Culture

• Economic downturns can have adverse health-related consequences, including poorer mental health and higher rates of suicide.
• New research looks at different types of economic loss and associated alcohol consumption/ problems.
• The most adverse effects of severe economic loss on drunkenness and alcohol problems were concentrated among men and the middle-aged.

• Excessive drinking is a known risk factor for hypertension.
• Drinking that results in facial flushing indicates high sensitivity or even intolerance to alcohol.
• A new study has found that drinking-related hypertension has a higher risk in flushers than in non-flushers, and the risk of hypertension was significantly increased when flushers consumed more than four drinks per week.

Propping open clogged heart arteries with a "disappearing stent" has worked well for three years in the first people implanted with the unique device, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

The new bioabsorbable magnesium stent (DREAMS) is a drug-releasing tube that is reabsorbed over time, leaving behind a healthy vessel and reducing clotting that sometimes occurs 12-24 months after implantation of a traditional drug-coated stent.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – November 19, 2013 – Data reported by the Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm Project reinforce the positive influence of lifestyle factors in mitigating risks that potentially increase the likelihood of heart disease and other health problems. Findings based on 1,059 residents of New Ulm, Minn, underscore the importance of obesity prevention and nutrition, specifically eating more fruits and vegetables, in addressing metabolic syndrome (MS), a common precursor to cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Boston, MA – According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 800,000 Americans die each year from heart disease and stroke. Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and death in the US. In addition to lifestyle changes, medications such as anti-blood clotting drugs are helpful in the prevention of stroke.

A multicenter team of researchers within the NIH-funded Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, have found end-stage heart failure patients who receive a surgically implanted left ventricular assist device (LVAD) heart pump may also benefit from a single dose of millions of powerful cells injected directly into their heart during surgery.

The Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), whose Data and Clinical Coordinating Center is at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is reporting for the first time evidence on whether or not there is any significant difference between the two current surgical approaches to treat patients with severe ischemic mitral regurgitation -- mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement.

Researchers from the Cardiovascular Research Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported the long-term benefits of a single dose of their gene therapy AAV1/SERCA2a in advanced heart failure patients on Nov. 19 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2013.

TORONTO, Nov. 19, 2013 – Youth prefer, accept and receive HIV results more often when offered rapid finger prick or saliva swab tests rather than traditional blood tests according to a study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

More than 50 per cent of youths who took part in 14 North American studies preferred the rapid point-of-care tests because they are less invasive and provide faster results, said family physician Dr. Suzanne Turner.

Sudden cardiac arrest isn't always so sudden, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

In a study of middle-age men in Portland, Oregon, more than half had possible warning signs up to a month before their hearts stopped abruptly.

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops due to a failure in its electrical system. Patients can sometimes survive if they receive CPR immediately and a defibrillator is used quickly to shock the heart into a normal rhythm.

Amsterdam, NL, November 19, 2013 – Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is one of the leading causes of sudden and irreversible loss of vision in older adults. In a prospective randomized trial of 60 patients with NAION, investigators have shown that the addition of the corticosteroid fluocortolone (FC) to standard therapy significantly improves both short- and long-term visual acuity, especially when given soon after the onset of symptoms. Their results are published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.

Many kids don't run as far or fast as their parents did, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

The decline in running fitness may indicate worse health in adulthood, the researchers said.

"If a young person is generally unfit now, then they are more likely to develop conditions like heart disease later in life," said Grant Tomkinson, Ph.D., lead author of the study and senior lecturer in the University of South Australia's School of Health Sciences.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Breast biopsies can adversely affect short-term quality-of-life, and the effects are more pronounced in younger patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

Liberals tend to underestimate the amount of actual agreement among those who share their ideology, while conservatives tend to overestimate intra-group agreement, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

These findings may help to explain differences in how political groups and movements, like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, gain traction on the national stage:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – According to the findings from a national research trial, people who suffer from a narrowing of the arteries that lead to the kidneys, or renal artery stenosis, do not experience better outcomes when renal stenting is used. Instead, a comprehensive regimen of drug and medical therapies works just as well. The national study, which was led by Rhode Island Hospital researchers Lance Dworkin, M.D., and Timothy Murphy, M.D., in collaboration with multiple investigators worldwide, is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).