The Hearts in Hand Collection (USA)

"The Hearts in Hand Collection at the University of Colorado, a library of physical heart models in a variety of structural disease states, allows physicians to gain a quick and thorough understanding of spatial relationships and practice catheter pathways and device selection prior to conducting minimally invasive interventions. Based on patient hearts, the Collection provides physicians and their teams with hands-on training tools to help them plan for safer and more efficient structural heart disease interventions. Each model is individually made with one of the highest resolution rapid prototyping technologies on the market. Due to the anatomical complexity of the human heart and structural heart disease, each model is constructed and meticulously detailed"

Scientists jump-start the heart by gene transfer (USA)

Scientists from the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota show in a research report published online in the FASEB Journal that gene therapy may be used to improve an ailing heart's ability to contract properly. In addition to showing gene therapy's potential for reversing the course of heart failure, it also offers a tantalizing glimpse of a day when "closed heart surgery" via gene therapy is as commonly prescribed as today's cocktail of drugs. "We hope that our study will lead some day to the development of new genetic-based therapies for heart failure patients," said Todd J. Herron, Ph.D., one of the researchers involved in the study and research assistant professor of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan. "The advent of molecular motor-based gene transfer for the failing heart will hopefully improve cardiac function and quality of life for heart failure patients." - EurekAlert

Nature Medicine celebrates 15th anniversary with expanded content and editorial team

"In 2010 Nature Medicine will celebrate 15 years as the leading translational research journal. To mark this anniversary, Nature Medicine will expand its content by 25% and increase its editorial team. From January 2010 Nature Medicine will publish more news, reviews, and research articles. Readers and library customers can enjoy 25% more content in the journal, with no commensurate price increases. At the same time, Nature Medicine will increase the number of professional editors that evaluate manuscripts. Nature Medicine will have expert editors devoted to evaluating manuscripts in most areas of biomedicine: cancer biology, cardiovascular research, metabolism, general physiology, autoimmunity and immunology, infectious diseases and neuroscience. Three new editors are currently being recruited"

Mercury in fish seems to raise blood pressure in spite of nutrients

The negative impact of high amounts of methylmercury in seafood on blood pressure may outweigh the protective effects of fish nutrients, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers found that even when blood pressure was within the normal range and numerous other factors, including omega-3 fatty acids (essential fats that your body needs to function properly but does not make) and selenium (a dietary essential mineral) were carefully controlled for, the environmental mercury was associated with higher blood pressure and pulse pressure among Nunavik Inuit adults in a recent study - AHA

Shock finding on salt levels in big-name brand foods (UK)

"Customers searching for the healthy options on supermarket shelves may be better-off choosing the cheaper deals, according to a study which has found that own-brand and "value" ranges have the lowest levels of salt. The study was carried out by the campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) and comes a day before the Food Standards Agency launches the next part of its campaign to reduce salt consumption in the UK. The FSA will warn customers to be aware of the wide variation in salt levels in these types of food" - Guardian

Test 'spots blood disease danger' (UK)

"UK experts say they have found a way of predicting which thalassaemia patients are going to develop heart failure. The technique uses a magnetic resonance scanner to measure the level of iron in the heart, which builds to life-threatening levels in some patients. The study, published in the journal Circulation, suggests the technique leads to a 71% reduction in deaths. Thalassaemia is an inherited disorder of the blood system which causes a lack of haemoglobin. A government spokesman said it could significantly help in the management of people with thalassaemia. The teams at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College tried the technique on 652 patients over seven years" - BBC

Study hopes to use patients' own stem cells to mend broken hearts

"On September 14, 46-year-old Hatem Faraj suffered a major heart attack while watching Monday Night Football on TV. Tuesday, the Wesley Chapel man joined the cutting edge of heart disease research, becoming the area's first participant in a study to see if a patient's own stem cells can regenerate his damaged heart muscle. The procedure he had at Pepin Heart at University Community Hospital in Tampa is part of a University of Florida research program. Its aim is improving chances of long-term survival and reducing heart transplants. Using stem cells to regenerate heart tissue has been studied for several years in animals and humans, producing mixed results. Still, the therapy is considered promising for millions of Americans with heart failure" - tampabay.com

Cockroach inspires GBP1,500 heart created by Indian doctor Sujoy Guha

"A ground-breaking GBP1,500 artificial heart inspired by the anatomy of the cockroach could revolutionise human cardiac care, scientists in India believe. The development of a robust, affordable and safe synthetic heart remains one of the holy grails of biomedical engineering amid a shortage of donated organs and rising levels of heart disease. In Britain, critically ill adults wait an average of 103 days and children 143 days for a donated heart, according to the NHS. In India, heart disease will end more lives per year than all infectious illnesses combined, including diarrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria, by 2015, World Health Organisation figures suggest, as Western lifestyle diseases take a grip" - Times, London

Philips Healthcare recalls 5,400 defibrillators

Philips Healthcare said Saturday it is recalling about 5,400 automated external defibrillators after receiving reports of a memory chip failure in a small number of some models that could make them inoperable - SFGate

Stroke News - Autumn 2009 (UK)

From the editor of Stroke News - Autumn 2009: "In this issue we celebrate the inspirational winners of this year's Life After Stroke Awards and highlight the story of Sam, a brave little boy who at the tender age of eight has already spent half his life learning to cope with disabilities caused by a stroke"

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association honors corporate citizens, community programs and advocates for efforts to address sudden cardiac arrest

"October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) has announced the recipients of its 2009 leadership awards who will be honored for their work to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, prevent sudden cardiac death and improve cardiovascular health. The awards will be presented at the SCAA Awards Dinner sponsored by Abbott on Saturday, October 10, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago, Illinois, during the SCAA Annual Meeting" - PRNewswire

Stem cell therapy aims to prevent permanent damage from heart attacks

"Researchers at University of California - San Francisco Medical Center have begun enrollment for an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an adult stem cell therapy for patients who have just experienced their first acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. The trial is part of a multi-center national study. The cells used, known as mesenchymal stem cells, were obtained from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors. Depending on their location in the body, mesenchymal stem cells give rise to bone, cartilage, fat, muscle and connective tissue. The experimental therapy is intended to combat the symptoms related to heart damage that continue to develop following a heart attack, including low pumping capacity, inflammation and increased scar tissue. Although the exact mechanisms of the stem cells' actions in this setting are not yet known, previous studies have suggested that they could reduce the amount of scar tissue and inflammation caused by heart attack"

Calcium scans may be effective screening tool for heart disease

"A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death. Coronary artery calcium scans can be done without triggering excessive additional testing and costs, according to the multi-center EISNER (Early Identification of Subclinical Atherosclerosis by Noninvasive Imaging Research) study, led by investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The findings appear in the September 30 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology" - ScienceDaily

Researchers perfect the view of heart disease

"Radiologists have developed a way to gain better insight into signs of heart disease by using cardiac CT scans that detect narrowed arteries and low blood flow. CT scans use X-rays to create cross-sectional images of the body's internal anatomy. The scans can detect blockages in coronary arteries, but it's hard to tell if they're actually preventing blood from flowing to the heart. In a new study, published September 15 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital explained how to gain more detailed pictures of what is going on inside the body, potentially giving doctors more information about the best treatment"

U.S. Health officials announce new heparin formula

"U.S. health officials on Thursday announced new manufacturing standards for the widely used blood-thinner heparin that will decrease the drug's potency by about 10 percent. The reformulation is largely a response to contaminated heparin that came from China in 2007-2008 and caused hundreds of severe reactions and 200 deaths among U.S. patients, most of whom were on kidney dialysis. While the new standards take effect October 1, the four U.S. manufacturers of heparin have already started making units under the new guidelines, which will make it easier to spot impurities." - HealthDay