http://www.reutershealth.com/en/index.html Reuters Health (RH) is the world's leading provider of medical and healthcare news. Reuters Health news services are internationally recognized as unbiased, authoritative, timely and dependable, with the reputation for quality that one expects from a Reuters company. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:53:00 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The "obesity paradox" lives on: In a look-back at a group of adults with suspected or known coronary artery disease, underweight adults had an increased risk of death, whereas overweight and obese adults had a lower risk of death, compared with normal-weight adults.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL96998220070629Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:52:33 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly individuals who maintain higher levels of physical activity have better survival rates after a heart attack and subsequent angiography to clear the coronary arteries, researchers in Italy and the U.S. suggest. Dr. Dario Leosco, Federico II University, Naples, and colleagues assessed the daily physical activity levels maintained by 168 men and women, aged 70 years and older, after 30 days and 1 year, researchers report in the American Heart Journal.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL17198720070831Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:51:51 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though exercise can be a key part of managing high blood pressure and heart disease, new animal research suggests there can be too much of a good thing. In experiments with rats, researchers found that excessive exercise worsened high blood pressure and progression to heart failure in rats with high blood pressure.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL66582620070816Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:51:11 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have hospitalized with a heart attack or severe angina -- known by the umbrella term "acute coronary syndrome" -- appear to be less likely to have certain heart-related events subsequently if they're taking a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI, researchers report.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL96492020070619Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:50:11 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heart attacks occur earlier in people who are overweight or obese, compared with normal-weight people, new research indicates. "Obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature heart attacks," senior investigator Dr. Peter A. McCullough told Reuters Health. "Since two thirds of Americans have excess body fat we expect an explosion in the rates of heart attacks among women in their 40s and 50s."http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49884O20081009Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:49:05 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A woman's satisfaction with her sex life appears to have very little to do with the health of her heart and circulation, according to a new analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative. "In women this particular aspect of sexual function, which is decreased sexual satisfaction, did not predict cardiovascular disease," Dr. Jennifer S. McCall-Hosenfeld, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL15920620080411Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:48:01 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poorer lifestyle habits may go a long way in explaining why people with depression or anxiety face a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, a study published Monday suggests. British researchers found that of nearly 6,600 adults they followed for seven years, those who were under significant psychological distress at the outset were more likely to suffer heart problems or a stroke by the study's end.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4BE6EY20081215Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:47:31 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In patients with heart failure, aerobic training can help the organ pump better, investigators report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. In contrast, Dr. Mark J. Haykowsky and colleagues observed that strength training, either alone or in combination with aerobic training, appeared to be of no benefit. These opposing findings may underlie the inconsistent results of studies of exercise training in patients with heart failurehttp://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSKRA17925220070611Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:47:02 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The improved prognosis of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease is tempered by the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a side effect of treatment that can persist for decades. The risk of a variety of cardiovascular disorders remains up to 5-fold higher for more than 25 years in survivors of this childhood lymphoma, compared with the general population, investigators report in the medical journal "Blood."http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSHO08104420070320Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:46:41 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with blood pressure drugs called beta-blockers appears to improve the severity of central sleep apnea in patients with chronic heart failure, according to study findings reported in the journal Chest.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSHO88475120070108Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:46:14 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As a treatment for breast cancer, radiation, even modern regimens, appears to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute for March 7. Earlier reports have indicated that radiotherapy regimens used in the 1970s elevate heart disease risk, but it has been less clear if more recent regimens also increase the risk.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON71134620070307Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:45:51 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women younger than age 65 with diabetes tend to have worse cardiovascular risk profiles than diabetic men of the same age, leading to higher death rates following a heart attack, research shows. "The female advantage with fewer cardiovascular events than in men at younger ages is attenuated once a woman has the diagnosis of diabetes," Dr. Anna Norhammar and associates report.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4AO5YX20081125?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNewsMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:45:21 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The findings of clinical trials have linked the use of thiazolidinediones, a class of diabetes drugs, with congestive heart failure and possibly heart attacks. Now, new research indicates that these associations, at least with Avandia, also apply to individuals in the community, and not just clinical trials.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSWRI17910020071211Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:44:54 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many patients who have received a diagnosis of "diastolic heart failure" or DHF, which is characterized by a reduced ability of the heart to relax to allow filling, may simply be suffering from the effects of aging or other conditions that are not directly related to their heart, UK researchers report.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL17064120080611Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:44:26 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new international study has found a major reduction in the risk of death or heart failure after heart attack since 1999. The improvements are due to better adherence to "evidence-based" guidelines on caring for these patients, from wider use of aspirin and other blood thinners to more systematic use of surgical interventions to clear blood vessels in high-risk patients, Dr. Keith A. A. Fox of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, told Reuters Health.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON18114120070501Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:44:00 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Depression increases the risk of death in patients with heart failure, but the risk apparently disappears with antidepressant use, according to a study.http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AR5R920081128Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:43:03 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Over just 3 years, there have been substantial improvements in the outcomes of patients hospitalized with heart failure and more and more doctors are now following recommended treatment guidelines, according to a report in the American Heart Journal. "Efforts to improve the quality of care of patients hospitalized with heart failure are paying off," Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow told Reuters Health.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSHUN87957420070508Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:42:31 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with a deficiency in vitamin D may be at increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease, the authors of a new review of current research on vitamin D and cardiovascular health conclude. While placebo-controlled, randomized trials are needed to confirm the relationship, in the meantime, "vitamin D supplementation is simple, safe and inexpensive," Dr. John H. Lee of the Mid America Heart Institute and the University of Missouri in Kansas City and colleagues say.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4B08S420081201Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:42:08 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Research suggests a link between a disease of the heart muscle called cardiomyopathy and use of methamphetamine -- a powerfully addictive illegal stimulant drug, also known as meth, crank, crystal, and speed. A chart review of patients aged 45 and younger discharged from a medical center in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy or heart failure revealed a high prevalence of methamphetamine abuse in this population.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON51034920070215Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:41:37 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Offering yet another reason to never start smoking, a new study finds that both current and former smokers run an elevated risk of the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation. The condition, also known as AF, is the most common heart arrhythmia in the U.S., affecting about 2 million people. During an episode of AF, abnormal electrical activity in the heart causes its upper two chambers to beat in a rapid, uncoordinated rhythm; the arrhythmia itself is not life-threatening, but over time AF can contribute to stroke or heart failure in some people.http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4BP20F20081226Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:40:46 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heart disease management programs are effective in the primary care setting, according to a report in the November issue of Heart. Disease management programs, led by nurse specialist, for people with coronary heart disease and heart failure "result in improved care and quality of life," Dr. Kamlesh Khunti from the University of Leicester, UK told Reuters Health.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSKRA48013420071114Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:40:22 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Each serving of whole-grains may lessen heart failure risk by 7 percent among middle-aged African-American and white men and women, according to findings from a long-term study. Conversely, each serving of high-fat dairy and egg appear to increase heart failure risk by 8 and 23 percent, respectively, Dr. Jennifer A. Nettleton, of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, and colleagues found.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4BO1CN20081225Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:39:59 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About one quarter of heart failure patients have moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and they also have significantly higher death rates than those without sleep apnea, Canadian researchers report. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common problem that typically occurs when soft tissues in the back of the throat temporarily block off airflow during sleep. During sleep, it is not uncommon for patients to have numerous periods of absent breathing lasting for several seconds each. The perpetual lack of adequate sleep can also impair quality of life.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSARM67759320070416Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:39:30 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study shows that having diabetes independently raises the risk of illness and death in people with heart failure, which occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. A "novel finding," according to the research team, was that having diabetes conferred a greater increased risk of heart-related death or need for hospital admission in individuals whose heart's showed fairly well preserved blood-pumping power compared with individuals whose heart's showed poorer blood-pumping power.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL45170920080704Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:39:05 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people with chronic heart failure, combined endurance and resistance training leads to better exercise capacity, muscle strength, and quality of life than endurance training alone, a study shows. Despite improved medical treatments, "patients with chronic heart failure are left with reduced exercise performance and poor quality of life," Dr. Paul J. Beckers, of Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium, and colleagues write in the European Heart Journal.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE48T7Q220080930Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:38:36 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A powerful antioxidant extracted from the bark of pine trees can help prevent harmful structural changes in the heart that accompany congestive heart failure, a new study in mice shows. Feeding the extract to old mice that had been given chemicals to accelerate aging-related changes in heart structure reversed tissue-damaging gene expression patterns, Dr. Ronald Ross Watson of The University of Arizona in Tucson and colleagues found.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSHAR26593520070522Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:38:09 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though exercise can be a key part of managing high blood pressure and heart disease, new animal research suggests there can be too much of a good thing. In experiments with rats, researchers found that excessive exercise worsened high blood pressure and progression to heart failure in rats with high blood pressure.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL66582620070816?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNewsMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:37:27 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with heart failure may be able to improve their mental and physical health with the help of transcendental meditation, preliminary research suggests. In a study of 23 African Americans with mild to moderate heart failure, researchers found that those who learned the transcendental meditation (TM) technique made gains in their ability to exercise, as well as improvements in their quality of life and depression symptoms.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL25203720070312Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:37:01 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In people with diabetes, a common eye condition called retinopathy more than doubles their risk of developing heart failure, new research suggests. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of blindness among working-aged Americans. The disease, which affects roughly half of diabetics in the U.S., is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the back of the eye.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON47980020080414Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:36:37 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people with coronary artery disease, treatment with high doses of Lipitor (generic name, atorvastatin) may reduce their odds of having to be hospitalized for heart failure, according to a new report. However, this benefit is largely confined to individuals with a history of heart failure.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL86377920070208Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:36:02 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese patients hospitalized with heart failure tend to fare better than their lean counterparts, new research suggests. The report, which appears in the American Heart Journal, indicates that this "obesity paradox," which was previously described in patients with chronic heart failure, may also apply to patients with rapidly worsening or "decompensated" heart failure.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSMCC01731320070120Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:35:37 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Higher blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) in mid-life appear to increase the risk of heart failure in later life, according to findings published in the medical journal Hypertension.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL96998920071009Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:35:00 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heart failure patients who are still mobile typically estimate that they will live 3 years longer than standard models predict they will, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON37481320080603Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:34:35 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight and obese patients with heart failure seem to have a lower risk of dying than their normal-weight counterparts, according to a review of published studies involving more than 28,000 heart failure patients who were followed for an average of nearly three years.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL54751920080805Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:34:03 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The popular supplement coenzyme Q10 improves the functional capacity of patients with chronic heart failure, along with strengthening of their heart, a new study shows.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSKIM74598520070107Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:33:28 -0800 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Even a little bit of extra weight can raise the risk of heart failure, according to a U.S. study published on Monday that calculated the heart hazards of being pudgy but not obese. It comes as little surprise that obesity makes a person much more apt to get heart failure, a deadly condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood throughout the body.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4BL4IO20081222Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:32:49 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While the rate of sudden death after a heart attack has markedly declined since the 1980s, the risk during the first 30 days after an attack is still four times higher than in the general population, new research shows. The findings suggest that this is mostly related to the presence of heart failure.http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4A4BJS20081105Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:25:00 -0800 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young American adults who learn they have a low immediate risk of heart disease may be making a mistake if they sigh with relief and relax -- their lifetime risk could be high, doctors cautioned on Monday. A new analysis of heart disease risk studies shows that about half of people under the age of 50 who appeared to have a low risk of heart disease for the next 10 years already had damage to the arteries that could cause trouble later.http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/01/13/eline/links/20090113elin016.htmlMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:23:29 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with chronic heart failure are four times as likely as healthy individuals to have impaired thinking or "cognitive" abilities, according to a report in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. Studies have shown a link between chronic heart failure and cognitive impairment in elderly patients, but little is known about the rate of cognitive impairment in the general population of patients with heart failure, according to Dr. Mary Jane Sauvé from the University of California, Davis, and her colleagueshttp://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/02/20/eline/links/20090220elin026.htmlMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:18:49 -0800 LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental drug that boosts the body's ability to exercise may one day help people recover from heart failure, researchers said on Monday. A study of mice showed the drug, derived from wheat, spurred red blood cells to strengthen surrounding tissue by releasing more oxygen, they reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/02/10/eline/links/20090210elin012.htmlMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:18:49 -0800 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Use of a class of painkillers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by patients with chronic heart failure is associated with increased risk of death and cardiovascular illness, new research suggests. "Accumulating evidence" points to increased cardiovascular risk associated with NSAID use, in particular in patients with established cardiovascular disease, Dr. Gunnar H. Gislason, of Gentofte University Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark, and colleagues note in the Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/02/03/eline/links/20090203elin029.htmlMon, 23 Feb 2009 20:18:49 -0800