A troublingly high number of U.S. patients who are given angiograms to check for heart disease turn out not to have a significant problem, according to the latest study to suggest Americans get an excess of medical tests. Go to Source… Continue reading
Geisinger Health System and Yale School of Medicine investigators are researching how young people recover from heart attacks through VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes in Young AMI Patients), a research project funded by the National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “Young women with heart attacks have about twice the risk of dying in the hospital than men of the same age,” said Local Principal Investigator Kimberly Skelding, M.D…
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The DASH diet, combined with exercise and calorie restriction, improved mental functioning by 30 percent in overweight adults with high blood pressure compared to those who didn’t diet or exercise, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. The DASH diet emphasizes eating low-fat dairy products, foods low in cholesterol and high in carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables. The DASH diet comes from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension trial, conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute…
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A new method of growing arteries could lead to a “biological bypass” – or a non-invasive way to treat coronary artery disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report with their colleagues in the April issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation. Coronary arteries can become blocked with plaque, leading to a decrease in the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. Over time this blockage can lead to debilitating chest pain or heart attack. Severe blockages in multiple major vessels may require coronary artery bypass graft surgery, a major invasive surgery…
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Building on previous studies that found racial differences in hospice use, a new study from the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife and Boston University School of Medicine finds that blacks and Hispanics use hospice for advanced heart failure at a rate of up to 50 percent less than whites, despite a markedly higher rate of incidence of the disease in these populations. This is the first large study to document racial differences in hospice utilization among patients with heart failure, the most common non-cancer hospice diagnosis…
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A significant number of people with heart disease will benefit from less invasive transcatheter heart valve replacements in future, finds a review of updated practices in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The most effective treatment for aortic stenosis, a common heart condition that shows with angina, loss of consciousness due to lack of blood flow, congestive heart failure, or sudden death, is valve replacement. However, large cohorts of people are never referred for this surgery because they are deemed too high-risk even though the prognosis is grim without the treatment…
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Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure appear less likely to receive hospice care than white patients with the same condition, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Underuse of hospice care is well documented, especially among racial and ethnic minorities,” the authors write as background information in the article. “Racial and ethnic differences in patients who use hospice care have been found across a spectrum of patients with cancer diagnoses and may be more pronounced in patients with non-cancer diagnoses.” Heart failure affects nearly 5 million people… Continue reading
On March 4, SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart, announced that its new Freedom™ driver system has received the CE Mark to power the Total Artificial Heart in Europe. “The new Freedom driver is the first wearable portable driver for powering the Total Artificial Heart,” said Rodger Ford, president and CEO of SynCardia. “It will allow stable European Total Artificial Heart patients to enjoy a quality lifestyle at home and in their communities while they wait for a matching donor heart…
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New Saint Louis University research has found that beta blockers, a class of drugs used to prevent the progression of heart failure and manage arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and hypertension (high blood pressure), are underused in heart failure patients who receive implantable cardiac devices. Failure to take beta blockers prior to implanting a cardiac device can affect the patient’s overall outcome and survival rate, says Paul Hauptman, M.D., SLUCare cardiologist and professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and lead author of the study…
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St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced publication of clinical results in the Hemodynamically Guided Home Self-Therapy in Severe Heart Failure Patients (HOMEOSTASIS) trial. The left atrial pressure (LAP) management system featured in this study allows patients to adjust their heart failure (HF) medications daily, based on a physician-directed prescription plan and their current HF status, similar to the manner in which diabetes patients manage their insulin therapy. Results of the HOMEOSTASIS study were published in the March 2010 issue of Circulation…
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Today’s headlines offer details of President Obama’s continued full-court press on health reform with an appearance in Missouri. Meanwhile, work to move the bill toward a vote continues on Capitol Hill.
New Insurance Plan To Link A Patient’s Cost To Effectiveness Of Treatments Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes about potentially controversial policies that are a trend toward value-based design. “Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression… Continue reading
According to the Journal of Sexual Medicine, people who engage in regular sexual activity gain several health benefits, such as longer lives, healthier hearts, lower blood pressure, and lower risk of breast cancer. However, approximately 33 percent of women may not receive these benefits due to low sexual desire. Also, the marriages of women with low sexual desire may also be at risk, given a recent statistic that 25 percent of divorce is due to sexual dissatisfaction. Some doctors are prescribing testosterone patches for women with low sexual desire…
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UCSF prevention experts have released the Positive Prevention Toolkit, a collection of resources designed to enable HIV/AIDS caregivers to provide prevention messages when interacting with HIV-positive patients. The goal is to help patients modify their behavior to reduce risk and decrease the spread of HIV. The toolkit, developed by the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, includes proven prevention interventions for HIV-positive individuals. Toolkit materials are developing country focused and can be adapted for use in African settings…
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The Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), one of the highest volume health information exchanges in the United States, is expanding beyond central Indiana to serve patients from southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois. Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Ind., joins 40 other medical facilities serving more than 6 million patients as a member of the INPC, a network which makes patient data from one institution securely available at any other INPC participant in real time…
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Beginning in 2010 Springer is adding Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (NMMI) to its journals publishing program. The journal will be published quarterly on behalf of the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine, which has been the publisher of the journal since 1967. NMMI publishes original research papers, reviews, case reports, editorials and letters to the editor on nuclear medicine and a wide range of related sciences…
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The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has completed a project to help a UK company diagnose medical conditions through monitoring patients’ breath. Bedfont Scientific Ltd is one of the market leaders in developing personal diagnostic gas sensors for the medical market. Its sensors can continuously monitor levels of certain gases in human breath, and could potentially be used in place of certain invasive blood tests. In order to extend their position in this market, and confirm their reputation for quality and accuracy, Bedfont required its instruments to be independently evaluated…
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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected five exceptional individuals to receive the 2010 Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study. These students will join a dynamic group of 30 Gilliam fellows, who share a passion for science and a commitment to increasing diversity in the sciences. “It’s been very gratifying to see the impact of the Gilliam fellows program,” says Peter J. Bruns, HHMI’s vice president for grants and special programs. “In some ways, this is a special year for the program because we anticipate that some of the first Gilliam fellows will receive their Ph.D…
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Families with food-allergic children face a life of constant vigilance and the looming fear of life-threatening allergic reactions. This fear can have a huge impact on an entire family’s life, from heightened anxiety to severe limits on their daily activities. Some families cope well with this situation, while others find it extremely stressful and difficult to manage…
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