US scientists have for the first time made a beating heart in a laboratory using heart tissue from dead rats and pigs to make a framework and seeding it with live cells.

The research is the work of scientists at the University of Minnesota and is published in the January 13th early online issue of Nature Medicine.

The researchers used a process known as whole organ de...

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Older female heart patients benefit from educational programs as a supplement to clinical care to help significantly lower cardiac symptoms, lose weight and increase physical activity, a new study shows.

Different program formats produce different results for this notoriously difficult to treat patient population.

The new research from the University of Michigan sug...

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The same vitamin D deficiency that can result in weak bones now has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, Framingham Heart Study researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, above and beyond established cardiovascular risk factors," said Tho...

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According to an Editorial in the Lancet, dark chocolate that is rich in flavenols might be good for the heart. However, to gain the health benefits from dark chocolate might prove difficult.

According to a study in Circulation, in 11 heart transplant recipients, dark chocolate which is rich in flavenols , induced coronary vasodilatation and improved coronary vascular function, comp...

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Just as additives help gasoline burn cleaner, a research report published in the January 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal shows that the food industry could take a similar approach toward reducing health risks associated with fatty foods. These "meal additives" would be based on work of Israeli researchers who discovered that consuming polyphenols (natural compounds in red wine, fru...

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Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) announced that it has entered into an agreement to settle lawsuits relating to its Marquis line of implanted cardiac defibrillators that were the subject of a field action announced February 11, 2005.

Under terms of the settlement, Medtronic has agreed to settle 2,682 cases for $95.6 million plus $18.5 million in attorneys' fees. The parties today will fi...

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Since the year 2000, much has been learned about the potential for using transplanted cells in therapeutic efforts to treat varieties of cardiac disorders. With many questions remaining, the current issue of CELL TRANSPLANTATION (Vol.16 No. 9), The Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease, presents research aimed at answering some of them. Eleven papers...

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Current regulatory policies should be strengthened to ensure acceptable cardiovascular safety of drugs developed primarily for non-cardiovascular medical problems, according to a recent presentation made by Dr. Jeffrey Borer, an authority in cardiovascular medicine and surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

His recommendations includ...

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MIT scientists have found a way to induce cells to form parallel tube-like structures that could one day serve as tiny engineered blood vessels.

The researchers found that they can control the cells' development by growing them on a surface with nano-scale patterning. A paper on the work was posted this month in an online issue of Advanced Materials.

Engineered bloo...

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