Pilot has heart attack (Ireland)

"An Italian aircraft has made a safe landing at Shannon airport in Ireland despite the pilot suffering a suspected heart attack. The Alitalia aircraft was carrying 179 passengers and crew and was forced to make an emergency landing as it flew from Milan to New York. The Boeing 767 plane transmitted a distress call to Shannon Air Traffic Control when it was about 30 degrees west of the airport over the North Atlantic. Emergency services from Shannon, Ennis and Limerick were standing by at when the plane landed shortly after 5pm. An airport spokeswoman said the plane landed safely" - Yahoo

CMAJ 14 April 2009, Volume 180, Issue 8 online

The Canadian Medical Association Journal - 14 April 2009, Volume 180, Issue 8, is now available online

Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center to broadcast first live surgery via Twitter in Wisconsin

Aurora Health Care will be the first hospital system in Wisconsin to provide live updates of an exclusive, bi-lateral knee replacement surgery on the Internet. Through the social networking site Twitter, Aurora caregivers will provide a running commentary, updates of activities and photos of the procedure. Twitter users will continuously receive messages of 140 characters or less, called 'Tweets' and images through 'TwitPic'. Twitter broadcast begins at 8:00 AM CST, Thursday, April 16, 2009 - redOrbit

Standards proposed for development of cardiovascular risk markers

"Haphazard trial design doesn't cut it for development of cardiovascular risk predictors, the American Heart Association said. Given the proliferation of proposed genetic, imaging, and biological markers and recent debate over C-reactive protein, a scientific statement from the association laid down the basics for evaluation of new markers of cardiovascular risk"

Depression after heart disease ups risk of heart failure

"Patients with heart disease who are subsequently diagnosed with depression are at greater risk for heart failure, a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body, according to a new study published in the April 21, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. This study - the first to investigate the influence of depression after heart disease on the likelihood of developing HF - also found that taking antidepressant medications to ease depressive symptoms did not appear to mitigate this risk." - Physorg.com

Ex-inmates more prone to high blood pressure (USA)

"A new study shows that young adults who have served time in prison have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and an enlarged heart than those who have never been incarcerated. Ex-inmates are also less likely to have access to regular health care, according to a report of the study appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Between 1987 and 2007, the U.S. prison population tripled, making it "especially important to understand the implications of incarceration on future health status," Dr. Emily A. Wang of San Francisco General Hospital and colleagues note" - MSNBC

Three medical centers awarded funds to study generation of cardiac muscle cells

The American Heart Association, with support from the Jon Holden DeHaan Foundation, has awarded funding for three research centers to study the development and mechanisms of generating new cardiac muscle cells. Over the next four year, the centers will be conducting studies to ultimately determine how regeneration of those cells can help improve outcomes for heart attack and heart failure patients. The grants total $6 million and have been awarded to the following facilities, each to become home to an American Heart Association-Jon Holden DeHaan Foundation Cardiac Myogenesis Research Center:
* University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Penn. - Center Director: Jonathan Epstein, M.D.
* University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas - Center Director: Eric Olson, Ph.D.
* University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. - Center Director: Doris Taylor, Ph.D.

Mediterranean diets healthiest, study finds

"A little red wine is in. Red meat is unquestionably out. And the Mediterranean diet is simply golden. That is the conclusion of a study out of McMaster University that seeks to offer the most definitive word yet on the foods that are good for your heart. The study, which examined almost 60 years' worth of existing research on diet and heart disease, attempts to separate the whole wheat from the chaff on foods in a way that doctors and consumers can swallow with confidence, says Dr. Sonia Anand, the study's senior author. It ran yesterday in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine" - The Star

Confessions of a weight-loss cyclist (UK)

For 10 years Frank Kinlan's bike remained unused and gathering dust in his attic. He piled on the pounds and did no exercise, but refused help to lose weight. Then one morning, weighing 21 stones (133kg) Frank decided he had to do something. "One morning I looked in the mirror and thought that I had got to do something, so I picked the phone up and got an assessment with my local health trust." Frank was morbidly obese, with a BMI (body mass index) of 42. "I was massive, with a 46-48 inch waist, and I found it difficult to get clothes to fit," he said. Assessors told Frank, aged 49 who is from the Wirral, that he needed to lose weight and exercise more. They signed him up for their initial 12-week course, which used British Heart Foundation guidelines. But the idea of exercise was an anathema to Frank, who was so worried about the effect of his weight on his health and his extremely high blood pressure, that he was doing nothing. "I had slowed my life down to an absolute nothing and did nothing. The diet was bad and I was probably on the verge of diabetes and some other problems," he said. "I would be out of breath going up the stairs because I was winded carrying the extra weight. "I turned up at the first class and they told me to do 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week." So Frank decided to get on his bike and do something about it. "Welcome to the world of overweight cycling," he says. At first he was just doing short runs, but gradually he started to drop the pounds and set up a blog to record his progress, initially just for the others on his course - BBC

The gel jab that can strengthen the muscles of a weak heart

"An injectable gel could help heart attack victims make a speedier recovery. The gel binds itself to damaged heart muscle to strengthen it during the recovery process. Because it solidifies on contact with heart tissue, the gel takes some of the strain off the body's hardest-working organ while it is recuperating. After six weeks, when recovery is normally well under way, the gel dissolves and is excreted through the kidneys. Every year, around 270,000 people in Britain suffer a heart attack - and coronary disease remains Britain's biggest killer. The revolutionary gel, being developed by Israeli firm BioLineRx Ltd, could protect many patients against heart failure" - Mail Online

G20 cop who hit Ian Tomlinson 'has a heart attack'

"The policeman filmed hitting a newspaper seller just before he died at the G20 protests has had a suspected heart attack. The officer, who has not been named, claims he did not realise he was the man who pushed Ian Tomlinson to the ground until he saw footage on Wednesday’s TV news. Badly shaken, he telephoned Scotland Yard chiefs to say he was the officer involved, then collapsed at his home. The PC was taken to hospital in Sussex, where he was kept in overnight with a suspected heart attack but was released the next day. The officer, who works for the Territorial Support Group who deal with riots and public order, was suspended on Thursday. He faces a criminal investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following Mr Tomlinson's death" - Mirror

Former Spurs star Jimmy Neighbour dies (UK)

Former Tottenham, Norwich and West Ham striker Jimmy Neighbour has died suddenly at the age of 58. Neighbour, who played in Spurs' 1971 League Cup-winning side, suffered a heart attack at home while recovering from a hip replacement operation. Neighbour was on Tottenham's books from 1966 to 1976 and returned to the club in 2000 as coach of the under-17 side.

Anti-smoking ads increase shock level (USA)

"The commercials are shocking - even devastating - all of it on purpose. The ads are the latest in New York's anti-smoking campaign - targeting the city's one million smokers"

Drinking water could curb obesity (USA)

"It's not just American adults who are faced with an epidemic of obesity. Children and adolescents are becoming overweight at an alarming rate. In fact, Centers for Disease Control statistics show the prevalence of obesity among children between the ages of 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years. But now a study just published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine concludes there's a simple and effective way to reduce the excess intake of calories causing childhood overweight and obesity, as well as contributing to cavities and other health problems. The solution isn't a new drug - it is simply drinking more water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages." - Natural News Network

Large belly ups risk for heart failure

"Medical research continues to point out that middle-aged and older people with big bellies live with a greater risk for heart failure. "By any measure - BMI, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio or waist to height ratio - our findings showed that excess body weight was associated with higher rates of heart failure," said the study's lead author, Emily Levitan of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "This study reinforces the importance of maintaining a healthy weight," she added. The researchers presented the new findings after analyzing the weight, height, and waist measurements of approximately 80,000 men and women from their mid-40s to early 80s. According to the study, women with extra weight around their stomachs were 15 per cent more likely to develop heart failure. Men, however, were 16 per cent more likely to develop the life-threatening condition if they had a larger belly. Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump a sufficient amount of blood to meet the body's needs. It is typically caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. It is characterized by such symptoms as fatigue and weakness, difficulty in walking, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and a persistent cough or wheezing. The findings are published online in the April 7 Rapid Access Report of the journal Circulation."