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Heart Failure News
Related terms: CHF
Diesel Pollution May Damage the Heart
Posted 26 May 2017 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 26, 2017 – Pollution from diesel engines may cause heart damage, a British study suggests. "There is strong evidence that particulate matter emitted mainly from diesel road vehicles is associated with increased risk of heart attack, heart failure and death," said lead author Dr. Nay Aung, a cardiologist and research fellow at Queen Mary University of London. Aung's team reviewed data from more than 4,200 people in the United Kingdom. The study participants had undergone magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart. The researchers then calculated average diesel pollution exposure based on the study participants' home addresses. Although the study wasn't designed to prove cause-and-effect, the researchers think the pollution stimulates an inflammatory response. "Inhalation of fine particulate matter [PM2.5, which refers to atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter less ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Myocardial Infarction, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Myocardial Infarction - Prophylaxis, Post MI Syndrome
Increasing Numbers of Pregnant Women Also Have Heart Disease
Posted 22 May 2017 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 22, 2017 – Many more American women with heart disease are choosing to have babies, a new study finds. Researchers looked at more than 81,000 women with heart disease from 2003 to 2012. They found that the proportion who had babies rose 24 percent during that time. "We learned that in addition to the high and growing prevalence of women with heart disease delivering babies, the reasons are mainly related to increases in women delivering babies with diseases such as cardiomyopathy, adult congenital heart disease, and pulmonary hypertension," study author Dr. Kathleen Stergiopoulos said in a Stony Brook University news release. She is a specialist in heart disease in women at the Stony Brook Heart Institute. The researchers also found that major heart problems, such as heart failure and heart rhythm problems, in pregnant women with heart disease increased by nearly 19 ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Pulmonary Hypertension, Cardiomyopathy, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, Cardiomyopathy Prophylaxis, Broken Heart Syndrome, Left Ventriculography, Idiopathic Hypertrophic Subaortic Stenosis
Sleep Apnea May Boost Pregnancy Complications
Posted 22 May 2017 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 22, 2017 – Mothers-to-be with sleep apnea may have a higher risk of pregnancy complications, longer hospital stays and admission to the ICU than those without the sleep disorder, a new study suggests. The study of more than 1.5 million U.S. women found sleep apnea linked to significantly higher odds for problems such as heart failure, hysterectomy, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. The findings may come as a surprise even to physicians, said study lead author Dr. Ghada Bourjeily. "When people think of obstructive sleep apnea, they usually think of older men," said Bourjeily, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University in Providence, R.I. It's true that men are more likely to develop the condition, but the physiological changes of pregnancy may also trigger sleep apnea, the researchers said in background notes. However, it often goes undiagnosed. People with ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Pulmonary Edema, Labor and Delivery including Augmentation
Iron Pills No Help for Certain Type of Heart Failure
Posted 16 May 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 16, 2017 – High-dose iron pills don't improve the exercise capacity of iron-deficient patients with a certain type of heart failure, a new study finds. Iron deficiency affects about half of heart failure patients with what's called reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF). This refers to how well the heart's left ventricle pumps with each contraction. This iron shortage is associated with reduced physical functioning, poorer quality of life, and increased risk of death. The new study included 225 such patients who received either high-dose iron pills (150 milligrams) or a placebo, twice daily for 16 weeks. Exercise capacity was assessed by how far patients could walk in six minutes. After four months, those who took the iron pills did not have higher peak oxygen uptake or greater exercise capacity than those who took the placebo, according to the study. The study ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Deficiency Anemia, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Lydia E. Pinkham, Feosol Original, Vitelle Irospan, Iron Sulfate, Ferrousal, Ascorbic Acid/Ferrous Sulfate, Docusate/iron/multivitamin, Fero-Grad-500, Ferrous Sulfate/Folic Acid, Slow Fe with Folic Acid, Fer-Iron, Left Ventriculography
Timing of Menopause May Affect Heart Failure Risk
Posted 15 May 2017 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 15, 2017 – Women who entered menopause early or who never gave birth might have an increased risk of heart failure, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data from more than 28,000 postmenopausal women who did not have heart disease at the start of the study. During an average follow-up of about 13 years, just over 5 percent of the women were hospitalized for heart failure. Menopause usually occurs after age 45, but changes can start several years before a woman's periods end. In the study, earlier menopause was associated with increased risk of heart failure, and this link was stronger in women who had natural rather than surgical menopause. But the researchers did not establish a cause-and-effect link. Also, women who never gave birth seemed at increased risk for a type of heart failure in which the left side of the heart fails to relax as it should. This association ... Read more
Related support groups: Hot Flashes, Menopausal Disorders, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Postmenopausal Symptoms, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Perimenopausal Symptoms, Vaginal Dryness, Premenopausal Anovulation, Labor and Delivery including Augmentation, Left Ventriculography
Heart Failure Patients Do Better When Sticking With Same Hospital
Posted 10 May 2017 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, May 10, 2017 – Heart failure patients who are readmitted to the same hospital after their initial treatment are more likely to survive and go home sooner, new Canadian research suggests. Speedy treatment is critical for sudden events – such as heart attack or stroke – which explains why ambulance policies usually require patients to be taken to the closest treatment center even if they were just released from another hospital. "This makes sense in time-sensitive acute conditions where delays in initial treatment are associated with poorer outcomes – thus the adage 'time is muscle' for heart attacks and 'time is brain' for strokes," said study leader Dr. Finlay McAlister. He is a professor of general internal medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. But, "heart failure is a chronic condition and continuity of care seems to be more important," McAlister noted in a ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Left Ventriculography
Heart Failure, Job Loss May Be Deadly Combo
Posted 2 May 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 – The ability to work may help predict a heart-failure patient's chances of survival, a preliminary study suggests. Researchers found that joblessness was tied to a 50 percent higher risk of death in younger patients with heart failure. "The ability to hold a job brings valuable information on well-being and performance status," said study lead author Dr. Rasmus Roerth. "And workforce exclusion has been associated with increased risk of depression, mental health problems and even suicide," added Roerth, a physician at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. "It could be highly valuable to assess employment status and actually think of workforce exclusion as a prognostic marker in line with suffering from serious chronic diseases," he said in a news release from the European Society of Cardiology. Moreover, learning why an individual patient is unemployed might ... Read more
Related support groups: Depression, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure
Pump Implants May Rejuvenate Heart Failure Patients
Posted 18 Apr 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 18, 2017 – Implanted pumps may be more than a "bridge" to a heart transplant – they might also restore healthy heart function for some heart failure patients, a new British study suggests. As the researchers explained, these battery-operated left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are often used to support patients with severe heart failure while they await a heart transplant. But this new clinical trial is the first to show that an LVAD, combined with medication, can restore heart function completely, researchers said. "We talk about these devices as a bridge-to-transplant, something which can keep a patient alive until a heart is available for transplantation," said study lead author Djordje Jakovljevic. "However, we knew that sometimes patients recover to such an extent that they no longer need a heart transplant," noted Jakovljevic, a senior research fellow in ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Left Ventriculography
Can Stem Cell 'Patch' Help Heart Failure?
Posted 5 Apr 2017 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 5, 2017 – Scientists report another step in the use of stem cells to help treat people with debilitating heart failure. In an early study of 27 patients, Japanese researchers used patients' own muscle stem cells to create a "patch" that was placed on the heart. Over the next year, the patients generally showed small improvements in their symptoms – including the ability to walk without becoming breathless and fatigued. However, experts cautioned that while the results are encouraging, there's a lot of work left ahead before stem cells can be used to treat heart failure. "They've shown that this approach is feasible," said Dr. Eiran Gorodeski, a heart failure specialist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. But it's not clear whether the stem-cell tactic was actually effective, said Gorodeski, who was not involved in the study. That's because the study didn't include a ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction, Left Ventriculography
Heart Devices 101: Guide to the Tools That Keep You Ticking
Posted 3 Apr 2017 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, April 2, 2017 – Pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical devices have saved the lives of millions of people worldwide. Someone you know probably has received one of these heart-health enhancers, although not all have become household words. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration evaluates and regulates these and other medical devices in the United States. Below, the agency provides a brief glossary of terms that might come in handy when a doctor recommends a cardiac tool: Heart pacemakers: These small, battery-powered devices are implanted in the body. They deliver an electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm when the heart beats too slowly. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators: These deliver a shock to restore normal heart rhythm when the heart beats too fast. Automated external defibrillators: These portable, automatic devices are found in many public locations. ... Read more
Related support groups: Atrial Fibrillation, Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Arrhythmia, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Tachyarrhythmia, Angina, Supraventricular Tachycardia, Prevention of Thromboembolism in Atrial Fibrillation, Prosthetic Heart Valves, Myocardial Infarction, Cardiac Arrhythmia, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Ventricular Tachycardia, Prosthetic Heart Valves - Mechanical Valves, Mitral Insufficiency, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Atrial Flutter, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
Exercise a Great Prescription to Help Older Hearts
Posted 24 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 23, 2017 – Regular exercise is potent medicine for older adults with heart disease, a new American Heart Association scientific statement says. Physical activity should be a key part of care for older adults with heart disease who want to reduce their symptoms and build their stamina, said geriatric cardiologist Dr. Daniel Forman. He's chair of the panel that wrote the new statement. "Many health-care providers are focused only on the medical management of diseases – such as heart failure, heart attacks, valvular heart disease and strokes – without directly focusing on helping patients maximize their physical function," Forman said in a heart association news release. Yet, after a heart attack or other cardiac event, patients need to gain strength. Their independence may require the ability "to lift a grocery bag and to carry it to their car," said Forman, a professor ... Read more
Related support groups: Atrial Fibrillation, Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke, Heart Attack, Arrhythmia, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Transient Ischemic Attack, Myocardial Infarction, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Ischemic Heart Disease
Daily Glass of Beer, Wine Might Do a Heart Good
Posted 23 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 23, 2017 – Having a drink each day may help protect a person's heart against disease, a large-scale study suggests. But don't bend that elbow too often: drinking to excess can increase your risk for a variety of heart problems, the study also showed. Researchers tracked more than 1.9 million healthy British adults and found that having the occasional drink was tied to reductions in the risk of heart attack, sudden heart death, heart failure and stroke, compared to non-drinkers. In the study, "moderate" drinking was defined as 7 pints of regular beer or 1.5 bottles of wine in one week, researchers said in background notes. Drinking more than that increased the risk of many heart health problems, researchers found. Those included sudden heart death, heart failure, cardiac arrest and stroke. "We have shown that heavy drinking increases a person's risk of developing a ... Read more
Related support groups: Ischemic Stroke, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Alcohol Dependence, Alcoholism, Myocardial Infarction, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Hangover, Ischemic Stroke - Prophylaxis, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
Failed Fertility Treatments, Poorer Heart Health Later?
Posted 13 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 13, 2017 – Women who undergo fertility treatment but don't get pregnant may have a slightly higher risk of heart disease, a new study suggests. Failed fertility therapy was linked to a 19 percent increased risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure later in life among the women in the study, said lead researcher Dr. Jacob Udell. He is a cardiologist at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "Two-thirds of women were unsuccessful after undergoing fertility treatment, and it was in those women we found an association with an increased risk in adverse cardiovascular events long-term," Udell said. But the study did not prove a cause-and-effect link between the two. Udell said he and his colleagues conducted this research after noticing that fertility drug treatments can create short-term complications, including high blood pressure and diabetes – conditions linked to ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Transient Ischemic Attack, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Ischemic Stroke - Prophylaxis, Ischemic Heart Disease, Left Ventriculography
Heart Disease Kicks in Earlier for Obese People
Posted 9 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 9, 2017 – Overweight and obese people tend to develop heart disease at an earlier age, living with chronic illness for much longer than those of a healthy weight, a new study shows. People carrying excess pounds do tend to live similar or only slightly shorter life spans compared to folks with normal body weight, the researchers found. But heart disease begins 1.8 years earlier in overweight middle-aged women compared with normal-weight women, and 4.3 years earlier for those who are obese, they added. Meanwhile, obese middle-aged men suffer heart disease 3.1 years earlier than normal-weight men. However, overweight men tended to develop heart disease at about the same rate and live about as long as normal-weight men. These findings show that even though some may benefit from an "obesity paradox" – where people with excess weight live longer than those of normal weight ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Ischemic Stroke - Prophylaxis
Pot Use Tied to Higher Odds for Stroke, Heart Failure
Posted 9 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 9, 2017 – New research analyzing millions of U.S. medical records suggests that marijuana use raises an adult's risk of stroke and heart failure. The study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, but the researchers said they tried to account for other heart risk factors. "Even when we corrected for known risk factors, we still found a higher rate of both stroke and heart failure in these patients," explained lead researcher Dr. Aditi Kalla, a cardiologist at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. "That leads us to believe that there is something else going on besides just obesity or diet-related cardiovascular side effects," Kalla said in a news release from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). Her team is slated to present its findings March 18 at the ACC's annual meeting, in Washington, D.C. In the study, Kalla's group looked at 20 million health records of patients ... Read more
Related support groups: High Blood Pressure, Obesity, Hypertension, Smoking, Ischemic Stroke, Heart Failure, Smoking Cessation, Congestive Heart Failure, Alcohol Dependence, Transient Ischemic Attack, Alcoholism, Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Hangover, Ischemic Stroke - Prophylaxis, Cannabis, Hypertensive Heart Disease, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
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