Exposure to carbon monoxide, even at levels well below national limits, is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for the elderly with heart problems, according to a study published today in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Women who took the antidepressant fluoxetine during the first three months of pregnancy gave birth to four times as many babies with heart problems as women who did not and the levels were three times higher in women taking paroxetine.

Sounding the chest with a cold stethoscope is probably one of the most commonly used diagnostics in the medical room after peering down the back of the throat while the patient says, "Aaaah". But, research published in the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics looks set to add an information-age approach to diagnosing heart problems.

People recovering from acute heart problems such as heart attack and heart surgery are more likely to develop habits to control heart attack risk factors when they meet regularly with cardiac "disease managers," according to researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. These managers are nonphysician cardiac rehabilitation specialists who lead long-term follow-up programs that last three years.

For the first time researchers are beginning to understand exactly how various forms of exercise impact the heart. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, in collaboration with the Harvard University Health Services, have found that 90 days of vigorous athletic training produces significant changes in cardiac structure and function and that the type of change varies with the type of exercise performed.

When it comes to matters of the heart, many experts say that communication is the key to a healthy relationship. But a recent study out of Temple University’s School of Medicine finds that communication is the key to a healthy heart, as well.

Screening for cardiovascular problems in elite-level football players should begin in high school and continue throughout the lives of college and professional players. Mayo Clinic physicians based that conclusion on the results of their new study of the cardiovascular health of 233 retired National Football League (NFL) players.

A new device could put the beat back into weak hearts - and free patients from a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs.

Individuals who experienced severe stress-related symptoms in response to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 appear more likely to have been diagnosed with heart problems over the following three years, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Air pollution is caused by any particulate matter, chemical, or biological agent that changes the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Exposure to particulate matter has been linked to an increased risk of heart problems, including increased risk of heart attack.

Doctors said Monday that women with heart problems may need to be treated differently than men. Research presented at the annual European Society of Cardiology meeting in Vienna suggested that surgeries that typically save men's lives can actually be deadly for women.

Vioxx and related pain medications were taken off the market in 2004 because they caused dangerous heart problems in some people. A group of scientists, led by Timothy Hla at the University of Connecticut, may now have figured out how these drugs trigger these life-threatening side-effects.