FDA staff say CardioMEMS device works

2011-12-05T14:30:27Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Monday said a CardioMEMs implant for treating heart failure met its main safety and effectiveness targets but warned of potential bias in the company's research.

A Food and Drug Administration staff review of the

FDA: CardioMEMS device meets top study goals

2011-12-05T08:30:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Food and Drug Administration review of CardioMEMS' device for treating heart failure found it has met its main safety and effectiveness goals, based on trial results.

But the FDA questioned on Monday how cl...

Lots of pregnancies linked to a healthier heart

2011-12-02T14:30:29Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study from a single California community, women who had been pregnant at least four times were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who'd never been expecting.

Researchers said that could be due to the protective effects of pregnancy-related hormones as well as the extra...

Heart patients prefer longevity over quality of life

2011-11-25T16:32:17Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When an elderly person's chronic disease is impossible to cure, many doctors might assume that patient would chose to improve the quality of his or her remaining life rather than to extend it as is. Those doctors would be mistaken most of the time, according to a new study.

Swiss researchers who surveyed more than 500 elderly heart failure patients found three qua...

FDA sees rare but serious issue with stents

2011-11-18T13:30:52Z

(Reuters) - Health regulators are investigating a rare but potentially serious problem with a newer class of heart stents that causes the tiny tubular devices made of wire mesh to shrink, or lengthen, after implantation.

The problem appears to occur most frequently in the Promus and Ion devices made by Reuters) - Health regulators are investigating a rare but potentially serious problem with a newer class of heart stents that causes the tiny tubular devices made of wire mesh to shrink, or lengthen, after implantation.

The problem appears to occur most frequently in the Promus and Ion devices made by

Stem cell therapy works in heart failure trial

2011-11-14T10:30:29Z

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A stem cell therapy for treating patients experiencing moderate to severe heart failure showed real promise in preventing serious consequences or death, according to data from a small mid-stage clinical trial.

The treatment from Australia's Mesoblast Ltd, known as revascor, appea...

Tooth cleaning 'helps reduce risk of heart disease'

2011-11-14T08:30:34Z

Regular professional cleaning of teeth not only gives a patient a more radiant smile but also helps reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a new study.

The study presented Sunday at an American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, was conducted at the Veterans General Hospita...

Tooth cleaning leads to fewer heart problems: study

2011-11-13T12:00:20Z

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Regular visits to the dentist for tooth cleaning may provide more than just a brighter smile.

According to data compiled by researchers in Taiwan, people who had their teeth professionally scraped and cleaned had a 24 percent lower risk of heart attack and 13 percent lower risk of stroke compar...

Early sexual abuse increases heart risks

2011-11-13T08:30:28Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women who were repeatedly sexually abused as girls have a 62 percent higher risk of heart problems later in life compared with women who were not abused, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

The findings, presented at the American He...

Panel advises testing children for cholesterol

2011-11-11T15:00:17Z

(Reuters) - Children from ages 9 to 11 should be routinely screened for high cholesterol so that action can be taken to avoid the development of heart disease, according to new guidelines from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The guidelines, endorsed by the Reuters) - Children from ages 9 to 11 should be routinely screened for high cholesterol so that action can be taken to avoid the development of heart disease, according to new guidelines from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The guidelines, endorsed by the Reuters Health) - Heart patients are more likely to get costly follow-up tests sooner than guidelines recommend if their doctors own testing equipment or get paid for interpreting tests results, according to a new study.

In recent years, more and more of the procedures, called stress imaging tests, are being done in doctors' offices, instead of hospitals, as groups of doctors purch...

Hospital wins review of heart unit closure plan

2011-11-07T11:30:42Z

A London hospital has won its High Court battle over health authorities' plans to close down its children's heart surgery unit.

Lawyers for the Royal Brompton in Chelsea, west London, argued that a consultation exercise launched by the Joint Committee of the Primary Care Trusts of Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp, which last week became the first company to be approved to sell a less-invasive replacement heart valve in the United States, said on Monday it received conditional approval to expand its study ...

FDA approves Edwards aortic heart valve

2011-11-03T09:03:16Z

(Reuters) - Regulators have approved the sale of Edwards Life Sciences Corp's heart valve for patients deemed too sick to have open-heart surgery.

A clinical trial found that patients receiving the Sapien valve experienced two and a half times more strokes and eight times as many vascular and bleeding complications than those who did not receive the implant, but they were more likely to surv...

AtriCure heart device safe, with caveats: FDA staff

2011-10-24T16:30:18Z

(Reuters) - AtriCure Inc's device for treating a heart rhythm disorder is safe and effective, but its trial size and design raise some concerns, U.S. Food and Drug Administration researchers said.

AtriCure Synergy Ablation System is approved for ab...

New app aims to reduce stress with slow breathing

2011-10-24T10:00:27Z

TOKYO (Reuters) - Want to reduce stress and improve mental focus? A new app that promotes slow breathing may help.

Called MyCalmBeat, the app uses a heart rate monitor that attaches to the ear to detect a person's optimal breathing rate, or resonant frequency, which is unique to each person.

At this breathing rate, the company says the user can...

Coronary calcium tests not always worthwhile: study

2011-10-13T18:00:05Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using CT scans of coronary arteries to help determine a person's chance of getting heart disease may be worth the costs and potential risks in men, but doesn't seem to be cost-effective in women.

That's according to a new study that used a computer simulation to compare the expense, as well as the benefits and side effects, of different ways to treat people though...

US heart disease on decline: study

2011-10-13T13:30:21Z

Cases of heart disease in the United States have declined in the last several years, down to six percent of the population in 2010 compared to 6.7 percent in 2006, health authorities said Thursday.

The drop is likely due to better eating and lifestyle habits, said the report by the Centers for Disease Control...

Children's chest pain rarely signals heart problem

2011-10-10T13:00:13Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children and teenagers who complain of chest pain only rarely have a heart problem causing it, a study published Monday suggests.

What's more, researchers say, relatively simple steps -- including a physical exam, taking a family history and doing an electrocardiogram -- could pinpoint those kids who need more extensive, and expensive, testing for heart problems.<...

City cyclists breathe in twice as much soot: study

2011-10-07T13:30:14Z

New York (Reuters Health) - Urban cyclists may be exposed to more than twice as much black carbon from vehicle exhaust as pedestrians, a small new study suggests.

By examining airway cells in sputum samples from ten people, researchers in London found black carbon levels were 2.3 times higher in the five cyclists compared to the five pedestrians.

Black carbon, a byproduct ...

Higher testosterone may equal lower heart risks

2011-10-04T19:00:09Z

(Reuters) - Elderly men with naturally higher levels of testosterone may be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those men with lower levels of the hormone, according to a study.

Findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that of 2,400 Swedish men in ...

Higher testosterone tied to lower heart risks

2011-10-04T11:30:23Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly men with naturally higher levels of testosterone may be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those with lower levels of the hormone, a new study finds.

Researchers found that of 2,400 Swedish men in their 70s and 80s, those with the highest testosterone levels were less likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next several years than...

Actor Jeff Conaway's death ruled accidental

2011-10-02T15:00:07Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Autopsy results show that Jeff Conaway, the star of "Taxi" and "Grease" who struggled with addiction before his death in May, died from multiple causes including a major internal...

More deaths when green doctors place neck stents

2011-09-28T15:30:30Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People about to undergo a controversial stenting procedure in the neck might want to check their doctor's credentials first, researchers say.

According to a new study in the Journal ...

Court upholds blood vessel stent ruling

2011-09-28T10:30:14Z

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court said Boston Scientific Corp did not infringe a patent by Johnson & Johnson's Cordis unit related to a stent used to treat coronary artery disease, but could not block the enforcement of two patents.

Wednesday's ruling in the 14-year-old case by the U.S.

Childless men more likely to die of heart disease

2011-09-27T08:00:10Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A decade-long study of 135,000 men found that those who did not have children had a higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who did, raising new questions over the links between fertility and overall health, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

While the findings do not show that not having children causes ...

Childless men more likely to die of heart disease: study

2011-09-26T15:30:18Z

While the findings do not show that not having children causes ...

Heart failure hits the poor extra hard

2011-09-19T14:30:42Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poor women are more likely to end up in the hospital with heart failure, even when taking other measures of health and well-being into consideration.

That's according to a new study that also showed women who didn't finish high school were at higher risk than those who received more education.

"It's kind of a double insult," said Dr. Harlan Krumholz

Active legs at night linked to heart problems

2011-09-16T13:30:14Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who jerked and flexed their legs involuntarily at night were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease in a new study of sleep and chronic disease in the 65-and-up crowd.

During a one-night sleep assessment, more than two-thirds of men had the involuntary movements, which usually occur in the foot or at the ankle or hip joint, and most of them woke up duri...

Power of suggestion affects heart arteries

2011-09-16T11:30:22Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Simply suggesting that a treatment will ease chest pain may not only dampen the pain, but directly alter heart arteries, a small study concludes.

Among 30 patients having a procedure to evaluate their chest pain, researchers found that those who were told they were being given an infusion of a pain-relieving drug did, on average, report a decrease in pain.

B...

GSK anti-nausea drug may pose risk to heart rhythm: FDA

2011-09-15T14:00:20Z

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators said they are reviewing the safety of GlaxoSmithKline's anti-nausea drug Zofran to ascertain whether there is a potential risk of abnormal hearth rhythm.

The drug may increase the risk of deve...

Impotence may point to heart problems

2011-09-12T20:00:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Failing erections may be a harbinger of heart disease in some men, according to a review of a number of studies -- but heart-healthy lifestyle changes or cholesterol-lowering drugs could have a positive impact on men's sexual health.

Scientists have long known about the link between impotence, or erectile dysfunction, and heart health. Although there is no proof so far, ...

Failing erections may point to heart problems

2011-09-12T14:30:37Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Impotence could be a harbinger of heart disease in some men, according to a fresh look at the medical literature that found the two often go together.

But it's not all bad news. Another study out today suggests heart-healthy lifestyle changes or cholesterol-lowering drugs could have a positive effect on men's sexual health.

Scientists have known about the li...

Prolonging CPR doesn't help heart patients: study

2011-08-31T18:30:30Z

Increasing the time spent administering CPR to cardiac arrest patients won't increase their chances of survival, researchers said Wednesday, putting to rest one of the raging debates in emergency medicine.

"Our study definitively shows that there is no advantage to a longer period of initial CPR," said Dr Ian Stiell, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), one of the...

Heart disease raises maternal death risk

2011-08-30T13:30:58Z

Pregnant women with heart disease face a 100-fold increased risk of death, with the danger for offspring multiplied by ten, according to figures released Tuesday at a medical congress in Paris.

Analysing data on 1,300 women gathered since 2008 from 28 countries across Europe, researchers reported 13 maternal deaths -- one percent of the cohort -- among expectant women with pre-existing heart conditions.

In healthy women...

Heart experts say work less and eat more chocolate

2011-08-29T10:30:44Z

Eat dark chocolate, watch funny movies, avoid stressful jobs, and pedal hard when biking are all ingredients in the recipe for a healthy heart, according to experts meeting in Paris this week.

Whether one is afflicted by a heart attack, high blood pressure or constricted arteries depends in large measure on a host of lifestyle choices.

But the ideal formula for avoiding heart problems remains elusive: it is hard to tease apart the fac...

Is chocolate good for your heart? It depends

2011-08-29T01:30:12Z

PARIS (Reuters) - Chocolate may be good for the heart but cardiologists are not giving you a license to indulge.

New research presented at Europe's biggest medical meeting Monday suggested chocolate consumption might be associated with a one third reduction in the risk of developing heart disease.

Just why there should be such a ...

Cheap drugs to cut heart risks underused: study

2011-08-27T23:30:06Z

PARIS (Reuters) - Cheap generic drugs to cut heart risk are substantially underused worldwide, with more than half of people who could benefit estimated not to be getting any of four simple and effective types of medicine, researchers said on Sunday.

Underuse is most acute in low-income countries, where around 80 percent of people with a history of heart disease or stroke take none of the dr...

Cardiac arrest strikes young and old athletes alike

2011-08-24T14:30:25Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research from France suggests that young, competitive athletes account for only a fraction of sports-related cardiac arrests, in which the heart stops beating without warning.

Rather, most cardiac arrests may happen in adult men playing recreational sports, the study found.

The findings come in the...

No major heart risk seen in new psoriasis drugs

2011-08-23T14:00:08Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new, highly effective class of psoriasis drugs did not appear to raise the risk of heart problems in a review of published studies, but the analysis may not have been big enough to detect rare cases, U.S. researchers said.

Abbott L...

Stem cell team aims for spare heart parts in five years

2011-08-18T00:00:10Z

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Stem cell researchers in Hong Kong and the United States are trying to grow spare parts for the human heart that may be ready for tests on people within five years, they said on Thursday.

Scientists have already made basic heart muscle from stem cells...

Heart failure linked to memory problems: study

2011-08-10T19:00:21Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older patients with heart failure had more memory problems when their heart ailments were advanced, in a new study of adults being evaluated for transplants.

But that wasn't the case in young and middle-aged adults with a type of heart failure marked by a lower-than-normal amount of blood being pumped by the left ventricle.

"As you get older, there's more at...

Heart failure in elderly linked to memory problems

2011-08-10T19:00:19Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Older patients with heart failure had more memory problems when their heart ailments were advanced, but the same was not true with younger patients who suffered from a similar type of heart failure, according to a study.

The findings, published in Archives of Neurology, tell cardiologists they need to be aware their patients may be at higher risk of memory problems...

Heart test standards all over the map

2011-08-08T14:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. hospitals vary widely in how they decide who's eligible for an invasive type of heart scan, according to a new study.

The findings fuel recent concerns about overuse of the procedure, called coronary angiography, which carries a price tag of several thousand dollars and a risk of side effects.

Researchers found that at some UK to receive a total artificial heart enabling him to go home.

Matthew Green had been critically ill, suffering from end-stage failure of both chambers of his heart.

But surgeons at Papworth Hospital successfully replaced Green?s damaged heart with an artificial heart in a six hour operation on June 9.

?The operation went extreme...

Successful heart surgery for Australia's Rudd

2011-08-01T03:30:24Z

Roving Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd went under the knife Monday for heart surgery, with the four-hour operation deemed a success.

Rudd, who was ousted as the country's leader by his Labor Party deputy Julia Gillard just over a year ago, needed to replace an aortic valve that his doctors advised him was "wearing out".

It follows a valve transplan...

Heart surgery for Australia's Kevin Rudd

2011-07-31T18:30:39Z

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was to go under the knife Monday for heart surgery, with the operation putting the roving former prime minister out of action for at least two months.

Rudd, who was ousted as the country's leader by his Labor Party deputy BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Bank on Tuesday urged China to step up efforts to fight chronic diseases, the main cause of death in the country, warning of rising health expenditure and an economic slowdown if rapid action is not taken.

<...

FDA panel OKs Edwards heart valve despite risks

2011-07-21T09:30:37Z

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland (Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp's heart valve for patients deemed too sick to have open-heart surgery was approved by a Reuters) - Drug reviewers said Edwards Lifesciences' heart valve "demonstrated superiority" in a trial that also showed the device's safety and effectiveness for patients considered too sick to have open-heart surgery.

The trial, however, also showed people were at a high ...

Does adrenaline help cardiac arrest victims survive?

2011-07-15T09:01:49Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who've suffered cardiac arrest usually get a shot of adrenaline to help their heart back on track, but in a controversial study from Australia the hormone did little to increase patients' survival.

Researchers did find, however, that those who received adrenaline -- also called epinephrine -- we...

Sea diet and siesta point to Greek island longevity: study

2011-07-13T13:30:32Z

Siestas, a health diet -- and genetics -- could explain why people on the tiny Aegean island of Ikaria live so long, said a study by Greek cardiologists released Wednesday.

"While in the rest of Europe only 0.1 percent of the population is over 90 years old, in Ikaria the figure is tenfold, 1.1 percent," Christina Chrysohoou, a cardiologist at the Athens...

Rebuilt Iraq hospital plans surgery on infants

2011-07-13T12:30:34Z

It will be three years before doctors in Iraq can perform heart surgery on infants, doctors say, in a country where birth defects are high due to marriage within extended families.

"Until now, we have not been able to conduct heart surgery on infants," said Doctor Hussein Ali al-Hilli, director of the Ibn Reuters Health) - The small hospitals many rural Americans rely on for emergency care may fall short when it comes to treating heart problems and pneumonia, a new study finds.

The study, published in the Reuters Health) - One in eight U.S. patients who have non-emergency stenting procedures to clear blocked arteries in the heart are likely to see more harm than good from the procedure, researchers said Tuesday.

The findings stoke concern about overuse of the invasive treatment, which costs the nation some $12 billion a year ...

Pfizer's quit smoking drug raises heart risks: study

2011-07-04T09:30:10Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Healthy, middle-aged smokers who take Pfizer's Chantix or Champix, one of the most popular quit-smoking drugs on the market, have a higher risk of suffering heart attacks or other serious heart problems, a study found on Monday.

Briti...

'Purple Wiggle' has heart surgery in Australia

2011-07-02T04:30:38Z

Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles embarked on their US tour one man short after the "Purple Wiggle" Jeff Fatt was rushed to hospital for emergency heart surgery, the group said.

Fatt, one of the founding members of the world-renowned song-and-dance quartet, was fitted with a pacemaker this week after blacking out at the wheel of his car and driving off the road.

<...

Wrestler "Macho Man" Savage died of heart disease, not crash

2011-06-30T15:30:20Z

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - Professional wrestling great "Macho Man" Randy Savage died of heart disease and not from injuries sustained in a car crash near his Florida ho...

Egypt's ex-president Mubarak has cancer: lawyer

2011-06-20T17:30:10Z

Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak, whose trial on charges of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters is due to start in August, has stomach cancer, his lawyer Farid al-Dib said on Monday.

"He has a stomach cancer and the tumours are growing," the lawyer told AFP.

The former president is currently in custody at ...

Egypt's ex-president Mubarak 'has cancer'

2011-06-20T12:30:40Z

Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak, whose trial on charges of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters is due to start in August, has stomach cancer, his lawyer Farid al-Dib said on Monday.

"He has a stomach cancer and the tumours are growing," the lawyer told AFP.

The former president is currently in custody at ...

Pfizer stop-smoking pill raises heart risk: FDA

2011-06-16T14:00:25Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pfizer's drug to help smokers quit, which has already been linked to psychiatric side effects, can lead to a small increase in heart problems in those who have cardiovascular disease, U.S. health regulators said on Thursday.

The Reuters Life!) - People who spend more hours in front of the television are at greater risk of dying, or developing diabetes and heart disease, with even two hours of television a day having a marked effect, according to a U.S. study.

Every day, U.S. residents spend an average of 5 hours watching television, whi...

Illinois scientist wins MIT inventor's prize

2011-06-14T14:00:23Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - A University of Illinois professor whose research has found applications from cardiology to solar power to sportswear on Tuesday won the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize for outstanding inventor.

John Rogers, 43, professo...

Fewer deaths with cardiac rehab after angioplasty

2011-06-12T08:32:38Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients who underwent a procedure to widen their coronary arteries, then followed up with cardiac rehabilitation, were nearly half as likely to die within six years as patients who didn't do the rehab, a new study found.

The results, published in the journal Circulation, are in line with earlier research showing that cardiac rehabilitation can benefit people afte...

Pain drugs' safety for heart patients doubted again

2011-06-09T09:30:54Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Heart disease patients who chronically use painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen might face an increased risk of suffering a heart attack or dying from cardiovascular causes, a new study suggests.

The findings, from a study of more than 22,000 heart disease patients with high blood pressure, add to concerns about the safety of most of the medications known as no...

Scientists show heart can repair itself, with help

2011-06-08T14:30:23Z

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have managed to transform a type of stem-like cell in adult mouse hearts into functioning heart muscle in research proving that the heart has dormant repair cells that can be reactivated.

Although the research has yet to be translated into humans and is in its very early stages, the results suggest that in the future, a drug could be developed to prompt ...

FDA panel to consider transcatheter heart valve

2011-06-07T16:30:27Z

An advisory panel for the US Food and Drug Administration will meet next month to review a new type of heart valve that is inserted by catheter instead of in open heart surgery, the device-maker said Tuesday.

The FDA committee of experts is "scheduled to review the company's Premarket Approval (PMA) application for its Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve on July 20, 2011," Edwa...

FDA to review new Edwards heart valve in July

2011-06-07T07:00:45Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp said on Tuesday a U.S. regulatory advisory panel will review on July 20 its application to sell a replacement heart valve that spares patients the need for open-heart surgery.

The Sapien aortic...

Heart transplant teen befriended by Brandy dies at 17

2011-06-03T15:30:07Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A teenage girl who got a heart transplant thanks to a fund-raising campaign by singer/actress Brandy has died less than four months after surgery.

Jessica Harris, 17, who lived in the same town of TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - A Taiwan magician who had himself buried alive under tonnes of dirt, leaving only his hand free, successfully reached his goal of enduring for 100 hours despite an apparent panic attack only three hours after beginning.

The young man, known only by his stage name of "Igo," entered...

Heart scans tied to "evidence-free" treatment: study

2011-05-23T15:30:17Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When symptom-free people have heart scans to look for clogged arteries, they can end up with overtreatment and side effects, researchers said Monday.

In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, they...

Mummified princess had coronary heart disease

2011-05-17T15:30:41Z

The diagnosis is more than 3,500 years late, but no less stunning for all of that. An Egyptian princess who lived between 1580 and 1550 BC has become the earliest person in human history to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease, according to computer scans presented at a medical conference this week.

"We can't be sure what she died of, but we can see what illnesses she had," Gregory Thomas, director of Nuclear Cardiology Education at the Reuters Health) - Drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, don't appear to put kids at higher risk of heart problems or death, scientists said Monday.

Scattered reports of sudden deaths among children on the medications have caused concern among parents and doctors in recent years, and several of the drugs now carry warnings about heart complications and be...

Mummified Playboy Playmate died of heart failure

2011-05-14T17:30:10Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former Playboy Playmate whose mummified body was found in her dilapidated Beverly Hills home last month, died of heart failure, the Los Angeles Times

Houllier in line for Villa return

2011-05-13T15:30:25Z

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier could make a surprise return to football next week for his team's season-ending clash against former club Liverpool, but the Frenchman is unlikely to be in the dugout.

Houllier, who underwent open-heart surgery nine years ago when he was in charge at Reuters Health) - Fewer than half of Americans with stable heart disease get guideline-recommended medicines before being rushed off for an invasive heart procedure, researchers said Tuesday.

Yet the costly procedure, called percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI, offers few proven benefits over drug therapy and puts patients at risk of side effects.

"I always encourage pa...

Eating less salt doesn't cut heart risks: study

2011-05-03T15:00:49Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who ate lots of salt were not more likely to get high blood pressure, and were less likely to die of heart disease than those with a low salt intake, in a new European study.

The findings "certainly do not support the current recommendation to lower salt intake in the general population," study author Dr. Jan Staessen, of the University o...

Crude oil chemical linked to heart defect in babies

2011-04-30T04:30:12Z

Babies who are exposed before birth to ethyl benzene, a toxic component in crude oil, may have a higher risk of developing congenital heart disease, US researchers said Saturday.

Another chemical used as an industrial metal degreasing agent, trichloroethylene (TCE), also boosted heart risks, said the research to be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.

...

Hot baths in winter might lead to cardiac arrest: study

2011-04-24T19:00:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - That long soak in a hot tub to warm up during the winter could hold some unexpected dangers, a Japanese study has found.

Taking a hot bath on a cold day may spell trouble for the heart, said a team led by Chika Nishiyama, at Kyoto Reuters Health) - College student-athletes may be more likely to die from cardiac arrest -- when the heart suddenly stops beating -- than previously believed, according to a new study.

The news comes less than 2 months after Michigan high school basketball player Wes Leonard collapsed and died when his heart stopped just moments after sinking a game-winnin...

Warm baths in the winter linked to heart threat

2011-04-22T09:00:07Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking a hot bath on a cold day could spell trouble for the heart, a Japanese study hints.

Researchers found the rate of cardiac arrests during bathing rose 10-fold from summer to winter, although it was still very low overall, at 54 events per 10 million people bathing for an hour.

During cardiac arrest the heart stops beating, with fatal consequences in th...

Heart risk factors high in young Indian adults: study

2011-04-20T19:00:03Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - More and more, young urban adults in India are developing obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, suggesting that rising rates of cardiovascular disease could appear in the future, an Indian study said.

Among 1,100 young adults from New Delhi, al...

Heart risk factors high in young Indian adults

2011-04-20T16:00:06Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More and more, young urban adults in India are developing obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes -- suggesting that rising rates of heart disease could be in the future, a new study finds.

Among 1,100 young adults from New Delhi, all three condi...

Devices take lead in future heart disease battle

2011-04-14T13:30:33Z

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Sophisticated devices and nonsurgical techniques look to be the wave of the future in the battle against heart disease as drugmakers produce fewer new medicines to fight the world's leading cause of death.

Signs of the trend were evident in New Orleans both inside and outside the convention center where the <...

FDA eases ADHD drugs heart-disease concerns

2011-04-08T04:00:10Z

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. drugs regulator said it was not recommending changes in the use of stimulants such as Adderall XR and Ritalin to treat hyperactivity, after a review of a study into potential heart d...

Problems at UMC

2011-04-07T02:30:12Z

Commissioners should address transparency issues at the troubled hospital

Heart patients undergoing procedures requiring pacemakers and defibrillators at University Medical Center will likely receive devices made by a little-known company called Biotronik.As The New York Times reported Sunday, last year 95 percent of patients who had a device implanted at Reuters) - People who regularly work long hours may be significantly increasing their risk of developing heart disease, the world's biggest killer, British scientists said Monday.

Researchers said a long-term study showed that working more than 11 hours a day increased the risk of heart disease by 67 percent, compared with working a standard 7 to 8 hours a day.

They said the fi...

Lower bleeding risk in wrist entry for angioplasty: study

2011-04-04T17:30:32Z

Doctors could spare angioplasty patients major risks by operating through the artery in the wrist rather than the leg, as has been the standard US practice for decades, researchers said Monday.

Fewer than five percent of angioplasty operations in the United States are currently done through the radial artery, but a randomized international trial showed that radial and femoral methods worked just as well.

E...

Pfizer Lipitor Recall

2010-12-21T05:01:21Z

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2009 file photo, a sign at Pfizer world headquarters is shown in New York. Pfizer is recalling a lot of 19,000 bottles of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010, citing a consumer complaint about an "uncharacteristic" odor. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

Fake Doctor

2010-12-12T10:31:32Z

FILE - In this March 14, 2010 file photo, a doctor watches a monitor as he inserts a stent into an artery during a cardiology simulation supervised by William Hamman, not pictured, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Hamman, an airline captain who lives in UCLA cardiologist, Daniel Cruz, right, and Younghwa Chang, R.N., perform a heart biopsy on recent beating heart transplant patient Andrea Ybarra, at the Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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US-MED--Cholesterol Drug

2010-11-18T14:06:50Z

An undated photo provided by Dr. Christopher Cannon shows Dr. Christopher Cannon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Cannon is the leader of a study on an experimental Merck drug that safely boosted good cholesterol to record highs while dropping bad cholesterol to unprecedented lows in a study that stunned researchers and renewed hopes for an entirely new wa...

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