Arrhythmias in Biological News

Targeted drug therapy prevents exercise-induced arrhythmias

... drug flecainide prevents potentially lethal arrhythmias in patients with a specific type of exercise or ... at high risk for sudden death, but ongoing arrhythmias can result in frequent stressful shocks. The ... the group discovered how these mutations cause arrhythmias at the cellular level by allowing calcium to ...

Genetic risk factors identified for sudden cardiac death

... variants which predispose to an elevated risk for arrhythmias and SCD. In interaction with other, still ... on the underlying disease increase the risk of arrhythmias and SCD up to five-fold. The scientists were ... on the respective individual genetic risk for arrhythmias in a large number of patients," Dr. Kb said. The ...

Studies point to novel target for treating arrhythmias

... Abnormal heart rhythms arrhythmias are killers. They strike without warning, ... It did. "We could make a normal heart prone to arrhythmias simply by changing the sensitivity of the ... mechanism that renders the heart susceptible to arrhythmias and a new therapeutic target for familial ...

Enzyme doesn't act alone in atrial fibrillation

... activating the enzyme. Mice that lacked the mutation did not suffer from arrhythmias despite having the enzyme activated. From that they surmised that the ... Wehrens said. "These findings could lead to new drug therapies for arrhythmias and better patient care." ...

Common gene variants influence risk factor for sudden cardiac death

... QT prolongation results from medications leading to drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. This is a cardiotoxic side effect of scores of ... is commonly a combination of risk factors that contributes to drug-induced arrhythmias such as older age, female sex, use of other medications, or heart disease ...

New cardiology research presented at CHEST 2008

... Of the 75 patients who underwent lung transplant, 38 percent developed arrhythmias within 30 days of transplantation. The most common arrhythmia was atrial ... tissue (atrial cuff or pulmonary vein) is a likely source of the arrhythmias passed to lung recipients. #6363 TADALAFIL PROVES EFFECTIVE THERAPY ...

University of Pittsburgh cardiologists identify new cardiac arrest gene

... passes out and/or suffers a sudden cardiac arrest from an arrhythmia. arrhythmias remain a major public health problem leading to more than 250,000 sudden ... have this genetic mutation all the time. So, the question now is, why do arrhythmias or sudden death happen on any one particular day" Something else is ...

Flow of potassium into cells implicated in schizophrenia

... does not exist in lower animals, suggesting that it has evolved a unique role in the primate brain. Mutant forms of KCNH2 in the heart can lead to arrhythmias and even sudden death a rare risk of taking antipsychotic medications, many of which interact with KCNH2. So targeting this brain-specific form ...

Ten genes identified in connection with sudden cardiac death

... duration measures the length of time the heart takes to contract. A QT interval that's too long or too short can cause serious problems, including arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The QT interval can be seen on an electrocardiogram monitor; it's a certain portion of the line that waves or spikes up and ...

Rare disease provides clues about enzyme role in arrhythmias

... and molecular physiology and biophysics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. CaM kinase II was already known to play a role in arrhythmias but the study helps uncover the enzyme's interplay with calcium channels, which provide the main way for calcium to enter heart cells. Calcium is ...

Mental stress reduces blood flow to the heart in patients with gene variation

... disasters or natural catastrophes with a rise in heart attacks and sudden death. Psychological stress can leave the heart more prone to developing arrhythmias or electrical instability and the blood more prone to clotting. Stress appears to raise heart rate and rapidly hike blood pressure, increasing the ...

Promising new drug targets identified for Huntington's disease

... us is whether they will do the same in humans." One of the drugs tested, verapamil, which is currently used to treat high blood pressure and heart arrhythmias (among other indications), inhibits the influx of calcium into cells which, in turn, appears to regulate autophagy. Similarly, clonidine, currently ...

Implanting embryonic cardiac cells prevents arrhythmias

... helped activate the transplanted cells deep within the damaged section of the heart tissue. The technique reversed the risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias after a heart attack, the number one cause of sudden death in the Western world. In the past, scientists have transplanted a variety of cell types ...

Cardiologists and heart surgeons meet for 'Controversies and Advances' conference

... of Staff at Cedars-Sinai. Sessions on Thursday, Oct. 4, will address coronary artery disease (part 1), mitral valve and carotid artery disease, arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation, and the future and new techniques. Fridays sessions look at coronary artery disease (part 2), aortic valve disease, ...

Engineered heart tissue offers insights into irregular heartbeats, defibrillator failure

... in humans and animals the anatomy is so complex that mechanisms of such arrhythmias are difficult to dissect systematically." In their study, Bursac and ... devices have become increasingly common for patients who have experienced arrhythmias and are therefore at increased risk for future rhythm abnormalities, ...

Slowing the racing heart

... "Disturbances of pacemaker control are common in heart diseases. When the heartbeat becomes non-rhythmic and chaotic, it can result in fatal arrhythmias and stroke," said R. John Solaro, UIC distinguished university professor and principal investigator of the study. Current treatment of ...

A valuable fly for research into disease

... been added to the list of diseases studied using Drosophila. Rolf Bodmer, from The Burnham Institute in the US, has begun to use this model to study arrhythmias and heart failure. His presentation "Arrhythmias and cardiac failure: the Drosophila model of congenital heart disease" will highlight the latest ...

UC Davis researchers move biotechnology closer to replacing electronic pacemakers

... Li said. Li and his colleagues have been working for years to develop biological alternatives to drugs and electronic devices for treating heart arrhythmias ?heartbeats that are irregular in rhythm, rate or sequence. The sinoatrial (SA) node, a patch of cells called the pacemaker, generates cardiac ...

Progress being made in exploring potential use of stem cells to treat heart disease

... cell fates Developing methods for safe delivery and proper integration of stem cells within patients' heart tissue to avoid such complications as arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) Solving immunological issues surrounding rejection "Exciting new findings over the past 5 years indicate that stem cells ...

Gene variation increases SIDS risk in African Americans

... acid conditions. Although, the authors note, this study supports a role of Y1103 in SIDS, and the previous use of mexiletine by patients with arrhythmias "suggests a strategy for prophylactic therapy," they stress that their results "need to be replicated and the risks and benefits of treatment ...

Study Finds Moderate Hypothermia A Safe Treatment For Traumatic Brain Injury In Kids

... (i.e. child abuse) or were an adolescent (13-18 years old). Assessments of safety included mortality, infection, coagulopathy (blood clotting), arrhythmias and hemorrhage as well as ability to maintain target temperature, mean intracranial pressure (ICP), and percent time of ICP less than 20 mm Hg during ...

Implanted Devices Detect High-Risk Heart Failure Patients

... vessels (ACE inhibitors)or remove the excess buildup of fluid in the lungs (diuretics). Implantable devices are the latest options in preventing arrhythmias that can lead to sudden death, with CRT-Ds being the latest technology. CRT-Ds perform two main functions. First, the devices electrically ...