The diagnostic work-up of syncope patients often raises the question of how much diagnosis is necessary and what examination methods are really needed. To save time, specialists recommend focusing on determining whether the syncope may be caused by a cardiac problem - a question answered quite easily in many cases. Karl Eberius MD, European Hospital's new correspondent, discussed advice for…
Seeking to set the agenda for urgent atrial fibrillation (AF) research, European and international cardiologists will gather this October at the European Heart House, in Sophia Antipolis, the headquarters of the European Society of Cardiology.
An emerging discipline of noninvasive cardiac imaging, molecular imaging, has evolved constantly in the last few years and is increasingly being translated from the preclinical to the clinical level. Molecular imaging allows for unique insights into specific disease mechanisms and holds great promise to change the practice of cardiovascular medicine by facilitating early disease detection,…
Countries vary widely in their capacity to manage hypertension, but globally the majority of diagnosed hypertensives is inadequately controlled. Not treated it can cause cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction and stroke. According to the WHO, hypertension is estimated to cause 4.5% of the current global disease burden and is as prevalent in many developing countries as in the…
What is the role of vascular ultrasound in stroke prevention? Asked by Karoline Laarmann of European Hospital, Professor Christian Arning MD, Medical Director of the Neurology Department at Asklepios Klinik Wandsbek, Germany, and Deputy Chairman of the German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM), gave an unequivocal answer: crucial - but only if the sonographer is properly qualified.
This year sees the fifth anniversary of EuroPRevent.
St. Jude Medical, Inc. has received European CE Mark approval and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its Epicor LP cardiac ablation system, a second generation technology that uses HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue to disrupt abnormal cardiac electrical impulses.
Among the many aims of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC is the establishment of networks for the HF management, education and research.
The contraction of the atria and ventricles is differentially regulated, according to a study by Rodolphe Fischmeister and colleagues, at INSERM UMR-S 769 in Châtenay-Malabry.
The ageing population and growing risk factors have made a significant impact on driving up the number of registered heart failure (HF) cases. Existing pharmacological strategies are improving the survival rates of acute and early-stage HF patients, ironically providing a growing body of patients with progression of the disease to HF.
The world's first symposium on the molecular analysis of sudden death syndrome (SDS) among athletes drew in leading cardiovascular researchers and several top Spanish footballers. Sponsored by Applied Biosystems, and held in the Madrid's Hospital Clinico San Carolos, the I Symposium de Prevención en el Futbol aims to initiate the development of new tests to identify sports players at SDS risk.
Royal Philips Electronics is to lead `euHeart´, the new European Union (EU) funded research project that aims to improve CVD diagnosis, therapy planning and treatment.
Syncope (fainting) is a leading cause of hospital emergency visits. In almost 10% of patients, syncope has a cardiac cause; in 50%, a non-cardiac cause, and in 40% the cause of syncope is unknown. Syncope is difficult to diagnose as syncopal episodes are often too infrequent and unpredictable for detection with conventional monitoring techniques.
While treadmill exercise stress testing is essential to detect cardiovascular disease, gaining clear cardiac images at peak stress level are not easy to gain using standard testing procedures. Now, however, researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Centre have designed equipment to provide high-resolution cardiac images at a critical testing stage, with results in under one hour.
Under the banner Hear today the heartbeats of tomorrow, at this year's ESC meeting GE Healthcare will showcase its latest cardiology technology for the management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as several new products.
Bad economic conditions, e.g. a recession, at the time of birth may lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality much later in life, according to a recent study published by researchers at the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) in Bonn.
Pegasus/Heartview LLC has announced that clinical studies of its HeartVue 6S Heart Screening System - which obtained CE Mark Approval in Europe almost two years ago - have been completed according to FDA guidelines, as a pre-marketing condition for release in the USA.
A new educational website specifically for heart failure patients, their families and carers, has been set up by the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.
Cardiologist Dr Malissa Wood, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA, has reported that a study of Olympic athletes, using GE Healthcare's Vivid I cardiac compact ultrasound technology, has allowed the medical research team in Beijing to identify healthy patterns of heart enlargement that can differentiate it from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Medicine is not earthly anymore. The first defibrillator has reached the International Space Station (ISS). LIFEPAK 1000 developed by Physio-Control of Redmond will be available for NASA crew members in case of a sudden cardiac arrest in space.
Do we have to create a food guide for people? The European Parliament already proposed this suggestion to protect people from getting cardiovascular diseases. This week experts will discuss the issue at the annual ESC Congress. They believe the UK traffic light system might help people keep more attention to nutrition
British researchers found that the NHS and private healthcare are not providing good enough basic care to a large portion of the population in England. Particulary older and frailer people are suffering from lack of care.
A Canadian study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that chest pain in patients with heart disease could be treated as effective with medication over time as with an expensive angioplasty.
A pressure sensor that is implanted into the heart works with an electronic monitoring system that wirelessly measures patient's pulmonary artery pressure. It allows physicians to track the patient's pulmonary artery pressure while they remain at home
The probability of woman of suffering from cardiovascular diseases is often underestimated. A recent study evaluated the risk of nearly 9.000 women in the U.S. screened for heart-health risk: one in five women had a higher risk than measured by a frequently used predictor.
