST news281105202 Exposure to higher levels of fine particulates—the airborne pollution that is an emerging problem in many Asian cities—causes a sharp rise in deaths from heart attacks, a study published on Wednesday said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-smog-surge-heart-deaths.html Health Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:13:50 EST news280548762 Air pollution contributes to an increased number of deaths among patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart attacks, according to a study published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-exposure-air-pollution-deaths-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:10:02 EST news280515648 Digoxin, a drug widely used to treat heart disease, increases the possibility of death when used by patients with a common heart rhythm problem − atrial fibrillation (AF), according to new study findings by University of Kentucky researchers. The results have been published in the prestigious European Heart Journal, and raises serious concerns about the expansive use of this long-standing heart medication in patients with AF. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-common-drug-deaths-atrial-fibrillation.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:33:41 EST news273252814 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 Researchers at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) have successfully created a human heart cell model of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), an inherited heart muscle disorder which puts one at high risk of developing life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The NHCS research team discovered that key characteristics of the disease, such as abnormal "fatty changes" and altered distribution of proteins involved in cell-cell connections (called desmosomal proteins) are reproduced in the heart cells. This novel cellular model for studying the disease could help to improve understanding on how these mutations lead to arrhythmias and clinical manifestations of ARVC. The study, the first of its kind in the world, was published in the European Heart Journal, a top ranking international peer-reviewed journal, in July 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-world-human-heart-cell.html Medical research Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:50:01 EST news270378751 (Medical Xpress)—A new study from Karolinska Institutet demonstrates that a change in the ECG wave called the QRS prolongation is associated with a higher rate of heart-failure mortality. According to the team that carried out the study, which is published in the scientific periodical The European Heart Journal, the discovery suggests that more heart-failure cases than the most serious could be helped by pacemakers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-pacemaker-heart-failure-patients.html Cardiology Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:07:01 EST news268650412 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 (Medical Xpress)—Heart catheter procedures guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are as safe as X-ray-guided procedures and take no more time, according to a pilot study conducted at the National Institutes of Health. The results of the study indicate that real-time MRI-guided catheterization could be a radiation-free alternative to certain X-ray-guided procedures. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-heart-catheter-procedures-mris.html Cardiology Mon, 10 Sep 2012 06:40:21 EST news266478009 The European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and the American Heart Association (AHA) have today issued a joint scientific statement that sets out to produce easy-to-follow guidance on Clinical Cardiopulmonary Exercise (CPX) testing based on current scientific evidence. The document, which has been published simultaneously online in the European Heart Journal and Circulation, is intended to stimulate greater uptake of clinically warranted CPX assessments and potentially open the way for the initiation of multi-centre international trials utilising the technology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-eacpr-aha-statement-empowers-health.html Cardiology Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:12:37 EST news266145147 People can be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, with no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people, according to the largest study ever to have investigated this, which is published online today in the European Heart Journal [1]. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-fatness-obese-people-prognosis.html Cardiology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:00:04 EST news265973051 Spouses of people who suffer a sudden heart attack (an acute myocardial infarction) have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, or suicide after the event, even if their partner survives, according to new research published online today in the European Heart Journal. They suffer more than spouses of people who die from, or survive, other conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-spouses-people-heart-depression-suicide.html Cardiology Tue, 21 Aug 2012 19:00:01 EST news264783160 The factors predicting the eventual impact of scientific research (i.e. high citation rates) were successfully identified in abstracts selected for presentation at the annual ESC Congress. Interestingly, predictors of publication in peer reviewed scientific journals differed markedly from those predicting later scientific impact, finds a recent study published online today in the European Heart Journal (EHJ). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-how-do-studies-get-selected.html Cardiology Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:20:01 EST news258115185 For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-patients-skin-cells-heart.html Cardiology Wed, 23 May 2012 04:11:11 EST news256965049 New recommendations on devices, drugs and diagnosis in heart failure were launched at the Heart Failure Congress 2012, 19-22 May, in Belgrade, Serbia, and published in the European Heart Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-esc-heart-failure-guidelines-feature.html Cardiology Sat, 19 May 2012 17:42:22 EST news256668134 Treatment with an ACE inhibitor for lowering high blood pressure showed a significant mortality reduction in patients with a high prevalence of hypertension, according to a report published in the European Heart Journal, the flagship journal of the European Society of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-hypertension-treatment-raas-inhibitors.html Cardiology Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:41:52 EST news253928500 The Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) is a prospective cohort study of 51,529 US male health professionals. During the follow up of these men between 1986 to 2006, published in the European Heart Journal, 1,818 men were confirmed with incident non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) – a non fatal heart attack. Among heart attack survivors, 468 deaths were documented during up to 20 years of follow up. Repeated reports were obtained on alcohol consumption every four years. Average alcohol consumption was calculated prior to and then following the MI. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-moderate-alcohol-consumption-heart-mortality.html Cardiology Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:21:33 EST news253876862 Men who are moderate drinkers and who have survived a first heart attack have a lower risk of death from heart disease or any other cause than non-drinkers, according to the results of a study of nearly 2000 men in the USA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-alcohol-moderation-deaths-men-survived.html Cardiology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:40:01 EST news252123864 In a groundbreaking White Paper published today in the European Heart Journal, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has set out its perspective on the relationship between the healthcare industry and professional medical associations with regard to the funding and delivery of continuing medical education (CME). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-esc-current-context-industry-medical.html Cardiology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:29:13 EST news249762543 Australian researchers have found evidence that heart failure is associated with a decline in people's mental processes and a loss of grey matter in the brain. These changes can make it more difficult for heart failure (HF) patients to remember and carry out instructions such as taking the correct medication at the right times. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-heart-failure-loss-brain-cells.html Cardiology Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:03 EST news247248547 A worldwide study has shown that physical activity during work and leisure time significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks in both developed and developing countries. Ownership of a car and a television was linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-global-role-cars-televisions-heart.html Cardiology Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:30:03 EST news245480956 A registry -which includes every patient in Sweden having percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of acute and stable coronary artery disease- has found that PCI implantations using a new generation of drug-eluting stents is associated with lower rates of relapse (restenosis), stent thrombosis and subsequent mortality than older generation drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents.(1) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-real-world-reassuring-scaar-registry.html Cardiology Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:42:28 EST news245306525 New research from Scotland has shown that the rate of death in men and women hospitalised for chest pain unrelated to heart disease is higher in those with a history of psychiatric illness than without. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-prior-hospitalization-mental-illness-death.html Cardiology Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:20:44 EST news241928429 People taking anti-psychotic drugs and anti-depressant drugs have a much higher risk of dying during an acute coronary event of a fatal arrhythmia than the rest of the population, finds a Finnish study published in the European Heart Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-ehj-paper-underlines-links-cardiologists.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:09:03 EST news240577734 Small bypass vessels which act as a 'back-up system' for the heart's main arteries play a significant role in reducing the mortality of patients with coronary artery disease, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-back-up-heart-disease-deaths.html Cardiology Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:25:13 EST news236579098 Pre-existing heart disease is rarely a contraindication to pregnancy - indeed, many women with heart disorders tolerate pregnancy well - but it remains a "major concern" that complications are frequent and in some cases may be life-threatening for both the mother and her child. In Europe maternal heart disease has now become the major cause of maternal death during pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-patients-cardiac-problems-pregnancy.html Cardiology Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:03:05 EST news233830824 The death rate among patients prescribed a statin in a major trial that ended in 2003 is still lower than those given a placebo, even though most participants in both groups have been taking statins ever since. ASCOT, the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, was stopped early because the statin was so effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but a new analysis has shown that eight years on, the most significant difference between the groups is a reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-statins-deaths-infection-respiratory-illness.html Cardiology Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:29:31 EST news233753355 A study of women who were children, teenagers or young adults during the Dutch famine in 1944-45 has shown that undernutrition, particularly in the adolescent years, is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in later life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-undernutrition-childhood-adolescence-young-adulthood.html Cardiology Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:12:07 EST news233464101