After having a heart attack, people with kidney disease are less likely to receive recommended medications, a new study finds. The report, published in the September issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, finds people with end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis are often deprived of heart-protecting medicines such as beta blockers and cholesterol-lowering statins.

via medicinenet.com

The controversial cholesterol drug Vytorin does not lower the risk of major heart valve problems, according to a report released Monday by its manufacturers, Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. In a multi-country study of 1,873 patients, the drug was no better than placebo at lowering the odds of major cardiovascular events in patients suffering from aortic stenosis, a condition involving blocked blood flow to the heart.

via medicinenet.com

Obstructive sleep apnea may make nighttime heart attacks more likely than daytime heart attacks, a new study shows. In obstructive sleep apnea, the upper airway becomes completely or partially blocked, interrupting regular breathing, several times per night. The new study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, recommends that people who have heart attacks while sleeping at night be screened for obstructive sleep apnea.

via medicinenet.com

Scientists at Queensland University of Technology's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation have developed a unique 'Cardiomobile' monitoring system that acts as a mini ECG, helping heart attack rehab patients to keep a check on their heart signal at any time and place. Dr Charles Worringham said that the system developed by Gold Coast company Alive Technologies, was being further developed and put on trial together with QUT under an ARC Linkage Grant.

via newkerala.com

A diagnosis of heart disease darkens a person's outlook on life, a new government study finds. Adults with cardiovascular trouble scored up to 9 percent lower on four scales measuring their quality of life, according to a report in the July 15 issue of Circulation, from researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

via medicinenet.com

A diet rich in minerals such as potassium, and possibly magnesium and calcium may cut a person's risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke, suggests a new study. The new findings suggest that an increased consumption of these minerals through fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products might reduce high blood pressure risk and decrease blood pressure in people with hypertension, which is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease.

via newkerala.com

Living longer, with a healthier heart, boils down to a few steps, and if everyone got on the bandwagon, it could prevent more than 27 million heart attacks and about 10 million strokes over the next 30 years. That news comes from a study backed by the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and American Cancer Society.

via medicinenet.com

A 52-year-old Milwaukee-area man has been accused of faking heart attacks to avoid paying restaurant bills and cab fares. Police say the Waukesha (WAWK'-uh-shaw) man took a cab to a mall Monday and pretended to have a heart attack. The cab driver left unpaid. Authorities say the man then ran up a $23 bill when he had a steak dinner at Applebee's. He again pretended to have a heart attack.

via ap.google.com

A new study by researchers at the University of Salzburg has suggested that slow, rather than fast, exercise is better for menopausal women. In the study, lead author Dr Alexandra Sanger and colleagues at the University of Salzburg examined the effects of different exercise regimes in menopausal women. Their aim was to develop new strategies for delaying and reducing the initial onset of age related muscle deterioration.

via newkerala.com

Each year in the UK, hundreds of apparently fit people suffer 'sudden cardiac death'. In Italy, athletes have to undergo ECG tests, and scientists writing in the British Medical Journal said this had detected heart problems. UK campaigners have called for the widening of testing of UK sportspeople, and even routine testing of teenagers.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Drinking green tea rapidly improves the health of the delicate cells lining the blood vessels and helps lower one's risk of heart disease. Researchers writing in the latest issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation have found that people who drink green tea have better blood vessel function just 30 minutes later. Specifically, green tea improves the function of endothelial cells.

via medicinenet.com

Embryonic stem cells from mice have been successfully put to work building their hearts - a development that takes researchers a step forward in stem cell-based generating therapies for heart disease. Washington University scientists have found that the gene Mesp1 is what persuades mouse embryonic stem cells to become heart parts and gets them moving to the area where the heart forms.

via newkerala.com

Contradicting some earlier reports, a new study finds that women who have heart attacks benefit as much as men from the artery-opening procedure called catheterization.But that benefit is seen only in women whose heart damage is severe enough to be classified as a heart attack, said study author Dr. Michelle O'Donoghue, a member of the TIMI Research Group at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

via medicinenet.com

Heart attack during pregnancy, labor or delivery occurs rarely, but the rate has increased in the last 10 years, according to a study conducted by a team from the University of California-Davis. The trend seems to be related to the increase in maternal age.
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Researchers from the University of Queensland have confirmed an association between winter months and an increase in heart failure. Working with a team of researchers from the Departments of Clinical Pharmacology and Cardiology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Sally Inglis, a PhD student at the University of Queensland, examined the seasonal differences in hospital admissions and deaths in 2961 patients with chronic heart failure residing in South Australia over the period July 1994 to June 2004.

via newkerala.com