New test predicts heart disease risk more accurately

October 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Increased exposure to secondhand smoke can result in heart disease in nonsmoking adults, says a new study.he study, titled Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects, reviewed available scientific literature to assess the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and acute coronary events. The authors, experts in secondhand smoke exposure and toxicology, clinical cardiology, epidemiology, and statistics, found that there is about a 25 to 30 percent increase in the risk of coronary heart disease from exposure to secondhand smoke.

October 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers led by a Michigan State University professor better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles - emitted from plants and vehicles - induce disease and illness. Jack Harkema, a University Distinguished Professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will deploy the new 53-foot, 36,000-pound center - dubbed "AirCARE 2" - throughout southern Michigan, including metropolitan Detroit.

October 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that a scanning technique developed by British scientists can cut thalassaemia deaths by 70 percent. Thalassaemia is an inherited disorder affecting the production of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body, and thus causing anaemia.

September 21st, 2009 Study: Flu viruses can spark heart attacksLONDON — Heart patients who catch the flu may have more to worry about than just a fever or the sniffles: the virus could also spark a heart attack, new research shows. Amid the global outbreak of swine flu, experts say it's crucial that heart patients get vaccinated against both regular flu and swine flu to avoid medical problems.

September 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Carbon monoxide exposure has been found to elevate the risk of hospitalisation for the elderly with heart problems in an American study. The nationwide study of 126 urban communities has shown that an increase in carbon monoxide of 1 part per million in the maximum daily one-hour exposure is linked with a 0.96 percent increase in the risk of hospitalisation from cardiovascular disease among people over the age of 65.

August 31st, 2009 LONDON - A new drug developed as an alternative to popular drug warfarin, also used as rat poison, has been found to significantly reduce stroke risk. Generally, patients at risk of stroke are given warfarin to prevent blood clotting, but the treatment is risky and requires regular monitoring.

August 14th, 2009 Medical isotope shortage threatens treatmentsALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Canada has caused a shortage of a radioactive isotope used to detect cancers and heart disease.

August 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Social stress could be a significant precursor to heart disease by causing the body to deposit more fat in the abdominal cavity, speeding the harmful build-up of plaque in blood vessels, says a new study. The study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine appears as the cover story of the current issue of Obesity, the peer-reviewed journal of the Obesity Society.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - Researchers have developed a new urine test which will allow doctors to diagnose Chlamydia infection in men within the hour, improving the ability to successfully treat the infection on the spot and prevent re-transmission. Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.

July 24th, 2009 LONDON - A new way to mend damage to the heart has been found by scientists. The boffins have devised a method to coax heart muscle cells into re-entering the cell cycle, allowing the differentiated adult cells to divide and regenerate healthy heart tissue after a heart attack, according to studies in mice and rats by Children's Hospital Boston reported in the July 24th issue of the journal Cell.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Smokers can immediately improve their cardiovascular health by kicking the butt, according to a study. Researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, NY, say that smoking cessation provides immediate benefits to patients.

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Farmed fish, if fed by-products rendered from cows, could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease-commonly known as mad cow disease. Questioning the safety of eating farmed fish, Dr.

June 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Plastic bottles, cans and other plastic household items that contain the chemical bisphenol A, may increase the frequency of arrhythmias, or heartbeat irregularities, among females, according to a new study on rodents. Animal studies in the past have shown that bisphenol A (BPA) can have harmful effects on the reproductive, nervous, and immune systems.

April 30th, 2009 LONDON - Drinking half a glass of wine daily is likely to boost life expectancy by five years in men, according to a Dutch study. The study's authors based their findings on 1,373 randomly selected men whose cardiovascular health and life expectancy at age 50 were repeatedly monitored between 1960 and 2000.

March 11th, 2009 LONDON - 'Hannah Montana' star Miley Cyrus is suffering from a heart condition. The pop star-actress has revealed in her autobiography 'Miles to Go' that she has tachycardia, meaning her heart rate exceeds the range of a normal resting heart rate, reports contactmusic.com.