Exciting new method could help stem cells target damaged arteries (UK)

With funding from the British Heart Foundation and others, researchers at University College London have developed a new method using nanomagnets to enable cells to be targeted to sites of injury in the body

Doctors defend themselves over heart surgery deaths (UK)

"Doctors have defended an increase in deaths for some types of heart surgery and insisted treatment was improving for patients. The death rate for aortic valve replacements, or AVR, where surgeons replace a diseased valve with an artificial or tissue valve, increased from 1.5 per cent in 2002 to 2003, to 3.25 per cent in 2007 to 2008. But figures released by the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, also showed a drop in mortality rates for heart bypass surgery. Cardiac surgeon Prof Stephen Westaby, who has worked at the John Radcliffe for more than 20 years, said the apparent increase in deaths in AVR surgery could be explained by the number of high risk patients being taken on. He said: 'These statistical issues are never what they seem. In the case of primary aortic valve replacements, we are now doing patients in their late 80s and 90s. 'We are now looking at an extremely elderly group of patients and you simply can’t keep mortality rates down. 'The figure of 3.25 per cent is still very, very low for the sort of groups we are dealing with. The John Radcliffe is known in the country to take on a proportion of high risk patients'" - Newsquest

Protein therapy could eliminate open heart surgery (Israel)

"Researchers from Tel Aviv University have been experimenting to find a way to make cardiac bypass surgery a thing of the past. Dr. Britta Hardy of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine had demonstrated how an injected protein might make blood vessels in the human heart regrow, eliminating the need for open heart surgery. According to Dr. Hardy, patients could regrow blood vessels in as little as a few weeks rather than having cardiac bypass, or open heart surgery" - EmaxHealth

What women don't know could kill them: every 60 seconds a woman dies of heart disease

"Stop 10 women on the street and ask them what their biggest health risk is, and, chances are, more than half of them would answer 'breast cancer'. They would be wrong. Taking the life of one woman every minute, heart disease is the leading cause of death of women in America. Unfortunately, most women put their own needs behind the needs of their families, rarely considering the risks and dangers of this devastating disease. To address such widespread lack of awareness, The Main Line Health Heart Center announces the launch of its Women's Heart Initiative, a one-of-a-kind team of physicians and clinical staff in southeast Pennsylvania, designed specifically to empower women in taking charge of their cardiovascular health."

Men with angina 'at greater risk' (UK)

"Men with angina are much more likely than women to develop further serious heart problems, a study suggests. Researchers found male patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack and almost three times as likely to suffer a heart disease-related death. Angina, a type of chest pain, is common and can be the first sign of heart disease - but the risks are unclear. The study of UK patients, led by the National University of Ireland, Galway, appears in the British Medical Journal"

Heart surgeon shortage predicted (USA)

Over the next 15 years, there could be a severe shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons at a time when an aging population will probably increase the demand for surgical procedures that fall under their purview, a new study predicts. The shortage could lead to diminished quality of care and delays in care for people needing heart and lung surgery, according to the study, which was done by the Center for Workforce Studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges. By 2025, the researchers say, there could be a 46 percent increase in the demand for cardiothoracic surgeons, but a drop of at least 21 percent in the number of available surgeons. The looming shortage of surgeons is a matter of supply and demand, said lead researcher Dr. Atul Grover, director of government relations for the association - HealthDay News

ESC Congress 2009

European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009 - 29 August to 2 September 2009 - Barcelona, Spain. Follow ESC on Twitter

Heart International

Heart International considers the publication of peer-reviewed original manuscripts dealing with both clinical and laboratory investigations of relevance to the broad field of cardiology. The focus will be mainly on studies covering diverse topics such as Atherosclerosis and risk factors, Ischemic cardiopathy, Genetics, Cardiomyopathy and cardiac metabolism, Congestive heart failure, Arrhythmias, Imaging and Cardiovascular disease in women. In addition, editorials, reviews, statistical compilations, case reports, and letters to the Editors will be considered. Editor-in-Chief: David L. Brown, Stony Brook, NY, USA

Livalo, a new statin, gets FDA nod

"The FDA has approved a Livalo, a new cholesterol-lowering statin drug. Known by the generic name of pitavastatin, Livalo has been used in Japan since 2003. It's also sold in Korea and Thailand. Livalo is made by the multinational Japanese firm Kowa Company Ltd. Kowa now has facilities in the U.S." - WebMD

Recommended daily dose for Omega-3 may be on the way

A new analysis could lead to heated debate among heart doctors over whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids deserves its own recommended daily intake levels. Fish oil - a centuries-old pharmacy shelf fixture - has recently been the subject of much research to determine its heart-protecting properties. Now, some cardiologists say it is time for omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to join others nutrients for which a daily recommended intake has been established. Dr. Carl Lavie, medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, is one such cardiologist. He says that healthy people should consume at least 500 mg per day of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in order to meet their daily needs for the nutrient. Lavie and his colleagues made the recommendations in a paper released Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Midlife heart risk factors linked to later dementia

"The things that are bad for your heart in the middle years of life - high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes - are bad for your brain in later years, new research indicates. High cholesterol levels in midlife were associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia many years later, according to scientists in California and Finland, who tracked almost 10,000 men and women for four decades" - HealthDay News

Is there long-term brain damage after bypass surgery?

"Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine. Researchers say their latest findings explain study results presented last year, which showed that the heart-lung machines - used to pump blood and supply the body with oxygen while the heart is stopped during surgery - did not cause postoperative long-term brain deficits" - Science Centric

Research shows possible health benefits of beer

"Downing a beer or two may actually help you stay healthy! Research has linked moderate beer consumption to healthier hearts and bones. CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton pointed out on "The Early Show" Friday. The American Heart Association considers 12 ounces one drink of beer, and a drink or two a day moderate intake for men and a drink a day morderate for women. The AHA also cautions people NOT to start drinking alcoholic beverages if they don't already, and urges them to consult their doctors on the subject." - CBS

Praying man let his daughter die (USA)

"A US jury has found a man guilty of killing his sick 11-year-old daughter by praying for her recovery rather than seeking medical care. The man, Dale Neumann, told a court in the state of Wisconsin he believed God could heal his daughter. She died of a treatable disease - undiagnosed diabetes - at home in rural Wisconsin in March last year, as people surrounded her and prayed" - BBC

Transradial wrist angioplasty safe and effective in treatment of heart attack (UK)

For patients having the most serious form of heart attack, a new study from the United Kingdom concludes that primary angioplasty performed from the wrist "is safe, with comparable outcomes to a femoral approach and a lower risk of vascular complications." The study, published "online first" in Heart, the official journal of the British Cardiovascular Society, looked at 1,051 consecutive patients admitted to a single regional cardiac center with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) between November 2004 and November 2008. Patients presenting to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, a.k.a. angioplasty) using either radial (571 patients) or femoral (480) artery access. Procedural success was similar between the radial and femoral groups, but major vascular complications were more frequent at the site of femoral access (0% radial versus 1.9% femoral, p=0.001). Patients with cardiogenic shock were excluded from this study, since most would require placement of an intra-aortic balloon pump, which is done through the femoral artery - Angioplasty.Org