The prevention of progression of arterial disease and diabetes: a factorial randomized placebo controlled trial of aspirin and antioxidants in patients with diabetes and asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease

A gene that can cause the heart to become enlarged, greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, is identified today in a new study.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have for the first time used drug-treated blood stem cells to repair heart damage in an animal model, results that might point to methods for healing injuries from heart attacks or disease.

OHSU, Washington University researchers have identified the mechanism that makes a bioengineered enzyme function efficiently, opening the way to clinical development of the first safe clot busting agent for treating heart attacks and strokes

Patients prescribed drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis could be at a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a study published today in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.

More than half of all heart problems in Sweden could be avoided if Swedes lived more healthily.

The disease familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH) is a common cause of disturbed metabolism of fat and early heart attacks. Uppsala University scientists have now developed a pioneering method and can show for the first time what genes are regulated by the gene USF1, which is known to cause the disease. These findings are being presented today in the leading journal Genome Research.

An estimated one in 20 patients undergoing a common operation to boost blood supply to the heart and to ward off repeat heart attacks may do better if their surgeons also remold the heart to a near normal size, by cutting and suturing together stretched muscle and scar tissue resulting from the initial attack, according to cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins.

By now, everyone knows that overweight people have a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and other problems that arise from clogged, hardened arteries. And people who carry their extra weight around their waist – giving them a “beer belly” or an “apple” shape -- have the highest risk of all.

Scientists have identified the gene that sets off a sequence of events in the blood vessels of otherwise healthy adults that can lead to high blood pressure. The disease process eventually makes conditions in vessels ripe for the creation of blockages that can cause heart attacks, strokes and circulatory problems.

A diet rich in leafy vegetables may minimize the tissue damage caused by heart attacks, according to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings, published in the November 12 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that the chemical nitrite, found in many vegetables, could be the secret ingredient in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.

Endorphins and other morphine-like substances known as opioids, which are released during exercise, don't just make you feel good -- they may also protect you from heart attacks, according to University of Iowa researchers.