HomeCardiology
Cardiology
‘Home use’ tachycardia nasal spray shortens episodes – randomised US trial
No medications are currently approved for acute termination of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia without medical supervision, but results of a recent trial show that a...
Low dose statins outperform heart health supplement claims – US study
A randomised trial has found that for people without heart disease, preventive low-dose statin therapy lowered LDL cholesterol to a degree unmatched by dietary...
Stopping aspirin when on blood thinners cuts bleeding risk – Michigan study
If you’re already taking one blood thinner, mounting research suggests you might not need to take a second one – in fact, found a...
Stents ineffective for heart failure patients – landmark seven-year UK trial
Every year, 60 000 people in the UK are diagnosed with heart failure, and many are treated with stents. In a large new study...
Collaborative lupus research uncovers two new findings
Two separate findings by an expert in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) have identified blood biomarkers that predict which lupus patients will develop...
Just 3g of omega-3 fatty acids daily might lower BP – Chinese meta-analysis
About 3g daily of omega-3 fatty acids, consumed in foods or supplements, appears to be the optimal daily dose to help lower blood pressure,...
Hydration may slow cardiac decline and reduce heart failure risk – NIH study
Staying well-hydrated may may slow down decline in cardiac function and decrease prevalence of heart failure, according to researchers at the National Institutes of...
Sodium restriction in heart failure should be taken with a pinch of salt
The time-worn, standard injunction against low-salt consumption in heart failure is not borne out by the evidence, writes MedicalBrief. The SODIUM-HF trial, conducted at...
Systemic corticosteroids a potential treatment for HF – Spanish study
Intravenous corticosteroids didn’t hurt people with acute heart failure (HF), and could be a potential treatment for those with more inflammation, according to a...
Mental health-related risk factors and interventions in heart failure – EAPC position paper
A position paper by the European Association of Preventive Cardiology recommends psychosocial risk factors be more integrated into the treatment of patients with chronic...
HIIT training benefits high-risk heart disease, omega-3s show no effect – Small study
A year of high-intensity interval training seemed to benefit obese middle-aged adults at a high risk of heart failure, but omega-3 fatty acid supplementation...
New light on potentially damaging effects of standard heart attack treatment
A common treatment given to patients experiencing heart attack may not be as successful in halting muscle damage as once thought, found a study...
Sudden Cardiac Death and sex: Rare but not just an old man thing
A review of almost 7,000 comprehensive autopsies over 26 years in England showed that sex rarely triggered Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) and more women...
AHA names 2021’s top heart disease and stroke research advances
A major funder of heart- and stroke-related research, the American Heart Association (AHA) compiles an annual recap of noteworthy scientific studies. Here is an...
SGLT2 inhibitors in preserved ejection fraction heart failure — Meta-analysis
Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, beneficial in reduced ejection fraction heart failure, can also treat preserved ejection fraction, found a meta-analysis by the University of...
Aspirin link to 26% higher heart failure risk in some — HOMAGE study
Aspirin use is associated with a 26% raised risk of heart failure in people with at least one predisposing factor for the condition. That's...
Coffee consumption’s complex effects on arrhythmias — CRAVE trial
Coffee had a complex relationship with arrhythmias, according to a randomised trial with real-time electrocardiography patch monitoring, presented at the American Heart Association virtual...
Association between eating alone and cardiovascular diseases in elderly women
Eating alone may contribute to an increased risk of heart disease in older women and is strongly correlated with the prevalence of angina, found...
ACC: Smoking associated with lower rates of blood pressure control
It is important for physicians to have greater understanding of blood pressure control in smokers, which is low even among smokers on medication, according...
‘Broken heart’ syndrome becoming more common, especially in middle-aged women
Significantly more middle-aged and older women are being diagnosed with “broken heart” syndrome (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy) - a condition often triggered by stress or loss,...
Troubled sleep link to increased risk of AD and bradyarrhythmia — UK Biobank data
A healthy sleep pattern is associated with lower risks of atrial fibrillation (AF) and bradyarrhythmia, independent of traditional risk factors — although genetic risk...
Physician bias behind women getting worse heart attack treatment — 43-hospital study
Women diagnosed with myocardial infarction or unstable angina received “less evidence-based treatment” than men, both immediately and in the long term, found an Australian...
Just a drink a month may put those with atrial fibrillation at risk
In people who had an atrial fibrillation episode, it was about twice as likely that they had had alcohol in the four hours before...
Empagliflozin EMPEROR-Preserved trial announces ‘breakthrough’ results
Breakthrough results for empagliflozin confirm EMPEROR-Preserved as the first successful trial for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and...
Sleep duration's effect on elevated heart risk — ACC:2021
People who clock six to seven hours of sleep a night had the lowest chance of dying from a heart attack or stroke when...
ACC-2021: Moderate drinkers have 20% lower heart risk that teetotallers
Moderate drinking, possibly by dampening stress-related neurological signals, is associated with a significantly lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD) when compared with...
Work and social stress put women at significantly higher heart risk
Psychosocial stress – typically resulting from difficulty coping with challenging environments – may work synergistically to put women at significantly higher risk of developing...
Longer working hours tied to doubled risk of recurrent CHD
Over a 6-year period, a Canadian study of 1000 patients younger than 60 years who returned to work after a first myocardial infarction (MI)...
Neither mega-3 nor vitamin D supplementation prevent atrial fibrillation
Among adults aged 50 years or older, treatment with neither marine omega-3 fatty acids nor vitamin D3, resulted in significant difference in the risk...
Vital exhaustion almost triples the risk of heart attack in men
Men experiencing vital exhaustion are at substantially higher risk myocardial infarction, according to research presented at ESC Acute CardioVascular Care 2021, an online scientific...
Diabetes powerfully associated with CHD in women – Women's Health Study
Diabetes and insulin resistance, in addition to hypertension, obesity, and smoking, appeared to be the strongest risk factors for premature onset of coronary heart...
Coffee consumption associated with lower heart failure risk — 3 studies
Dietary information from three large, well-known heart disease studies - the Framingham Heart Study, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and the Cardiovascular Health...
Being physically active may cut risk of instant heart attack death by up to 45%
A moderate-to-high level of physical activity was associated with a lower risk of instant and 28-day death in relation to a myocardial infarction, found...
No 'fat but healthy' paradox in cardiovascular risk — Large Spanish analysis
A large Spanish study found that physical activity does not entirely undo the negative effects of excess body weight when cardiovascular health was determined...
Fried food intake linked to heightened heart disease and stroke risk
Fried-food intake is linked to a heightened risk of major heart disease and stroke, finds a pooled analysis of the available research data study...
A daily alcoholic drink and atrial fibrillation risk — Large 14-year study
A study in the European Heart Journal of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are...
Above normal BP in midlife linked to increased brain damage in later life
Higher than normal blood pressure, especially diastolic, is linked to more extensive brain damage in later life, according to a study in the European...
Healthy sleep habits linked to 42% lower risk of heart failure —UK Biobank data
Adults with the healthiest sleep patterns had a 42% lower risk of heart failure regardless of other risk factors compared to adults with unhealthy...
Iron supplement injection cuts heart failure re-hospitalisation by 26%
Heart failure patients who are diagnosed with iron deficiency appear to avoid return trips to the hospital if they are treated with intravenous ferric...
Heart risk after major surgery significantly higher than previously thought
One in five high-risk patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery will develop one or more heart complications within a year, according to research published in the...