ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Medication does not reduce risk of recurrent cardiac events among patients with diabetes
• Heart valve systems compared
• Why we miss subtle visual changes, and why it keeps us sane
• Carbohydrate digestion and obesity strongly linked
• High blood pressure increases risk of stroke for atrial fibrillation patients
• Too many diet drinks may spell heart trouble for older women
• Celiac disease linked to increased risk of coronary artery disease
• Obesity prevention programs can lower kids' blood pressure, even if they don't reduce body fat
• Stroke patients should receive customized palliative care
• Circadian clock like an orchestra with many conductors
• Patient satisfaction scores in ER not affected by receipt of painkillers
• MRI, optical scanning during surgery accurately locate small breast cancer tumors
• Anti-clotting agent helps reduce incidence, impact of stent thrombosis during PCI

Medication does not reduce risk of recurrent cardiac events among patients with diabetes Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:15 PM PDT Use of the drug aleglitazar, which has shown the ability to lower glucose levels and have favorable effects on cholesterol, did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke among patients with type 2 diabetes and recent heart attack or unstable angina, according to a study.

Heart valve systems compared Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:15 PM PDT Among patients undergoing aortic valve replacement using a catheter tube, a comparison of two types of heart valve technologies, balloon-expandable or self-expandable valve systems, found a greater rate of device success with the balloon-expandable valve, according to a study.

Why we miss subtle visual changes, and why it keeps us sane Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:15 PM PDT Ever notice how Harry Potter's T-shirt abruptly changes from a crewneck to a henley shirt in 'The Order of the Phoenix,' or how in 'Pretty Woman,' Julia Roberts' croissant inexplicably morphs into a pancake? Don't worry if you missed those continuity bloopers. Vision scientists have discovered an upside to the brain mechanism that can blind us to subtle changes in movies and in the real world.

Carbohydrate digestion and obesity strongly linked Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:13 PM PDT New research indicates that obesity in the general population may be genetically linked to how our bodies digest carbohydrates. People usually have two copies of the gene AMY1, but in some regions of our DNA there can be variability in the number of copies a person carries, which is known as copy number variation. The number of copies of AMY1 can be highly variable between people, and it is believed that higher numbers of copies of the salivary amylase gene have evolved in response to a shift towards diets containing more starch since prehistoric times.

High blood pressure increases risk of stroke for atrial fibrillation patients Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:12 PM PDT Poor blood pressure control among patients with atrial fibrillation is associated with a 50-percent increased risk of stroke, according to an analysis. The findings suggest that hypertension should be carefully monitored and controlled among patients with atrial fibrillation.

Too many diet drinks may spell heart trouble for older women Posted: 29 Mar 2014 02:51 PM PDT It appears healthy postmenopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day may be more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problems, according to research. In fact, compared to women who never or only rarely consume diet drinks, those who consumed two or more a day were 30 percent more likely to suffer a cardiovascular event and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease.

Celiac disease linked to increased risk of coronary artery disease Posted: 29 Mar 2014 02:51 PM PDT People with celiac disease may have a near two-fold increased risk of coronary artery disease compared with the general population, according to research. The study is the first to look at the association between celiac disease and coronary artery disease and adds to the evolving understanding of how systemic inflammation and autoimmune processes might influence cardiovascular disease development. Data also showed a slightly higher risk of stroke among people with celiac disease compared to controls.

Obesity prevention programs can lower kids' blood pressure, even if they don't reduce body fat Posted: 28 Mar 2014 02:50 PM PDT A systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies of the effect of child obesity intervention programs on blood pressure has found that whether such programs prevented obesity or not, many of them reduced blood pressure in children. Even modest elevations in the BP of adolescents, according to recent research, can pose cardiovascular problems later in life.

Stroke patients should receive customized palliative care Posted: 27 Mar 2014 02:00 PM PDT People recovering from serious strokes should be given access to palliative care. Palliative care -- which focuses on minimizing suffering -- should be customized to stroke patients and their families. The statement is the first in the United States to outline fundamental palliative care for stroke survivors.

Circadian clock like an orchestra with many conductors Posted: 27 Mar 2014 11:24 AM PDT You've switched to the night shift and your weight skyrockets, or you wake at 7 a.m. on weekdays but sleep until noon on weekends -- a social jet lag can fog your Saturday and Sunday. Life runs on rhythms driven by circadian clocks, and disruption of these cycles is associated with serious physical and emotional problems.

Patient satisfaction scores in ER not affected by receipt of painkillers Posted: 27 Mar 2014 11:01 AM PDT Factors other than receipt of painkillers -- including opiates -- in the emergency department appear to be more important to patient satisfaction, as reflected in a new analysis. In some emergency departments, physician compensation is linked to patient satisfaction scores, which can exert pressure on physicians to comply with patient requests, even if those requests are medically unreasonable.

MRI, optical scanning during surgery accurately locate small breast cancer tumors Posted: 27 Mar 2014 10:57 AM PDT A new approach to breast-conserving surgery that simplifies the procedure for women whose breast cancer is too small to be felt has been developed by physicians and engineers. By combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before surgery with optical scanning during surgery they are able to accurately locate small breast cancer tumors for removal.

Anti-clotting agent helps reduce incidence, impact of stent thrombosis during PCI Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:36 AM PDT A new angiographic analysis of the CHAMPION PHOENIX trial examined the incidence and impact of stent thrombosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

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