Heart Disease Weekly

Cardiology - Degenerative valve disease is linked to up-regulation of Lrp5 receptor-mediated bone formation

Cardiology - During catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, ganglionated plexuses can be precisely mapped

Cardiology - Fabry disease cardiomyopathy is revealed by endomyocardial glycosphingolipid compartmentalization

Cardiology - Neurally mediated syncope is linked to decreased atrial effect on ventricular filling

Stem Cell Transplantation - Skeletal myoblasts transplanted into normal myocardium can cause abnormal impulse propagation

Alcohol Use - Alcohol consumption linked directly to circulating oxidized low-density lipoprotein

Anesthesia - Intravenous sedation maintains stable hemodynamic state regardless of BMI

Angina - PET is used to determine dysfunction in patients with anginal pain and normal coronary angiogram

Angiology - Bezafibrate attenuates progression of insulin resistance in coronary artery disease

Angiology - Carotid angioplasty with a novel stent implant effective in an experimental model

Angiology - Carotid artery angioplasty and stenting can be used in surgically high-risk patients

Angiology - CD40 gene but not CD40L gene variants linked to coronary artery calcification

Angiology - Emerging role of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids in coronary vascular function is discussed

Angiology - Heparins increase endothelial nitric oxide bioavailability by liberating vessel-immobilized myeloperoxidase

Angiology - PTA is a safe and effective treatment method for subclavian/innominate artery obstruction

Angiology - Smoking one cigarette increases resistance, impairs baroreflex, increases carotid wall tension

Angiology - Transplant vasculopathy transition point for lumen loss by intimal growth occurs at lower threshold

Angioplasty - In acute myocardial infarction, stent use linked to a 50% cut in hospital mortality risk

Apoptosis - Apoptosis is induced in endothelial cells by asymmetric dimethylArg

Apoptosis - Ischemia-induced apoptosis and neuronal injury is inhibited by procaspase binding

Apoptosis - Mechanisms of programmed cell death of cardiomyocytes are considered

Atherosclerosis - Arterial stiffening increases risk of atherosclerosis in women with rheumatoid arthritis

Atherosclerosis - Atherosclerosis in mice was predicted by proteomic profiles of inflammatory markers

Awards - Dr. Julio Palmaz, inventor of balloon-expandable stent, inducted Inventors Hall of Fame

Business Update - First hospital examines patients with Siemens advanced molecular imaging technology

Business Update - Illinois medical center installs Siemen's molecular imaging technology for diagnostics

Business Update - KDF reports sales of batch sputtering systems for digital X-ray technology, pacemakers up

Business Update - Medrad installs 5,000th Stellant CT injection system at Louisiana cardiovascular clinic

Cancer Drugs - Casiopeinas possess milder secondary toxicity than adriamycin

Cancer Therapy - Chronic heart failure risk is high for patients after non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment

Cancer Therapy - Molecular determinants of reduced cardiotoxicity of epirubicin in human heart discussed

Cardiac Medical Devices - Conor Medsystems initiates RAPID clinical study for first pimecrolimus drug-eluting stent

Cardiac Medical Devices - Cordis Corporation submits pre-market approval submission for reblockage indication

Cardiology - AF frequency in patients having mitral valve repair or replacement is relatively low

Cardiology - Cardiac ischemia causes vascular endothelial cadherin promoter to mobilize bone marrow cells

Cardiology - Cardiogenic shock may be prevented with immediate revascularization after myocardial infarction

Cardiology - Cardioversion in patients with LV thrombus is not associated with increased thrombo-embolic risk

Cardiology - Class IA, IC, and III anti-arrhythmic drugs maintain sinus rhythm but increase adverse effects

Cardiology - Clopidogrel not sufficiently prescribed to those with non-ST-segment elevation ACS

Cardiology - Dilated cardiomyopathy early or late diagnosis does not affect patient outcomes

Cardiology - Electrical cardioversion after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty successful in some

Cardiology - Heart failure remains associated with marked reduction in well-being, survival, despite beta blockers

Cardiology - ICD incidences and causes of inappropriate detection evaluated

Cardiology - Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy in clinical practice reviewed

Cardiology - Intra-arterial dextrose infusion prior to coronary angiography reduces contrast-induced nephropathy

Cardiology - Ischemic damage is decreased by inhibition of LINE-1 expression

Cardiology - Left ventricular failure precedes altered myocardial fibroblast function

Cardiology - Long-term cocaine use is associated with regional left ventricular diastolic dysfunction

Cardiology - MVR associated with higher risk of heart failure in atrial fibrillation patients

Cardiology - Renal insufficiency predicts the time to first appropriate defibrillator shock

Cardiology - Retroperitoneal hemorrhage is serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention

Cardiology - U.S. study confirms predictive ability of Cambridge Heart's microvolt T-wave alternans

Cardiology - Ventricular arrhythmias after acute MI are associated with 6-fold increase in mortality

Cardiology & Nephrology - Fenoldopam by selective intrarenal infusion is safe and produces a better renal effect

Cardiomyocyte Diabetes - Cardiomyocytes diabetes alters adenosine metabolizing enzyme activities

Cardiomyocytes - Estrogen favorably influences cardiomyocyte survival

Cardiomyocytes - Rab4 is a rate-limiting factor for recycling beta-adrenergic receptor in cardiac myocytes

Cardiomyocytes - Uridine triphosphate, uridine diphosphate may be key inotropic factors in cardiac disease

Cardiovascular Disease - 300-mg clopidogrel loading dose before PCI is sufficient for stable angina patients

Cardiovascular Disease - Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors show modest effect for some heart conditions

Cardiovascular Disease - BNP was associated with degree of right ventricular volume overload

Cardiovascular Disease - Chronotropic incompetence is linked to endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, higher NT-proBNP

Cardiovascular Disease - D-dimer and CRP are not useful for risk stratification of peripheral arterial disease patients

Cardiovascular Disease - Hologic gets U.S. FDA clearance to use Discovery DXA System for detecting cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular Disease - Lifestyle changes benefit GNB3*825T allele carriers most

Cardiovascular Disease - Long-term hormone therapy may have modulating effect on plasma adiponectin levels

Cardiovascular Disease - Metabolic syndrome predicts cardiac risk in families with a history of coronary artery disease

Cardiovascular Disease - Newly discovered gene could hold key to preventing heart disease

Cardiovascular Research - Acetaminophen attenuates MMP-2-mediated troponin I cleavage in myocardium

Cardiovascular Research - Assessment of cardiovascular autonomic function is considered

Cardiovascular Research - Cardiac mast cells synthesize, store, and release adrenomedullin near coronary arterioles

Cardiovascular Research - Closing holes in the heart is an important treatment for young stroke patients, study finds

Cardiovascular Research - More data needed to determine whether holes in heart lead to stroke

Cardiovascular Research - Signaling by angiotensin-converting enzyme is considered in review of recent evidence

Cardiovascular Research - Warm-up exercise augments coronary blood flow after cold exposure

Cell Physiology - Lipoprotein hydrolysis is not influenced by tissue factor pathway inhibitor

Clinical Trials - Economic evaluation suggests nicorandil compares favorably with other heart disease interventions

Clinical Trials - Education was inversely associated with coronary artery calcium prevalence

Clinical Trials - Long-term followup shows dyslipidemic patients benefited from early gemfibrozil treatment

Clinical Trials - Methods for selecting patients who will benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy are needed

Contracts - Matria Healthcare announces four new disease management accounts with self-insured employers

Coronary Artery Bypass - Endoscopic radial artery harvest for coronary artery bypass offers excellent results

Coronary Artery Bypass - Women experience longer hospitalization than men after coronary artery bypass surgery

Coronary Artery Disease - Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors reduce mortality in CAD patients without heart failure

Coronary Artery Disease - Coronary artery disease is a predictor of mortality in acute heart failure patients

Coronary Artery Disease - Coronary artery disease is highlighted by angiogenesis markers

Coronary Artery Disease - Inflammatory markers are affected by energy intake in a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet

DNA Research - Cationic lipid and plasmid DNA layered onto gold surface allows stent-assisted gene transfer

Diabetes & Cardiology - Benidipine subdepressor dose eases diabetic cardiac remodeling in rat model

Diabetes & Cardiology - Vancomycin penetration into target tissues is impaired in diabetics after cardiac surgery

Diabetes & Heart Disease - Hemoglobin A_1c level linked to coronary artery disease severity in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes Complications - Insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction reciprocal relationships reviewed

Diabetes Control - Diabetes and CVD preventive care suboptimal in Australian general practice

Diabetes Diagnostics - Initial detection of diabetes mellitus often requires glucose tolerance, not ADA scores

Diabetes Pathogenesis - p90 Ribosomal S6 kinase plays a key role in hyperglycemia-mediated myocardial PRECE induction

Diabetes Pathogenesis - Progression of PAI-1 and fibrinogen levels linked to incident type 2 diabetes

Diabetes Therapy - Acute myocardial infarction mortality not altered after insulin/dextrose infusion therapy

Diabetes Therapy - Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor may improve coronary microangiopathy related to diabetes

Diabetes Therapy - Glucocentric approach to diabetes therapy should be changed to a vascular approach

Diagnostics - Cardiovascular mortality can be predicted by ambulatory arterial stiffness index

Diagnostics - Elevated troponin levels still are valuable prognostic indicators in chronic kidney disease

Diagnostics - For tissue imaging after cardiopulmonary bypass, measuring lateral segment velocity is recommended

Diagnostics - Older age, faster heart rate augment peak atrial contraction velocity in atrial walls

Diagnostics - QT peak dispersion is better diagnostic marker for exercise-induced myocardial ischemia detection

Diagnostics - Right ventricular cardiomyopathy is differentiated from ventricular tachycardia by QRS duration

Diagnostics - Ultrasound lung comet images are simple way to assess extravascular lung water

Diet & Nutrition - Full-fat dairy and natural trans fatty acid intake did not alter cardiovascular disease risk

Diet & Nutrition - Processed carbohydrate intake has predominantly unfavorable effect on lipid profile

Diet & Nutrition - The influence of nutrients on coronary heart disease is the focus of review

Drug Development - Bile acids signaling pathways may provide novel drug targets for metabolic diseases

Drug Development - Chelsea Therapeutics seeks to develop Droxidopa for neurogenic orthostatic hypotension

Drug Eluting Stents - Sirolimus eluting stents are superior to paclitaxel in nondiabetics but not diabetics

Facilities - PDSHeart opens third monitoring center in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Facilities - U of California San Francisco opens first Asian cardiovascular care center in U.S.

Fetal Cardiology - Fetal echocardiographic findings are not predictive of death in twin-twin transfusion syndrome

Finance - Cholestech announces fourth quarter and fiscal 2006 results

Finance - Edwards Lifesciences announces approval of new stock repurchase program

Finance - Lipid Sciences reports $3 million net loss in Q1 2006 compared to $2.4 million a year ago

Finance - Medicure raises $25 million in private placement to develop lead products

Finance - Myogen reports 2006 first quarter loss of $17.6 million

Finance - NMT Medical announces first-quarter 2006 total revenues increased to $6.9 million

Finance - Omega Protein reports $2.5 million profit for 2006 first quarter

Finance - Regeneration Technologies announces 2006 first quarter revenues of $18.4 million

Finance - Titan reports a net loss in Q1 2006 of $4.7 million compared to $6.3 million a year ago

Fitness & Wellness - Study examines effect of lifestyle changes on diet, weight, physical fitness, and BP

Fitness & Wellness - Veterans Specific Activity Questionnaire predicted all-cause mortality

Gene Therapy - Adeno-associated viruses allow vascular bed-targeted gene delivery

Genetics & Genomics - Common adrenergic receptor polymorphisms are novel risk factors for vasospastic angina

Healthcare Quality - Delmarva Foundation announces improvements in Maryland healthcare quality

Heart Failure - Congestive heart failure and implications for respiratory care are considered

Heart Failure - Heart rate recovery provides added prognostic information in exercise testing

Heart Failure - New parameters are needed for classification of heart failure with preserved systolic function

Heart Failure - Trial results show effect of nesiritide on renal functions of postoperative heart patients

Heart Failure - V2 receptor antagonist lixivaptan is promising therapeutic agent for heart failure

Heart Failure - Valsartan improves cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in congestive heart failure

Hematology - ADP-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited by disintegrins from rattlesnake venom

High Cholesterol - Neptune krill oil plus statin shows promise for cholesterol management

Hypertension - Children with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension were stabilized with bosentan

Hypertension - Sildenafil improves symptoms and hemodynamics in pulmonary artery hypertension patients

Hypertension - Treating prehypertension with angiotensin-receptor blocker is feasible

Imaging - Computerized pixel intensity threshold analysis automates analysis of perfusion defect size

Imaging - Contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance is useful noninvasive tool in chronic myocarditis

Imaging - Coronary artery disease detection is improved by magnetic resonance with delayed infarction imaging

Imaging - MRA exhibits specificity and sensitivity comparable to intravenous angiography

Imaging - MRI has advantages over other imaging techniques for diagnosing cardiac defects

Imaging - Novadaq receives FDA clearance for changes in labeling of its intra-operative imaging system

Imaging - Quantitative gated SPECT is a reliable tool for assessing left ventricular ejection fraction

Imaging - Reversible wall motion abnormality on myocardial SPECT predicts coronary artery disease

Imaging - Strain Doppler is preferred tissue Doppler imaging modality for assessing ischemic myocardium

Intubation - Fiberoptic nasotracheal intubation may cause more severe pressor and tachycardiac responses

Leukemia - Central neurocytoma with concomitant cerebral involvement by acute lymphatic leukemia described