ScienceDaily: Heart Disease News

Faulty signalling pathway causes the heart to develop unnaturally while in the embryo stage, according to Duke-NUS Medical School researchers.

When young athletes experiences sudden cardiac death as they run down the playing field, it's usually due to arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), an inherited heart disease. Now, researchers have shed new light on the role of the immune system in the progression of ACM and, in the process, discovered a new drug that might help prevent ACM disease symptoms and progression to heart failure in some patients.

Research has shown that while elite athletes overall are at decreased risk of death from cardiovascular problems, a certain group of athletes -- football linemen in the United States -- actually have higher risk than the general population than other elite athletes.

Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs of both animals and people. When tiny vessels in the lungs become narrowed or blocked, it becomes harder for blood to flow through and can cause the heart to weaken or fail.

A new study followed 199 hypertension patients 75 years of age and older for 3 years.

Women receive poorer heart attack treatment than men, even when rates of diagnosis are the same, according to new research.

A heart attack is caused by a clot that blocks the artery blood flow. Under these conditions, the affected tissues undergo a rapid necrosis. But why? Scientists discovered that the synthesis of a lipid provokes the necrosis. This lipid accumulates in the absence of oxygen and blocks cellular functions. By inhibiting its synthesis in a mouse suffering a heart attack, the biologists were able to reduce the tissue damage by 30%.

Some forms of sudden infant death syndrome stem from a genetic mutation that keeps infants from processing lipids in milk, a new study has discovered. The build-up of unprocessed fatty material disrupts heart functions. While no treatments are yet available, the finding could help in genetic screening. Drugs are also being tested to see if they can help.

The effects of maternal obesity even pass across generations to offspring, accelerating the rate of aging of metabolic problems that occur in normal life.

Patients with depression, anxiety or stress are more likely to drop out of cardiac rehabilitation, reports a new study.

Many heart attack patients in China fail to receive beta-blockers which could prevent another event and save their life.

A study of nearly 65,000 people suggests that devices coated with a drug called paclitaxel that are used for widening blocked arteries in legs and feet are safe and not linked to an increase in deaths -- a finding that contradicts smaller studies that led to the FDA issuing a safety alert about the use of paclitaxel-coated stents and balloons for arterial revascularization in the lower limbs in January 2019.

Blood pressure medication can prevent fluid retention and muscle wasting in heart failure.

Dog ownership was associated with a 33% lower risk of early death for heart attack survivors living alone and 27% reduced risk of early death for stroke survivors living alone, compared to people who did not own a dog. Dog ownership was associated with a 24% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 31% lower risk of death by heart attack or stroke compared to non-owners.

A new scientific statement identifies the risks and benefits of novel interventional devices compared to anticoagulation alone in the treatment of patients with pulmonary embolism. Authors conclude there is little data -- particularly, as it pertains to the treatment of patients with 'intermediate-risk PE' -- that suggests these interventional approaches are more safe and effective than the use of anticoagulation alone.

Women who reach menopause before the age of 50 have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to researchers.

In a recent study, researchers discovered that if children had a low birth weight, they were more likely to exhibit cardiovascular risk factors in fifth grade.

Over half of people prescribed the targeted blood cancer-fighting drug ibrutinib developed new or worsened high blood pressure within six months of starting the medication. The analysis is also the first to tie ibrutinib-related hypertension to a heightened risk of heart problems, particularly atrial fibrillation. Moreover, the association of ibrutinib with cardiovascular complications remained regardless of the prescribed dose.

While obesity significantly increases your chances of developing heart failure, for those with established heart failure it may confer a survival benefit compared with normal weight or underweight individuals.

Aspiring parents should both avoid drinking alcohol prior to conception to protect against congenital heart defects.