Health News

National Heart Failure Audit 2012/13: Audited patient mortality rates fall for the first time, UK

Date: Nov-21-2013
Audited mortality rates for patients with acute heart failure - both in hospital and following discharge - fell for the first time, according to the sixth annual National Heart Failure Audit report. For patients admitted to hospital in the UK with acute heart failure. In-hospital mortality rates dropped from 11.1% to 9.4%: a 15.3% relative reduction. For patients who survived to discharge there was also an improvement in outcomes: 24.6% of patients discharged in 2012/13 died during the year, compared to 26.2% last year.

Providing care to kids with genetic conditions out of many pediatricians' comfort zones

Date: Nov-21-2013
Many primary care pediatricians say they feel uncomfortable providing health care to patients with genetic disorders. Also, many do not consistently discuss all risks and benefits of genetic tests with patients, according to research published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.Investigators from the University of Michigan's C.S.

Short-term quality-of-life affected by breast biopsy

Date: Nov-21-2013
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.More than 500,000 women in the United States have a breast biopsy each year. In the percutaneous method, a physician uses a needle to remove several small samples from the area of interest for pathological analysis. Percutaneous biopsies are associated with fewer complications than the surgical approach, but there are still significant short-term side effects, including pain and emotional distress.

Warning signs precede many sudden cardiac arrests

Date: Nov-21-2013
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.

Frontal-lobe damage from alcohol may become evident before general mental status is challenged

Date: Nov-21-2013
Frontal lobe deficiency, characterized by executive dysfunction such as deficits in attention and working memory, has been linked with an inability to abstain from alcohol. However, "high-functioning" alcoholics with frontal executive dysfunction may nonetheless appear to have a "normal" cognitive mental status. Findings from a new study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine volumetric measurements of segmented brain structures suggest that executive function and general mental status are affected differently by long-term use of alcohol.

Economic downturns lead to adverse alcohol outcomes for men and middle-aged Americans

Date: Nov-21-2013
Although the U.S. recession officially ended in June 2009, many Americans still struggle to make ends meet. A recent study has examined the relationship between different types of economic loss experienced during the recession - job loss, reduced work hours/pay, difficulty paying for housing, housing loss, and loss of retirement savings - and alcohol consumption and problems, finding that men and middle-aged Americans are at higher risk for multiple, adverse alcohol outcomes.

Reducing risk of morning heart attack by taking aspirin at bedtime

Date: Nov-21-2013
Taking aspirin at bedtime instead of in the morning might reduce acute heart events, according a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.Low-dose daily aspirin is recommended for people at high risk of heart disease and for reducing the risk of recurrent heart events. Aspirin thins the blood and makes it less likely to clot. The tendency for platelet activity to be higher peaks in the morning.The Aspirin in Reduction of Tension II trial is the first study to explore the timing of aspirin intake among cardiovascular disease patients.

For alcohol dependence, medication plus therapy leads to longer abstinence

Date: Nov-21-2013
Alcohol treatment that incorporates a stepped-care rationale, in which services are escalated, appears to increase the overall efficacy of the treatment regimen. However, in countries such as Germany and the U.S., medication and individual psychotherapy - either separately or in combination - are rarely used to treat alcohol dependence (AD).

Racial, ethnic, gender and age disparities in heart attack treatment patterns

Date: Nov-21-2013
Younger Hispanic women face a higher risk of death in hospitals after a heart attack, are more likely to suffer from co-existing conditions such as diabetes, and are less likely to undergo percutaneous coronary interventions or coronary artery bypass surgery as compared with white women and men, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

Tasquinimod may improve survival in men with metastatic prostate cancer

Date: Nov-21-2013
An investigational prostate cancer treatment slows the disease's progression and may increase survival, especially among men whose cancer has spread to the bones, according an analysis led by the Duke Cancer Institute.The study, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, adds long-term survival and safety data for the drug tasquinimod, a new candidate for treating advanced and recurrent prostate cancer.