$11.6 million to study cardiac proteins (USA)

A blood test to diagnose which heart attack survivors will suffer heart failure is the goal of a new five-year, $11.6 million contract to the UT Health Science Center San Antonio from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Each year more than 1.2 million Americans suffer a heart attack. In a third of these individuals, the damage results in heart failure, a progressive condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's oxygen needs. Half of these 400,000 survivors will die within five years

$5M project targets heart failure (Canada)

Scientists and physicians have launched an Alberta-wide research project to better identify and treat heart failure, a condition that affects 80,000 Albertans. The five-year Alberta Heart project will see 1,000 people - half in Calgary and half in Edmonton - participate in the study as volunteers. The research will focus on identifying and treating diastolic heart failure, a condition that affects 40 per cent of those diagnosed with heart failure. The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and Health Solutions (funded by the Alberta Heritage for Medical Research Endowment Fund) have invested $5 million in the project. Dr. Todd Anderson, Alberta Heart co-leader and professor of medicine at the University of Calgary, said cardiologists are more adept at diagnosing heart failure when it's caused by the squeezing of the heart - called systolic heart failure. Diastolic heart failure occurs when the heart fails to relax properly between beats, so it doesn't fill up with the proper amount of blood to supply the body. Pictured are Todd Anderson, Alberta HEART co-leader, and professor of medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, and Murray Copot, an 86 year-old Calgarian with diastolic heart failure at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta Monday, March 8, 2010

Phones, Internet may help extend our lives

"Modern communication technologies such as cell phones and the internet don't just make our lives easier - they may even make our lives longer, at least when the devices are used to keep good communication between patients and their doctors. New research finds that heart patients who used tele-health systems to talk to their doctors and nurses were less likely to have future heart attacks or other forms of coronary artery disease. A new study published today finds that telephones and internet devices can help heart patients reduce their risk factors and lower their odds of future heart attacks. Patients use these modern technologies to talk to nurses or doctors who can answer questions, as well as guide patients in a personalized care program. Researchers in Australia examined 11 studies that contained more than 3,000 patients to see if tele-communication could actually improve people's health. They found that people using phones or the internet to talk to their health-care providers tended to have a lower rate of death. In addition, patients improved on many risk factors for heart disease - they lowered their cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and reduced their smoking. They even increased their physical activity as well. Researchers say that today's patients lead busy lives and often don't want to come in for face-to-face appointments. Modern technology allows patients, nurses and doctors to have conversations about diet, medications, and exercise programs that would not have happened otherwise. Source: published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation"

An epistemic community comes and goes? Local and national expressions of heart health promotion in Canada

The objective of this study is to examine the existence and shape of epistemic communities for (heart) health promotion at the international, national, provincial and regional levels in Canada. Epistemic community may be defined as a network of experts with an authoritative claim to policy relevant knowledge in their area of expertise - BMC

CoxHealth aids study of heart disease

The CoxHealth Wheeler Heart and Vascular Center and Yale University researchers are launching a study of young women with heart disease. The $9.7 million project called the VIRGO study - for Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes in Young AMI Patients - is a four-year effort awarded by the National Institutes of Health