Culture

Boston –Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed a risk score calculation that can help predict which patients with rhabdomyolysis (a condition that occurs due to muscle damage) may be at risk for the severe complication of kidney failure or death. This research will publish online September 2, 2013 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

LOS ANGELES — The common refrain about health care is that it's a broken system. A new joint program between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC), demonstrates a way to mend the system with a new patient-centered program that is getting raves from patients, as well as the residents and nurses who provide their care. Results from the program are highlighted in a study being released in September.

Sydney, Australia: The amount of raw materials needed to sustain the economies of developed countries is significantly greater than presently used indicators suggest, a new Australian study has revealed.

Using a new modelling tool and more comprehensive indicators, researchers were able to map the flow of raw materials across the world economy with unprecedented accuracy to determine the true "material footprint" of 186 countries over a two-decade period (from 1990 to 2008).

Use of bioprosthetic heart valves has dramatically increased (from 18% in 1991 to 59% in 2003), mainly in older patients with comorbidities. This is due to the increased risk of bleeding complications associated with lifelong use of anticoagulation for mechanical prostheses.

Dr Sherif said: "Earlier studies on the impact of gender on outcome after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have had conflicting results. A Canadian study reported in 641 consecutive patients that female sex is associated with a better long-term and short-term survival after TAVI.1 An Italian study of 305 high risk patients found no gender differences in composite safety and efficacy endpoints at 30 days and one year after TAVI."2

Bicuspid aortic valve (BV) is the most common congenital valvular abnormality, occurring in 1-2% of the general population. Two of the aortic valvular leaflets fuse during development resulting in a valve that is bicuspid instead of the normal tricuspid configuration. BV is associated with increased mechanical stress which predisposes to calcification and development of aortic stenosis which narrows the opening of the aortic valve.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Monday 2 September 2013: Metabolically healthy women have the same cardiovascular disease risk regardless of their BMI, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today by Dr Søren Skøtt Andersen and Dr Michelle Schmiegelow from Denmark. The findings in more than 260,000 subjects suggest that obese women have a window of opportunity to lose weight and avoid developing a metabolic disorder, which would increase their CVD risk.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Monday 2 September 2013 : Pacemakers implanted for slow heart rhythm restore life expectancy to normal levels, reveals research presented at ESC Congress 2013 today by Dr Erik O. Udo from the Netherlands. The findings provide a new reference point for the prognosis of modern pacemaker patients.

Hamilton, ON (September 2, 2013) – Despite living with the highest risk factors for heart disease, people in high income countries suffer less from serious cardiovascular disease, says an international study by the global PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology ) collaboration and led by McMaster University researchers.

At the same time, the study found that people in low income countries, although living with fewer risk factors for heart disease, have a higher incidence of serious cardiovascular disease including death.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - A common drug that is used to treat high blood pressure in the general population has been found to significantly reduce a dangerous and frequently fatal cardiac problem in patients with Marfan syndrome.

Results of the COMPARE (COzaar in Marfan PAtients Reduces aortic Enlargement) study reveal that patients treated with losartan (Cozaar) had a significantly reduced rate of aortic enlargement after 3 years compared to patients who did not receive the treatment.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk due to recent acute coronary syndromes had similar rates of cardiovascular events when treated with the anti-diabetic agent alogliptin compared to placebo according to results of the Examination of Cardiovascular Outcomes with Alogliptin versus Standard of Care (EXAMINE) trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress.

The average height of European males increased by an unprecedented 11cm between the mid-nineteenth century and 1980, according to a new paper published online today in the journal Oxford Economic Papers. Contrary to expectations, the study also reveals that average height actually accelerated in the period spanning the two World Wars and the Great Depression.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Sunday 1 September 2013 : Having a big belly increases the risk of death in heart attack survivors, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2013 by Professor Tabassome Simon and Professor Nicolas Danchin from France. The findings from the FAST-MI 2005 registry suggest that lifestyle interventions in heart attack patients should focus on losing abdominal fat.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Sunday 1 September 2013: Survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is just 7%, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2013 by Professor Xavier Jouven and Dr Wulfran Bougouin from France.

Aortic stenosis is the most common heart valve disease in the elderly. It is associated with congenital bicuspid aortic valve and previous rheumatic heart disease, but is also often caused by calcification of a normal valve. Calcification of a normal valve may be associated with atherosclerotic changes in the portion of the aorta closest to the valve.