An obese eighth-grader's sudden death during a football conditioning lap has revived discussion about whether testing children's hearts before they engage in sports or strenuous activity is necessary. WUSTL cardiovascular professor Keith Mankowitz, who directs an athletes screening program, said some conditions go undetected during routine screening.

References:

1. Aug. 24, 2009 — Child athlete's death revives heart testing debate in the Associated Press

and 24 others.

Doctors who treat patients with heart failure have long been puzzled that many black patients seem to not respond to a class of drugs called beta blockers.
Now researchers at WUSTL and U. Maryland have found that these nonresponsive patients have a slightly altered version of a gene that muscles use to control responses to nerve signals.
The discovery raises questions about whom to treat with beta blockers and how to decide, researchers say. But, they add, its implications go beyond heart failure.
WUSTL cardiologist and principal investigator Gerald Dorn comments.

References:

1. April 29, 2008 — Genes Explain Race Disparity in Response to a Heart Drug in the The New York Times

and 5 others.

Three major studies published in the past two years indicate that using the angioplasty to open blocked arteries to treat chest pain, or angina, may be riskier and no more beneficial than medication. WUSTL cardiologist Michael Rich comments on the study.

References:

1. March 27, 2008 — Angioplasty's golden era may be fading in the USA Today

and 1 others.

Shedding excess pounds may restore some of the heart's youth, whether the weight loss comes from eating less or exercising more, the results of a small study in the American Journal of Physiology suggests.
WUSTL's Sandor J. Kovacs, cardiology professor, is the senior researcher on the study and comments.

References:

1. Jan. 30, 2008 — Weight loss by diet or exercise benefits heart in the Reuters

and 7 others.

Obese children show early signs of heart disease, according to WUSTL medical school researchers led by pediatric cardiologist Angela Sharkey.
The study was published in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Cardiometabolic Syndrome.

References:

1. Oct. 18, 2007 — Obese Kids Shows Signs Of Heart Trouble in the WNBC.com (NY)

and 42 others.

Some people with migraines may be able to trace their problem to a hole in the heart that formed before birth, say WUSTL researchers led by cardiologist John Lasala.
WUSTL is participating in clinical trials.

References:

1. Jan. 12, 2007 — Heart surgery may eliminate migraines in the United Press International

A drug commonly prescribed for high blood pressure may be able to save lives by blocking the formation of lethal aneurysms in patients with Marfan syndrome, according to a report today in the journal Science.
Although the research was conducted in mice, it was so promising that the team will begin testing it in babies and children with the genetic disorder within a few months.
WUSTL scientist Alan Braverman, who heads WUSTL's Marfan Syndrome Clinic, says this is a landmark discovery.

References:

1. April 7, 2006 — Common Drug Found to Repair Aortic Disorder in the Los Angeles Times

Christine Buck reports on new research that shows that many women need more than the standard, traditional heart screening tests. New NIH research shows that as many as three million women may be at higher risk of heart attacks because symptoms don't always appear on an angiogram. WUSTL researcher Ed Geltman comments.

References:

1. Feb. 2, 2006 — Women need more than the traditional heart screening tests in the WB 11 News

A very low calorie — that cut calories by as much as 40% of your normal intake — can help the heart age more slowly, according to researchers who released what they call the first-ever human study on the subject. Results showed that people on the strict diet had younger hearts than normal-weight people on a typical Western diet. WUSTL medical professor and lead author Luigi Fontana and colleague John Holloszy comment.

References:

1. Jan. 13, 2006 — Cut Calories For A Younger Heart in the CBS News
2. Jan. 13, 2006 — Low-calorie, high-quality diet keeps us young, study says in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

and 115 others.

With conflicts of interest increasingly casting doubt on the credibility of medical research, a leading surgery journal is cracking down on authors who fail to disclose links to industry, threatening to temporarily blacklist them.
The action comes as many medical journals struggle with the burgeoning links between researchers and industry.
One AtriCure study mentioned was written by at least two surgeons with financial ties to AtriCure that weren't disclosed in the journal. Richard Schuessler and Ralph Damiano reported that they were consultants to AtriCure and that the journal mistakenly failed to disclose those ties.
The study's medical findings were later challenged by doctors in England.

References:

1. Dec. 28, 2005 — Surgery Journal Threatens Ban for Authors' Hidden Conflicts in the Wall Street Journal

Rams coach Mike Martz is believed to have a bacterial infection of a heart valve, a condition known as endocarditis. That could affect his ability to coach the team not just this week, but throughout this season. Team physician Douglas Pogue and other consulting physicians are conducting an extensive medical workup.
WUSTL cardiology professor Greg Ewald comments.

References:

1. Oct. 6, 2005 — Likely infection could sideline Martz in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

and 1 others.

Widely used beta-blocker blood pressure medications can raise the risk of death in patients with specific genes who receive the drugs after a heart attack or unstable angina, according to a study led by WUSTL researchers David Lanfear and Howard McLeod. Another study scheduled to begin at WUSTL will look for the appropriate treatments for patients whose genetic makeup might make beta-blocker use hazardous.

References:

1. Sept. 27, 2005 — Beta-Blocker Drugs May Pose Dangers for Some in the Forbes.com

and 10 others.

Patients may respond to a widely prescribed anti-blood clotting drug differently because of newly identified genetic variations, scientists are reporting today. The scientists analyzed the genetic makeup of patients taking warfarin in clinics at U. Washington in Seattle and at WUSTL.

References:

1. June 2, 2005 — Study Suggests Gene Tests Could Ease Use of Anti-Clotting Drug in the The New York Times

and 13 others.

U.S. researchers have found that doctors need to pay more attention to depression as a risk factor among heart patients. "We need more clinical trials to improve our ability to treat depression in patients with heart disease," said Ken Freedland, a professor of psychiatry at WUSTL.

References:

1. May 24, 2005 — Doctors miss heart, depression link in the United Press International

and 5 others.

Two prominent U.S. heart physicians said there was nothing in the drug-eluting stent trials comparing J&J's Cypher stent to Boston Scientific Corp.'s (BSX) Taxus stent, that would dissuade them from using either of the two available products. WUSTL cardiologist John Lasala, who also attended the conference, comments.

References:

1. March 8, 2005 — Two Prominent Heart Docs Still Like Taxus/Cypher Equally in the Wall Street Journal

and 1 others.

WUSTL researcher Daniel Kelly and his colleagues were studying the heart when they made a discovery that could provide new understanding for how diabetes develops in overweight and obese people. Fat burning is touted as the key to weight loss, but it may also link obesity and diabetes. The results of their study appear today in the journal Cell Metabolism. WUSTL nutritiion expert Sam Klein comments.

References:

1. Feb. 16, 2005 — WU study may yield key to obesity, diabetes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

and 22 others.

Many heart attacks do not result in cardiac arrest, and more often than not, they are not as severe as classically defined heart attacks that require being rushed to treatment. The management of less severe heart attacks has been a "raging debate" among physicians, according to School of Medicine cardiologist Richard Bach.

References:

1. Sept. 28, 2004 — Mild heart attacks in the U.S. News & World Report Online

A type of temporary artificial heart to help near-death patients live long enough to receive a heart transplant has won the cautious backing of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration. The artificial heart is a complex and risky device that requires cutting out the bottom half of the human heart to implant. Side effects can include infection, bleeding and stroke. Patients implanted with the device are tethered to a washing machine-sized power generator until they can receive a donor heart. Still, the device "will fill a very important niche" for a small number of patients who have run out of other options, said Thomas Ferguson, professor emeritus of surgery at the School of Medicine.

References:

1. March 18, 2004 — Artificial heart can aid those on transplant waiting lists in the USA Today.com
2. March 18, 2004 — Panel backs artificial heart use in the CBSnews.com

and 21 others.