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The American Heart Association today issued a call to action for the public, health professionals, the food industry and the government to intensify efforts to reduce the amount of sodium (salt) Americans consume daily.
In an advisory, published i…

New research has found one of the smallest entities in the human genome, micro-RNA, could increase the risk of limb amputation in diabetic patients who have poor blood flow.
The study by Dr Andrea Caporali and colleagues in Professor Costanza Eman…

The American Heart Association should develop a comprehensive hospital certification program with policies and evidence-based criteria for cardiovascular disease and stroke care in the United States, according to an American Heart Association Presid…

Testing to guide treatment of rapid heart rhythms leads to poorer survival in blacks than in whites, according to research published in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Lead author Andrea M. Russo, M.D., says blacks were much more likely to refuse implantable cardioverter-defibrillators or ICDs when doctors recommended the devices, which may explain some of the survival difference.

Eating oily fish like salmon, tuna or bluefish at least twice a week can prevent sudden cardiac death because fatty acids in the fish block dangerous irregular heart rhythms, experts say in a review article in today’s of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Surgery or angioplasty to improve blood flow in patients with moderate to severe levels of blood flow restriction to the heart reduces the risk of cardiac death more than medication alone, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

An oxidation-fighting enzyme called paraoxonase (PON1) can significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks, according to research reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The enzyme attaches itself to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is known as “good” cholesterol. When PON1 is highly active, the risk for heart attack is cut by 43 percent, says study author Michael Mackness, Ph.D., of the University Department of Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Chronic infections, autoimmune conditions and inflammation work together to increase the risk of heart disease, according to the first study to examine a possible relationship between the three conditions and the development of heart attacks. It’s reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Using a multiple-gene analysis technique, German researchers have gained new insights into specific genetic alterations that lead to congenital heart defects, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The technique, called microarray analysis, allowed investigators to identify specific patterns of gene expression in the entire human genome associated with common types of congenital heart defects. They sought to demonstrate the feasibility of using gene array analysis to study congenital heart defects. But their findings could represent an early step toward developing effective strategies to improve the quality of life in children and adults with heart defects.

In the first study of its kind, researchers show that gene therapy given during angioplasty is safe and improves blood flow to the heart muscle more than angioplasty alone, according to a report in a recent rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The trial is the first to transfer copies of the gene for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into the arteries of heart patients during angioplasty. It’s also the first human study that compared two different approaches to inserting the gene into heart cells.

Injecting a person?s own stem cells directly into heart muscle appears safe and useful in treating end-stage heart failure, according to a rapid track report today from Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Most women who die from an abrupt loss of heart function (called sudden cardiac death) have no prior history of heart disease. However, 94 percent of these women have at least one cardiac risk factor such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or obesity, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

High levels of the inflammation marker C-reactive protein (CRP) in healthy, middle-aged men signals an increased risk of ischemic stroke in later life, according to a 20-year follow-up study reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In this study, men with few cardiovascular risk factors but with the highest CRP levels studied had a 3.8-fold increased incidence of stroke in 10 to 15 years compared to men with the lowest levels, says lead author J. David Curb, M.D., of the Pacific Health Research Institute and the Department of Geriatric Medicine and Medicine at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

People with a certain form of a gene that influences blood flow may have a lower risk of having a heart attack and dying from heart disease, according to a new study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The gene controls variations in beta-2 adrenergic receptors, which are on the surface of heart muscle cells and blood vessel cell walls. When activated by adrenaline and noradrenaline, these receptors set in motion a series of events that dilate the blood vessels and increase heart rate.

Eating fish regularly reduced the risk of heart disease in diabetic women by as much as 64 percent, according to a new study. “We found that women with type 2 diabetes who ate more fish had significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease and total death than those who rarely ate fish,” says Frank B. Hu, M.D., lead author and associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. “Previous studies have found that fish consumption reduces risk of heart disease in a largely healthy population. This is the first study to look at the relationship among diabetic patients, who have very high risk of heart disease.”

Vitamin C helped convert mouse embryonic stem cells growing in the laboratory to heart muscle cells, researchers report. This basic-research discovery could lead to future research on ways to treat people suffering from damaged heart muscle. “Although the findings of this study are very preliminary with respect to their impact on human lives, this line of research has enormous implications for the future care of thousands of patients who develop heart failure each year,” says Robert O. Bonow, M.D., president of the American Heart Association.

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs before undergoing artery-clearing procedures appears to reduce deaths, heart attacks, and recurrent blockages among patients with elevated levels of an inflammation marker, according to research reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Previous studies have suggested that taking a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) such as balloon angioplasty or stenting could lower deaths.

For elderly women, the location of excess fat may be more important for their cardiovascular health than overall obesity, according to a surprising new study published in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In a study of 1,356 women ages 60-85, Danish researchers found that those with excessive peripheral fat ? located in the arms, legs, hips and buttocks ? had less atherosclerosis than those whose fat was stored mostly in their abdominal area (visceral fat) and other central parts of the body.

Exercise is good medicine for heart failure patients ? even while they await heart transplantation ? according to a new statement from the American Heart Association published in today’s print issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

In older people with high blood pressure, a sharp increase in blood pressure in the morning increases the risk of stroke and is linked to brain lesions known as “silent” strokes, according to a study in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “This study is the first to show that an excessive morning blood pressure surge is a predictor of stroke in elderly people with high blood pressure,” says lead author Kazuomi Kario, M.D., from the department of cardiology at Jichi Medical School in Tochigi, Japan.