Tag: heart disease

  • Toshiba, Hospitals, USRowing to Study Athlete Heart Deaths

    Toshiba America Medical Systems in California is partnering with USRowing, the governing body for competitive rowing in the U.S., and medical centers in Ohio and Mississippi to help determine if sudden cardiac death can be prevented with a heart screening. The Athlete Heart Research Study will initially screen high-school age rowers taking part in USRowing’s…

  • AstraZeneca Acquires Omega-3 Fatty Acid Drug Developer

    The global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is buying the specialty pharmaceutical maker Omthera Pharmaceuticals in Princeton, New Jersey for $323 million, or $12.70 per share, an 88 percent premium over Omthera’s closing price of $6.75 per share on Friday. Omthera shareholders may also receive up to $4.70 per share in further milestone-achievement payments. Omega’s only product…

  • University, Biotech Develop Heart Tissue Repair Patch

    Biomedical engineers from Duke University in North Carolina and the biotechnology company VistaGen in San Francisco grew in the lab human heart tissue material from stem cells that could one day repair heart muscle or test new drugs.  Findings of the team led by Duke professor Nenad Bursac appeared online last week in the journal…

  • Student Develops Heart Health Management Smartphone App

    An undergraduate student at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey led the development of a smartphone app to help heart patients prevent and manage heart failure. Shannon Patel, a registered nurse at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and bachelor of science candidate at Rutgers-Camden, led the team that developed the…

  • Recommended Heart Failure Meds Save Lives, and Maybe Money

    Medical researchers at University of California in Los Angeles found medications recommended in national guidelines for heart failure are cost-effective in saving patient lives and could also provide financial savings for the national health care system. The findings of the team led by Gregg Fonarow, director of the cardiomyopathy center at UCLA, appear in the…

  • Review: Energy Drinks Pose Hypertension, Heart Rhythm Risks

    A review of recent studies indicates consuming energy drinks with added caffeine can lead to heart rhythm disturbances and higher blood pressure. The team led by University of the Pacific pharmacologist Sachin Shah, presented its findings yesterday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. Shah, with colleagues from David Grant Medical…

  • AstraZeneca Licenses Messenger RNA Therapy Technology

    The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca based in London is licensing genomic technology from Moderna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts to develop treatments for heart disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer. The five-year deal has potential payout to Moderna of $420 million. Moderna Therapeutics harnesses messenger RNA, nucleic acids related to DNA that leave the cell…

  • University Developing Wearable Artificial Lung Device

    Biomedical engineers at University of Pittsburgh are developing a portable artificial lung for patients awaiting a transplant, yet still retain their mobility. The project headed by William Federspiel, director of the university’s medical device lab, is funded by a $3.4 million grant from National Institutes of Health. The device will serve as a bridge for…

  • Clinical Trial to Test Stroke Hemorrhage Treatment

    A clinical trial at University of Nottingham and other sites in the U.K. will test the drug tranexamic acid as a treatment for hemorrhaging in the brain caused by a stroke. The trial is funded by a £2.6 million ($3.9 million) grant from the Health Technology Assessment Programme of the U.K.’s National Institute for Health…

  • Software Advances Improve Cardiac Ultrasound Images

    Biomedical engineers at University of Oxford in the U.K. developed software that they say enhances the ultrasound image quality of the heart. The original research, funded by the U.K.’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, led to a start-up company to commercialize the technology, which is on display today at the Healthcare Innovation Expo 2013…