Wood stoves in Germany shortens lives

"Scientists say fine dust particles from single-room combustion wood-burning stoves and boilers are reducing average German life expectancy. World Health Organization officials say life expectancy has been shortened in Germany by about 10 months by particles in the air that are known to cause coughs and stress the cardiovascular system, and may cause cancer. Officials at Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety are concerned a growing portion of fine-dust particles is being produced by the country's 14 million single-room combustion wood-burning stoves and boilers. As of 2004, emissions from domestic heating systems have for the first time exceeded those from road traffic, the scientists say. A law regulating wood-burners rated at 4 kilowatts or more will go into effect at the end of March. Previously, only systems with more than 15 kilowatts output were affected" - UPI

Heart Failure Congress 2010

Heart Failure Congress 2010 - 29 May to 1 Jun 2010 - Berlin, Germany

Cardiology: protecting heart muscle cells from death

A team of researchers, led by Uta Hoppe, at the University of Cologne, Germany, has identified a role for the protein connexin 43 in protecting mouse heart muscle cells from death. The team therefore suggests that it might be an attractive target for therapies that help protect cells from injuries that normally result in death, such as the injuries suffered by cells as a result of heart attack. Several lines of evidence indicate that the PKC protein and mitoKATP potassium channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane have a central role in protecting cells from death. In the study, connexin 43 was found to be required for mitoKATP activation of PKC. Importantly, this pathway was crucial for protecting mouse heart muscle cells from death. The research appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation - Science Daily

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

Procedure boosts outcomes in implantable defibrillator patients (Germany)

"Heart patients with a dangerous rapid heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia often get implantable cardiac defibrillators to help control the condition, and a new study suggests that they will have fewer recurrences of the abnormality if they undergo a procedure called catheter ablation before they receive the device. Reporting December 31 in The Lancet, researchers at Asklepios Klinik St. Georg in Hamburg, Germany, looked at 107 patients aged 18 to 80, all of whom had had a previous heart attack, an episode of stable ventricular tachycardia and reduced left-ventricular function. Participants were assigned to receive implantable defibrillators either alone or along with catheter ablation, a procedure that destroys faulty tissue within the heart linked to irregular heartbeats. The patients' outcomes were followed for an average of close to two years" - HealthDay

US teenager lives 118 days without heart

An American teenager survived for nearly four months without a heart, kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood-pumping device, until she was able to have a heart transplant, doctors in Miami said on Wednesday. The doctors said they knew of another case in which an adult had been kept alive in Germany for nine months without a heart but said they believed this was the first time a child had survived in this manner for so long. The patient, D'Zhana Simmons of South Carolina, said the experience of living for so long with a machine pumping her blood was "scary". - People's Daily Online

EUROPACE 2009

"EUROPACE is the official Congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association, a Registered Branch of the European Society of Cardiology. EUROPACE has now established itself as the foremost European meeting on cardiac arrhythmias and pacing. Over 4,000 participants attended the last meeting. The increasingly strong international attendance confirms that interest in EUROPACE now reaches far beyond our Europe borders" - 21-24 June, 2009 - Berlin, Germany