New therapy shows promise for treating cardiovascular disease

A new therapy being studied in non-human primates by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues is demonstrating promise as a potential tool for combating cardiovascular disease by increasing good cholesterol and lowering triglycerides in the blood. Supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the preclinical findings appear in a recent issue of the journal Nature. "The study was conducted because there is a very strong inverse correlation between the amount of HDL (good cholesterol) and heart disease," said co-principal investigator Ryan Temel, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pathology and lipid sciences at Wake Forest Baptist. "The higher your level of HDL, the lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Currently, however, there are few therapies that significantly raise HDL."

Increasing cardiovascular disease in China: urgent need for prevention

At over 40%, the mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease in China is amongst the highest in the world and has been rightly described as an epidemic. Its population faces a catalogue of CVD risk factor statistics that expose high levels of obesity, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, and a smoking habit within males that is proving stubborn to address. To support efforts to implement a series of treatment and prevention strategies that can help reverse these worrying trends, the European Society of Cardiology announces that it will deliver an educational programme at the 22nd Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology. The ESC has been invited for the second time by its affiliate, the Chinese Society of Cardiology, to co-host a special symposium during the congress, which runs from 15 October in Beijing

Top 10 myths about cardiovascular disease (AHA)

How much do you really know about your heart's health? It's easy to be fooled by misconceptions. After all, heart disease only happens to your elderly neighbor or to your fried food-loving uncle, right? Or do you know the real truth - that heart disease can affect people of any age, even those who eat right? Relying on false assumptions can be dangerous to your heart. Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans each year than any other disease. But you can boost your heart smarts by separating fact from fiction. The American Heart Association sets the record straight on some common myths

October 2011 conference focuses on the role of gender in cardiovascular disease (USA)

Heart disease has sometimes been considered a men's health issue, but the statistics prove otherwise. In the US alone, more than 42 million women live with the problem. Heart disease is responsible for more than one-third of deaths among American women each year, making it the number one killer of females older than 20. What's more, the signs of heart attack in women differ from those in men, tending toward vomiting, throat discomfort, anxiety and a feeling of pressure in the chest as opposed to the crushing, right-side chest pain more often reported in men. Indeed, the physiology of heart disease differs between men and women in ways that scientists have only begun to understand. Experts will present the latest research about these differences at the Physiology of Cardiovascular Disease: Gender Disparities conference, October 12, 2011 at the University of Mississippi in Jackson. The conference, sponsored by the American Physiological Society with additional support from the American Heart Association, will coincide with the grand opening of the Women's Health Research Center at the university's medical center. Presentations will cover gender differences in heart disease, vascular function, kidney disease and metabolism as well as provide insight on how perimenopause and menopause affect women's heart health

Cardiovascular disease can be detected earlier during sleep

A specially customised pulse oximeter attached to the finger can be used to detect changes in heart and vessel function while you sleep, and this simple technique can even identify patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. A pilot study of 148 people showed that more than 80% of high-risk patients were picked up by this simple and risk-free measurement technique. The results were published recently in the journal Chest. In the study, researchers used a modified version of the pulse oximeter currently used to detect various sleep disorders during the night, such as apnoea. The method is based on the measurement of five components of the signal from the finger: pulse wave attenuation, pulse rate acceleration, pulse propagation time, respiration-related pulse oscillation and oxygen desaturation. "We then weigh up these components in a model to assess how great a risk the patient runs of cardiovascular disease," says Ludger Grote, associate professor at the Center for Sleep and Vigilance Disorders at the Sahlgrenska Academy and senior consultant at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. "We believe that the patient's values reflect the risk at least as well as the individual's risk factors 'on paper'"

Poor response to anti-anemia drug predicts higher risk of heart disease or death

Patients with diabetes, kidney disease and anemia who don't respond to treatment with an anti-anemia drug have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. The results suggest that testing such patients' responsiveness to the drug and keeping blood iron levels a little low might reduce their risk, said Dr. Robert Toto, professor of internal medicine and clinical sciences and a senior author of the study, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. "These patients required higher doses and ended up having lower hemoglobin anyway," Dr. Toto said. "The results of this study might lead us in directions that can help." The results were an unexpected finding of a study on darbepoetin alpha, which stimulates the production of red blood cells to counteract anemia. The drug, manufactured by Amgen, is sold under the name Aranesp. The study, called the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events with Aranesp Therapy (TREAT) showed that darbepoetin alpha works no better than a placebo for improving cardiovascular and kidney outcomes, but it did lower the risk for blood transfusion and resulted in modest improvement in patient-reported outcomes among people with diabetes, kidney disease and anemia. However, people receiving darbepoetin alpha had nearly a twofold higher risk for stroke. Cancer deaths were also higher among people receiving the drug - EurekAlert

Physical activity and cardiovascular health (UK)

In 1953, Morris et al published the findings from a study showing that bus conductors in London, who spent their working hours walking the length of the buses as well as climbing up and down the stairs of the English double-decker buses to collect fares, experienced half the coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates of their driver counterparts, who spent their day sitting behind the wheel. Investigators hypothesized that it was the physical activity of work that protected the conductors from developing CHD, at the same time realizing that other factors may also play a role because the conductors were smaller in size, as evidenced by their smaller uniform sizes. Thus was born the field of "physical activity epidemiology": formal epidemiological investigations into the associations of physical activity with many health outcomes...more in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association

Poorest people at highest heart disease risk: U.S. data

Socioeconomic status plays a more important role than race or ethnicity in cardiovascular disease risk disparities in the United States, a new study has found. Researchers analyzed data from 12,154 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2006) and found that the poorest people have the highest risk of cardiovascular disease, but there are few differences in risk between racial and ethnic groups. The study included whites, blacks, U.S.-born Mexican Americans and foreign-born Mexican Americans. The lower a person's socioeconomic status, the greater their risk for cardiovascular disease - in all racial and ethnic groups, the investigators found

Women and heart disease: Cardiovascular profile of women in Australia

Cardiovascular disease is Australia's biggest killer. This report focuses on its impact on the health of Australian women - a group who may not be aware of how significant a threat this disease is to them. The report presents the latest data on prevalence, deaths, disability, hospitalisations, services, treatments, risk factors and expenditure, as well as comparisons to other important diseases among women. This report is a useful resource for policy makers, researchers, health professionals and anyone interested in cardiovascular disease in Australian women

Impotence 'strong predictor' of heart attacks

"Impotence is a strong predictor of heart attack and death among high-risk patients, German researchers have said. The study of 1,519 men who already had cardiovascular disease found those who were also impotent had twice the risk of a heart attack or death as the rest. The University of Saarland report, published in the journal Circulation, suggests men with impotence should be checked for cardiovascular disease. Some experts want doctors to ask about impotence in over-40s health checks. Impotence is linked to inadequate blood flow in the penile arteries. These are much smaller than coronary arteries. So for some men, a persistent failure to get an erection might be an early sign that his arteries are narrowing. The study followed men from 13 countries who already had cardiovascular disease. It monitored whether they went on to have heart attacks or strokes. The participants were also asked about their erectile dysfunction at the start, after two years and after five years" - BBC

Tiny molecular 'trash' may tell big story about cardiovascular disease risk

"Tiny bits of molecular "trash" found in circulating blood appear to be good predictors of cardiovascular disease and untimely death, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. The discovery, published online in the April issue of the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, comes from the largest study of its kind for cardiovascular disease, and is the first to identify specific metabolic profiles associated with coronary artery disease, heart attacks and death among patients who have undergone coronary catheterization. The Duke study analyzed metabolites, the molecular debris left over after the body breaks food down into energy sources and building blocks of cells and tissues. Scientists believe metabolites may be useful in diagnosing disease, said Svati Shah, M.D., M.H.S., a cardiologist in the Duke Heart Center, the Duke Center for Human Genetics and the lead author of the study. But the tiny molecules are notoriously hard to identify, quantify and characterize. Shah has been studying metabolic signatures in heart disease for several years and led earlier research showing that metabolic profiles associated with early-onset coronary artery disease can be inherited" - Science Daily

Early life stress may predict cardiovascular disease

Early life stress could be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adulthood, researchers report. "We think early life stress increases sensitivity to a hormone known to increase your blood pressure and increases your cardiovascular risk in adult life," said Dr. Jennifer Pollock, biochemist in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia and corresponding author on the study published online in Hypertension. The studies in a proven model of chronic behavioral stress – separating rat pups from their mother three hours daily for two weeks – showed no long-term impact on key indicators of cardiovascular disease such as increased blood pressure, heart rate or inflammation in blood vessel walls.

Body clock link to heart disease (Japan)

"Scientists have raised the possibility that cardiovascular disease is linked to disturbances in the body's 24-hour clock. Working on mice, the Japanese team found a genetic risk factor for a form of high blood pressure is influenced by 24-hour or circadian rhythms. The study appears online in the journal Nature Medicine. Malfunctions in the body clock - which influences much of the body's chemistry - have been linked to many diseases. And lead researcher Professor Hitoshi Okamura said the latest study was in line with data which suggested shift workers, long-distance flight crews and people with sleep disorders have a heightened risk of heart problems. High blood pressure - known as hypertension - can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, and many other medical problems - BBC

Screening for cardiovascular diseases difficult, but necessary

"Cardiovascular diseases are difficult to screen for, but the practice of doing so is critical to ensure safe athletic participation. This fact is emphasized by the recent deaths of three individuals in the Detroit Marathon on October 18th, 2009. The new study published in the November/December issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach discusses the issues of cardiovascular screening. The study gives a comprehensive overview of the current guidelines and controversies surrounding cardiovascular screening of athletes. The screening challenges arise, the study notes, from trying to identify very rare and often clinically silent, but potentially fatal cardiac diseases in a large number of athletes competing at various levels. "Athletes are two and a half times as likely to experience Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) than nonathletes," explains study author Sharlene M. Day, MD, Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at the University of Michigan. "This statistic should impress upon us the need for cardiovascular disease screening in our athletes. It is important to emphasize to athletes the importance of reporting symptoms that could reflect underlying heart disease."

Low dose radiation 'harms heart' (UK)

"Low doses of radiation can cause cardiovascular disease, according to work carried out by mathematicians at Imperial College. They have constructed a model which suggests that the risk would increase as the dose increases. Studies have shown that nuclear workers exposed to long-term doses of radiation have higher levels of heart disease. But experts said it was too early to draw such conclusions without the biological research to back it up. The team at Imperial College, writing in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, say they explored a novel mechanism that suggests radiation kills monocytes, which travel across the arterial wall to mop up a protein called MCP-1" - BBC

Video: Inhaling a heart attack: How air pollution can cause heart disease

One in three Americans suffer from hypertension, a significant health problem that can lead to cardiovascular disease, heart failure, stroke, diabetes and other life-threatening problems. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have determined that the very air we breathe can be an invisible catalyst to cardiovascular disease

Low levels of smoke raise risk of dying from heart disease, study shows

Just a few whiffs of tobacco smoke or dirty air can have a profound negative impact on your heart's health. Study results released today by the American Heart Association suggest that exposure to even a small amount of smoke - whether it's from your own cigarette or someone else's - greatly increases your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The same goes for breathing in air polluted with carbon monoxide emissions. 'It doesn't require extreme exposure to have significant cardiovascular effects. Even passive exposures to ambient air pollution and secondhand smoke contribute to significant increases in cardiovascular mortality,' study author C. Arden Pope III, PhD, says in a statement

Cardiovascular disease gets personal

"As personalized cancer treatment edges into the clinic, doctors and scientists are hoping that cardiovascular disease - the world's top killer - will be next to benefit from genomics. An avalanche of studies has linked genetic variants to various cardiovascular conditions and to patients' responses to commonly prescribed drugs. First up could be genetic guidance for the anti-clotting agents warfarin and clopidogrel, followed by testing for genetic variants responsible for conditions such as atrial fibrillation, a heart-rhythm abnormality that is a leading cause of stroke" - Nature

Heart risk rising in younger Canadians

"Cardiovascular disease is declining in Canada overall, but it is increasing in adults under age 50 of lower socioeconomic status, researchers said. The researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Center at Toronto General Hospital studied national trends in heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and smoking prevalence from 1994-2005. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found the prevalence of heart disease and diabetes is rising fastest among Canadians of lower socioeconomic status. However, the prevalence of hypertension and obesity is increasing in nearly all Canadians, but is rising fastest in those with higher incomes" - UPI

Researchers show new antioxidant could help treat cardiovascular disease (Scotland)

Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe they have found a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease which reduces blood pressure. Scientists at the British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre (BHF GCRC) used a recently-developed antioxidant called MitoQ10 to prevent damage to the mitochondria of cells in an experimental model of hypertension and stroke. The researchers found that MitoQ10 improved the function of the endothelial cells which line blood vessels and play an important part in controlling blood pressure, as well as reducing thickening of the heart muscle (cardiac hypertrophy) which results from high blood pressure (hypertension)