CLICK HEREBy using sound waves Mayo Clinic researchers have described subtle changes in the motion of the heart that are measurable by ultrasound and may improve understanding of heart function, and possibly be a noninvasive aid in predicting impending heart damage including heart attacks.

LOU GRUBB GIVES ADVICE TO FELLOW SURVIVORS OF ANEURISMS


"DR. SPETZLER SAVED MY LIFE, I WANT TO GIVE SOME BACK."

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link| Reuters.comPeople who've experienced a stroke can lose the ability to use or understand speech, a problem known as aphasia. Now, new research suggests that a short-term type of intense language training called constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) can improve language function in these patients.

Newsday.com
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WSJ.com
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLEIn the latest in a string of malfunction disclosures in recent weeks, Guidant Corp. said a small number of its older, surgically implanted heart pacemakers can begin to leak and fail to work, requiring their removal in some patients

HealthSentinel.comAn elevated blood homocysteine level is a strong risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Homocysteine is a toxic waste product produced during metabolism of an amino acid called methionine. Diets high in meat and dairy generate excess methionine, which is converted by the body into homocysteine.

Folic acid and other B vitamins help break down homocysteine in the body. Studies have shown that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related to lower concentrations of homocysteine, and additional evidence demonstrates that low blood levels of folic acid are linked with an increased risk of fatal heart attack and stroke. An elevated blood homocysteine level is a strong risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Homocysteine is a toxic waste product produced during metabolism of an amino acid called methionine. Diets high in meat and dairy generate excess methionine, which is converted by the body into homocysteine.

Folic acid and other B vitamins help break down homocysteine in the body. Studies have shown that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related to lower concentrations of homocysteine, and additional evidence demonstrates that low blood levels of folic acid are linked with an increased risk of fatal heart attack and stroke. In conclusion, the authors found that, %u201Cvitamin B12 deficiency is surprisingly common among patients with vascular disease.%u201D The %u201Cstriking%u201D inverse relationship between vitamin B12 and homocysteine %u201Csuggests a key role for vitamin B12 in the treatment of elevated homocysteine levels for vascular disease.%u201D

linkIn women who have a stroke, prior hypertension predicts greater declines in cognitive function, according to results of a prospective study. The reason may be that existing hypertensive damage impedes stroke recovery.

WSJ.com -Doctors have continued reporting injuries during the implantation of cardiac stents made by Boston Scientific Corp., many of them linked to a problem that preceded a voluntary temporary recall of the devices last year.

Balloons used to deploy the stents -- small, wire-mesh tubes inserted into clogged arteries to open them up -- failed to deflate or were so hard to remove that three people died and dozens more were injured during operations performed after the 2004 recall, according to Food and Drug Administration records.

CNN.com - LINK Hungarian-born actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor suffered a stroke and underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to remove a blockage to an artery

linkResearchers at Ohio State University Medical Center conducted a retrospective study of over 65,000 ADHF patients treated intravenously with either of these types of drugs.

Reporting in the July 5 Journal of the American College of Cardiology, they found that those who received the vasodilators nitroglycerin and nesiritide had lower in-hospital death rates than those who received either of two positive inotrope drugs, dobutamine and milrinone.

The findings may surprise some in the medical community, particularly those who favor the use of positive inotropes, said study lead author Dr. William T. Abraham, director of cardiovascular medicine at the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital at Ohio State University.

"This is a significant finding from a large population of patients and will certainly aid in the development of guidelines for treating patients with acute decompensated heart failure," Abraham said in a prepared statement.

"Our study suggests that inotropes be reserved for patients who fail with vasodilators or are so severely ill that vasodilators alone are likely to be inadequate treatment," he said.

linkAn ordinarily benign fat that coats blood vessels can turn into a risk factor for heart disease when it combines with oxygen, researchers report.

A first-ever study shows that high blood levels of the molecules, called oxidized phospholipids, are associated with increased blockage of heart arteries, the study found.

The findings appear in the July 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

WSJ.com - linkThe National Institutes of Health has agreed to fund a large clinical test to determine whether raising "good cholesterol" with a drug based on the vitamin niacin, while lowering bad cholesterol with a statin, can prevent more heart disease than the statin alone.

Evidence has mounted in recent years that lowering bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, reduces but doesn't eliminate the risk of heart attacks and strokes in many patients. For some, a low level of good cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol, appears to be a strong risk factor in its own right.

WSJ.com - linkThe National Institutes of Health has agreed to fund a large clinical test to determine whether raising "good cholesterol" with a drug based on the vitamin niacin, while lowering bad cholesterol with a statin, can prevent more heart disease than the statin alone.

Evidence has mounted in recent years that lowering bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, reduces but doesn't eliminate the risk of heart attacks and strokes in many patients. For some, a low level of good cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol, appears to be a strong risk factor in its own right.

ACC Media, Journals & News - CLICK HEREWearing a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device not only helps heart failure patients with obstructive sleep apnea get a good night’s rest, it lowers blood pressure and heart rate well into the morning, apparently, by reducing sympathetic nervous system activity, according to a new study in the June 21, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

ACC Media, Journals & News - CLICK HEREA drug, which reduces insulin resistance and also may have anti-inflammatory and other effects on blood vessels, lowered cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes more than another diabetes medicine, even though both drugs improved blood sugar control equally, according to a new study in the June 21, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

ACC Media, Journals & News - CLICK HEREOlder people who ate fish once or twice a week had a 20 percent lower risk of developing congestive heart failure during 12 years of follow-up, according to a new study in the June 21, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

LINK:FREE ONE-TIME REGISTRATION REQUIRED - New York TimesThe Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that potential electrical flaws in some heart devices made by the Guidant Corporation, including one flaw that the company did not tell doctors about for years, posed a risk of serious injury or death to patients.

In its announcement, the F.D.A. designated three models recently recalled by Guidant as "Class I" actions, the highest risk level. It also designated eight other models as "Class II" recalls, or those posing a less serious risk.

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