http://medicineworld.org/blogs/heart/heart-watch-blog.html Heart watch blog from medicineworld.org adds a personal touch to the stories related to heart. This heart watch blog brings you stories of success, stories of endurance and latest news and research related to heart. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT en-us http://medicineworld.org/images/heart-watch-blog.jpg http://medicineworld.org/blogs/heart/heart-watch-blog.html 78 102 http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/red-wine-effects-of-age-on-heart.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/red-wine-effects-of-age-on-heart.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off a number of of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, as per a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Those health improvements of the chemical known as resveratrolincluding cardiovascular benefits, greater motor coordination, reduced cataracts and better bone densitycome without necessarily extending the animals' lifespan........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/statins-have-unexpected-effect-on-brain-cells.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/statins-have-unexpected-effect-on-brain-cells.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia. Neuroresearchers observed that statins, one of the most widely prescribed classes of medicine ever used, have an unexpected effect on brain cells. Scientists looked at the effects of statins on glial progenitor cells, which help the brain stay healthy by serving as a crucial reservoir of cells that the brain can customize depending on its needs. The team observed that the compounds spur the cells, which are very similar to stem cells, to shed their flexibility and become one particular type of cell........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/invasive-treatment-for-certain-coronary-syndromes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2008/invasive-treatment-for-certain-coronary-syndromes.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT An analysis of prior studies indicates that among men and high-risk women with a certain type of heart attack or angina an invasive therapy strategy (such as cardiac catheterization) is linked to reduced risk of rehospitalization, heart attack or death, whereas low-risk women may have an increased risk of heart attack or death with this therapy, as per an article in the July 2 issue of JAMA....... ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/anticancer-agents-on-patients-with-heart-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/anticancer-agents-on-patients-with-heart-disease.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The anticancer drugs which go by the strange name of hedgehog antagonists interfere with a biochemical process that promotes growth in some cancer cells. But the scientists showed that interfering with this biochemical process in mice with heart disease led to further deterioration of cardiac function and ultimately death........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/inflammation-spurs-atherosclerosis.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/inflammation-spurs-atherosclerosis.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT When a person develops a sore or a boil, it erupts, drawing to it immune system cells that fight the infection. Then it resolves and flattens into the skin, often leaving behind a mark or a scar. A similar scenario plays out in the blood vessels. However, when there is a defect in the resolution response the ability of blood vessels to recover from inflammation atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries can result, said scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Harvard Medical School in Boston in a report that appears online today in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology The major factor in this disease is a deficiency in the chemical signals that encourage resolution (pro-resolution signals). These signals are produced in the blood vessel where the inflammation occurs, the scientists said........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/respond-to-cholesterol-lowering-drugs.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/respond-to-cholesterol-lowering-drugs.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT A variation in the way the body processes a single protein may explain why some people don't respond well to drugs that lower "bad" cholesterol, as per a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association The gene variation, called alternative splicing, explained 9 percent of the drugs' decreased power to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in study participants in comparison to people with the standard processing pathway........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/brief-intense-exercise-benefits-the-heart.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/brief-intense-exercise-benefits-the-heart.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Short bursts of high intensity sprints known to benefit muscle and improve exercise performancecan improve the function and structure of blood vessels, in particular arteries that deliver blood to our muscles and heart, as per new research from McMaster University. The study, lead by kinesiology doctoral student Mark Rakobowchuk, is published online in the journal American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/substance-in-red-wine-found-to-keep-hearts-young.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/substance-in-red-wine-found-to-keep-hearts-young.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT How do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? Researchers have long suspected that the answer to the so-called "French paradox" lies in red wine. Now, the results of a new study bring them closer to understanding why. Writing this week in the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE, scientists from industry and academia, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Florida, report that low doses of resveratrol -- a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods -- can potentially boost the quality of life by improving heart health in old age........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/heart-patients-fare-better-in-3-year-program.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/heart-patients-fare-better-in-3-year-program.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT People recovering from acute heart problems such as heart attack and heart surgery are more likely to develop habits to control heart attack risk factors when they meet regularly with cardiac "disease managers," as per scientists at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. These managers are nondoctor cardiac rehabilitation specialists who lead long-term follow-up programs that last three years. With these risk factors under control, heart patients are likely to live longer and have fewer heart problems, the Mayo scientists conclude........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/poor-knowledge-of-heart-attack-symptoms.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/poor-knowledge-of-heart-attack-symptoms.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Nearly half of patients with a history of heart disease have poor knowledge about the symptoms of a heart attack and do not perceive themselves to have an elevated cardiovascular risk, as per a report in the May 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Individuals with heart disease have five to seven times the risk of having a heart attack or dying as the general population, as per background information in the article. Survival rates improve following heart attack if therapy begins within one hour. However, most patients are admitted to the hospital 2.5 to three hours after symptoms begin. Barriers to seeking appropriate care quickly are both cognitive and emotional, the authors write. If patients do not know the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and other acute coronary syndromesincluding nausea and pain in the jaw, chest or left armthey will not seek therapy for them. If they do not perceive themselves to be at risk for heart attack, they will look for another explanation when they experience these symptoms........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/higher-risk-for-heart-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/higher-risk-for-heart-disease.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Adding noninvasive imaging to current risk-assessment protocols may identify more people at risk of developing heart disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have found. Scientists used data from the UT Southwestern-led Dallas Heart Study to determine whether using computed tomography (CT) to scan patients hearts for calcium deposits and blockages could identify more people at high risk for heart disease and who could benefit from cholesterol-lowering treatment........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/doubt-on-risk-of-death-from-higher-salt-intake.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/doubt-on-risk-of-death-from-higher-salt-intake.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Contrary to long-held assumptions, high-salt diets may not increase the risk of death, as per researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. They reached their conclusion after examining dietary intake among a nationally representative sample of adults in the U.S. The Einstein scientists actually observed a significantly increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) linked to lower sodium diets. They report their findings in the advance online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/high-blood-pressure-and-high-cholesterol.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/high-blood-pressure-and-high-cholesterol.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Hypertension and high cholesterol levels appear to be risk factors for retinal vein occlusion, a condition that causes vision loss, as per a report in the recent issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Retinal vein occlusion occurs when one or more veins carrying blood from the eye to the heart become blocked, as per background information in the article. Bleeding (hemorrhage) or fluid buildup (edema) may follow, damaging vision........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/protein-to-limit-heart-attack-injury.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/protein-to-limit-heart-attack-injury.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT Medical College of Wisconsin scientists in Milwaukee have demonstrated for the first time that thrombopoietin (TPO), a naturally occurring protein being developed as a pharmaceutical to increase platelet count in cancer patients during chemotherapy, can also protect the heart against injury during a heart attack........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/blood-pressure-killing-the-worlds-workers.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/blood-pressure-killing-the-worlds-workers.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:11:17 GMT In a todays issue of The Lancet, international health experts call for urgent action from international development banks and pharmaceutical companies to stem the epidemic of blood pressure-related diseases affecting developing countries worldwide. New findings reveal that each year 8 million people die from heart disease and stroke, the two leading blood pressure-related diseases. The majority of these deaths occur in the developing world where victims are often workers, whose deaths directly result in poverty for families and other dependents. As per the authors these deaths are largely avoidable, but no substantive effort to address this issue has been made by the international development banks or the major drug companies........ ]]>