Cardiology

Obesity in children is a very complex problem. How children eat and what they believe about food and obesity is largely determined in their family units.

As children get older their waistlines increasingly show signs of getting wider as well and the problem extends far beyond American students. Doctors around the world are working together to find ways to combat the growing problem.

Doctors are taking a new look at a condition which could play a factor in predicting cardiovascular incidents called hopelessness. While not much is known about the condition or treatment there are some things people can do to keep themselves as healthy as possible.

Whether asthma contributes to cardiovascular disease or not is a matter for continued research and study. Whether there is a direct link or not there has been considerable proof that the numbers for both conditions are on the rise.

In urban areas like Los Angeles women, particularly young mothers, may not have the money, time, and resources needed to take care of their own health. A new study has looked to find ways to help keep them healthy and also help the overall good of their families and communities as well.

Continuing the discussion of the dangers of energy drinks the topic turns to what parents and the drink manufacturers can do to protect the youngest members of the population.

A presentation at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014 suggested, STEMI victims treated with oxygen endured 25 to 30% more heart damage than patients not given oxygen.

With their colorful packaging, energy drinks are a tempting choice for young children who see them as just another option when they are thirsty. For thousands of children, that choice has meant a trip to the doctors or even the emergency room.

Study results show that patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and who are either significantly underweight or overweight/obese have lower sustained remission rates compared with their normal weight counterparts.

While the best way to combat obesity may be to not gain enough wait for the diagnosis there are steps that can be taken to get people back on track to being healthy.

Exercise in any form can be beneficial and whether it is walking in a mall or in a park those few extra steps can help a person's overall health in a lot of ways.

A study presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014 reported home exercise could potentially alleviate feelings of hopelessness in people afflicted with coronary heart disease.

Proper blood pressure monitoring is a matter of life and death for patients diagnosed with hypertension. For many patients, treatment cost and complex testing regimens can make proper adherence a challenge.

Recent research shows that advances in treatment are leading to improved survival rates for children with dilated cardiomyopathy, even among those patients who do not receive a heart transplant.

Results from the pivotal US trial of an everolimus-eluting bioabsorbable polymer-coated stent, the Boston Scientific SYNERGY coronary stent system, indicate that it performs just as well as existing alternatives.

Many people could be more active in their daily lives. The question for physicians is: How do you make that happen, especially for children and adolescents? A recent study provides clues about how to help patients maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Many questions have been raised about the potential effects of a mother's pre-pregnancy weight and the impact it has on the health of their children as they get older. Now, analysis of data from a cohort of patients from the Framingham Heart Study has shown that adults whose mothers were overweight or obese prior to pregnancy have an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or stroke.

With an aging population, clinicians must guard against potential complications and adverse events brought on by treatment. For example, a recent study appeared to show that overtreatment with anticoagulants increases dementia risk in patients with atrial fibrillation.

The study of complex congenital cardiac anatomy has previously been limited to 2-dimensional assessment. Now the potential use of 3-dimensional cardiac models could allow for previously unavailable visualization and analysis of anatomy.

For patients suffering a first-time cardiac event there could be warning signs in the form of a condition called vital exhaustion. A recent study looked at the causes and signs of vital exhaustion and potential preventive measures and treatments for these patients.

Although more people than ever are signing up to become an organ donor, the demand for organs still greatly exceeds the number of available donors. Clinicians and advocates have taken a number of measures to raise awareness of organ donation, including the use of social media to help provide education on the topic.

Amid the ongoing debate about whether patients are getting the best end-of-life care, a University of Pennsylvania team today presented survey results on a potential ethics question: How would patients feel if doctors turned off their defibrillators against the wishes of patient or family?

"Is this the end of the road for aspirin in primary prevention?" asked Dorairaj Prabhakaran, MD, DM, MSc, at the 2014 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.

The anti-arthritis drug hydroxychloroquine dramatically reduces the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the disease, according to research presented here at the 2014 meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

Adults whose mothers were overweight prior to pregnancy have a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014.

The United Kingdom has a medical mystery on its hands: what is causing a recent increase in infective endocarditis? One theory is that the uptick is due to a change in dental care. The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence amended the rules on dental procedures, so patients no longer routinely get prophylactic antibiotics before invasive oral procedures.

High trans fat consumption is linked to poor memory among middle-aged men, according to research presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Session 2014.

The most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young people is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited condition that can lead to heart failure, angina, arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. There is no medical treatment shown to halt or reverse the progression of the disease-just palliative care or surgery.

Cardiologists treating pediatric patients with Marfan syndrome were hopeful that positive results from animal studies using losartan would be replicated in humans. But in a comparison of losartan with atenolol, researchers found no difference in the drugs' performance.

For patients with a statin intolerance, getting the treatment they need to manage their cholesterol levels can be difficult. A recent study has shown that a new class of drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors could help effectively manage cholesterol levels in this patient population.