Heart Failure Health Center

News and Features Related to Heart Failure

21. Failing Hearts Healed With Stem Cells
    

    March 17, 2011 -- Decade-old heart attack scars healed after being injected with stem cells from a patients' own bone marrow. So far, eight patients have received the experimental treatment in an ongoing clinical trial. All eight had suffered heart attacks an average of 5 1/2 years prior; one of the

    Read Full Article
22. Wireless Sensor Monitors Heart Failure Patients
    

    Feb. 9, 2011 -- An implanted wireless monitoring device about the size of a paper clip reduced hospitalizations among heart failure patients by 39%, a study shows. The experimental implant is designed to measure pressure in a pulmonary artery, which is a leading indicator of how well a patient’s hea

    Read Full Article
23. Heart Failure Treatment Works Better in Women
    

    Feb. 7, 2011 -- An implantable device that packs a one-two punch against heart failure seems to be more effective in women than men, according to a new study. Once reserved only for the sickest heart failure patients, cardiac resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator consists of a device with t

    Read Full Article
24. Worsening Depression Raises Death Risk in Heart Failure Patients
    

    Jan. 19, 2011 -- Worsening depression in patients with heart failure more than doubles their risk of hospitalization or death, according to a team of researchers from Duke University. Depression is common among patients with heart failure and has a profound effect on their overall cardiovascular hea

    Read Full Article
25. Heart Failure: All ARBs Aren’t the Same
    

    Jan. 11, 2011 -- Blood pressure drugs in the class known as angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) reduce mortality in patients with heart failure, but new research suggests that not all work equally well. Heart failure patients in Sweden who took the drug candesartan (Atacand) had a lower risk of

    Read Full Article
26. New CPR Guidelines: Chest Compressions First
    

    Oct. 18, 2010 -- New guidelines released today by the American Heart Association recommend that the three steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) be rearranged. The new first step is doing chest compressions instead of first establishing the airway and then doing mouth to mouth. The new guideli

    Read Full Article
27. Low Vitamin D Linked to Heart Failure Deaths
    

    Aug. 31, 2010 (Stockholm, Sweden) -- Low vitamin D levels are associated with a higher risk of death and hospitalization in people with heart failure, researchers report. The study doesn't prove that low vitamin D levels place patients at higher risk of dying. Even if the findings are confirmed, low

    Read Full Article
28. Pill Cuts Risk of Death in Heart Failure Patients
    

    Aug. 30, 2010 (Stockholm) -- A pill that slows the heart rate substantially cut the risk of death and hospital stays for patients with severe heart failure, a study of more than 6,500 patients shows. The drug is called Procoralan. It's already used in Europe to treat the severe chest pain of angina,

    Read Full Article
29. Stem Cells May Help Treat Heart Failure
    

    Aug. 30, 2010 (Stockholm, Sweden) -- Giving people with chronic heart failure injections of their own bone-marrow stem cells appears to improve their heart function and extend their lives, new research suggests. The benefits of the stem cell treatment were apparent within three months and persisted

    Read Full Article
30. Studies: CPR Without Rescue Breathing OK
    

    July 28, 2010 -- Bystanders who perform CPR on patients with suspected heart attacks can safely skip the rescue breathing -- typically called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- and just perform the chest compressions, according to two new studies. ''We feel comfortable saying chest compressions alone,

    Read Full Article