Recent studies have found the giving people with chronic heart failure injections of their own bone-marrow stem cells appears to improve their heart function and lead to a longer life.

The benefits of the stem cell treatment were apparent within three months and persisted for the five years the patients were followed, says researcher Bodo-Eckehard Strauer, MD, of Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany.

This isn’t the first time doctors have reported that stem cells may help improve the health of people with heart failure or other heart conditions.

This391-patient study is one of the biggest tests to date of stem cell therapy for heart disease — and the first to show that the treatment cuts the risk of death in chronic heart failure.

The treatment has been found to have almost no risks and is effective when used on top of other treatments for chronic heart failure.

If you are interested in learning more information about this contact your doctor today.

A woman’s resting pulse rate is a good predictor of her heart attack risk regardless of other risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, researchers say.

A team of scientists analyzed records of 129,135 postmenopausal women who had no history of heart problems. Their pulse rates were measured at the start of the study. The researchers found that during almost eight years of follow-up, women with the highest heart rates — at or above 76 beats per minute — were much more likely to suffer a heart attack than the women with the lowest resting pulse rates, 62 beats per minute or less.

This association held true regardless of factors such as physical activity levels and did not differ between races or women with or without diabetes, high blood pressure, or cholesterol abnormalities, according to the study authors, led by Judith Hsia, MD, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and senior director of clinical research for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

A new analysis out in the British Medical Journal says calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attack by 30 percent. The study points out that while this number may not be considered a drastic increase, the amount of women taking calcium supplements today is. Patients with the bone-eroding disease of osteoporosis have long been directed by their physicians to supplement
their food intake with calcium in the hope of preventing further damage to their bone structures. The new findings in this study seriously question these directions. If you take a calcium supplement it is important to contact your doctor to learn more information about the effects that a calcium supplement can possibly have on your body.

Understanding different heart attack symptoms or warning signs can help to save your life or the life of someone you love, Below is a list of common list of symptoms that you should be aware of:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.

• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms (this pain may be mild to intense. It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning, or heavy weight)  It may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw, or inside the arms or shoulders.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.
• Paleness
• Increased or irregular heart rate.

  If you experience any of these symptoms it is important to contact your doctor immediately.

A recent study conducted by Japanese researchers found that foods rich in B vitamins such as folate and B-6 may reduce the risk of death from stroke and heart problems. The study looked at the effects of B vitamins on men and women separately, but findings suggest that foods containing the B vitamins might benefit people of both sexes.

Their primary findings are listed below:

• Folate and B-6 may reduce the risk of heart failure in men.
• The same vitamins seem to reduce the risk of death from stroke and heart disease in women.

Sources of folate include vegetables, fruits, whole or enriched grains, fortified cereals, beans, and legumes. B-6 sources include fish, vegetables, liver, meats, whole grains, and fortified cereals.
Vitamin B6, Folate Fight Heart Disease

The researchers examined data from 23,119 men and 35,611 women between ages 40 and 79 who completed questionnaires about dietary habits as part of the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study.

They found that at a median of 14 years follow-up, 986 people had died from stroke, 424 from heart disease, and 2,087 from all diseases related to the cardiovascular system.

A new study focusing on the health impact of eating processed vs. unprocessed red meat has found that processed red meat including hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and cold cuts is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study did however find that there was no link between these two conditions and unprocessed red meat.
Processed meat was defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, or salting, or any meat containing chemical preservatives such as nitrates. The study is the largest research review ever to attempt to determine the health impact of eating processed vs. unprocessed red meat. Processed and unprocessed meats contained similar amounts of fat and cholesterol, but processed meats contained, on average, about four times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives than unprocessed meats.  Contact your doctor today to make sure you are getting the right amount of red meat in your diet!

According to recent reports working overtime may have  harmful effects on your heart and result in more heart related health issues. This is often a result of to much stress due to long work hours which has a negative effect on the heart and can result in other health concerns. One of the main factors to take in consideration if you are working a lot of overtime is to have a good balance between work time, leisure time, and family time. This may be more important for the heart than previously thought.  If you are logging longs hours at the office, take a step back and make sure you are getting the right amount of time for you to balance out the stress that work can bring.

Sodium is a major cause of high blood pressure, which in turn can lead to heart attack and stroke. Most people do not always think about the impact that adding salt to food can have over a long period of time. Although the body does need salt, the amount that amount that most Americans consume is much higher than the recommended amount.  The best way to determine if you have to much salt in your diet is by consulting your doctor. They will be able to provide you with a recommended daily salt intake and let you know how much salt is too much.

BURLINGTON, Mass. – March 10, 2010 – InfraReDx, Inc., an innovative medical device company focused on developing novel diagnostic imaging technologies to accurately identify and characterize diseased intracoronary tissues, today announced that the Company’s LipiScan™ Coronary Imaging System will be highlighted in multiple sessions during the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The meeting, named ACC.10 and i2 Summit, is being held from March 14 – 16, 2010 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  In addition to several oral presentations featuring LipiScan, InfraReDx has organized a “Meet the Experts” series of discussions at the Company’s booth (#254) in which leading cardiologists will highlight LipiScan’s capabilities in identifying and characterizing lipid core (fatty) plaque.

InfraReDx’s LipiScan near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy catheter is the only FDA-cleared product to detect and assess the intracoronary composition of lipid core plaque, which cannot be detected by commonly used diagnostic tests such as treadmill exams and coronary angiograms. Lipid core-containing plaque (LCP) is believed to be “vulnerable plaque” that can rupture and form dangerous blood clots leading to coronary thrombosis. LCP is widely considered to be responsible for a significant number of stenting procedure complications and is believed to be the primary cause of acute coronary events, the leading cause of death in the developed world.

“One of the biggest challenges facing interventional cardiologists today is the ability to detect vulnerable coronary and fatty plaques,” said Brijeshwar S. Maini, M.D., F.A.C.C, co-chair cardiovascular research, Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital. “As a result of improved imaging and diagnostic capabilities, however, physicians can now be armed with that information and are able to make important advances and improvements in patient care. This year’s ACC meeting provides us with a great opportunity to interact with our colleagues, share key learnings and discuss important steps forward.”

“We are pleased to be working so closely with these world renowned cardiology experts and leaders as they strive to improve patient care and we advance our LipiScan coronary imaging system,” said James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx. “Through our close collaborations with these physicians and specialists, we are continuing to increase our working knowledge, enhance our LipiScan system and, ultimately, to significantly improve the imaging capabilities for interventional cardiologists and their patients. We are looking forward to a productive conference and many lively discussions at our booth about advancing the current standard of cardiac care.”

The schedule of scientific sessions and “Meet the Experts” discussions to feature LipiScan is as follows.

ACC Scientific Sessions Highlighting LipiScan™ Coronary Imaging System:

Sunday, March 14:
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., Session #2092, Room B310
Session title: Imaging and Vulnerable Plaque
Presentation title: Association of Large Lipid Core Plaque Detected by Near Infrared Spectroscopy with Post Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Myocardial Infarction
Presenter: Brijeshwar S. Maini, M.D., F.A.C.C, co-chair cardiovascular research, Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital

Tuesday, March 16
10:30 a.m. – Noon, Session #2629, Room B310
Session title: Vulnerable Plaque Update
Presentation title: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Presenter: James Goldstein, M.D., director of research and education, Division of Cardiology, William Beaumont Hospital

InfraReDx “Meet The Experts” series:

Sunday, March 14:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Exhibit Hall: Morning Break
“Increased Lipid Core Plaque in Women Undergoing Stenting”
Expert: James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx

Noon – 1:00 p.m., Exhibit Hall: ACC Lunch & Learn
“Lipid Core Plaque Modification”
Expert: Brijeshwar S. Maini, M.D., F.A.C.C, co-chair cardiovascular research, Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Exhibit Hall: ACC Lunch & Learn
“LipiScan™ Clinical Experience; Identification of Bifurcation Lesions at Risk of Compromise”
Expert: Giora Weisz, M.D., director of clinical research, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Exhibit Hall: Poster Hour
“Pick the Peri-Stenting MI”
Expert: James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx

Monday, March 15:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., InfraReDx Booth # 254
“Multi-Modality Imaging”
Expert: James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx

Noon – 1:00 p.m., InfraReDx Booth #254
“Stent Length Placement & Distal Embolization”
Expert: James Goldstein, M.D., director of research and education, Division of Cardiology, William Beaumont Hospital

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., InfraReDx Booth #254
“Peri-Stenting MI”
Expert: Emmanouil S. Brilakis, M.D., Ph.D., director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory, Dallas VA Medical Center

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., InfraReDx Booth #254
“PROSPECT Trial and the Vulnerable Plaque”
Expert: James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx

Tuesday, March 16
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., InfraReDx Booth #254
“Vulnerable Blood & Vulnerable Plaque; Coagulation Profiling & Plaque Morphology
Characterization”
Expert:  Paul A. Gurbel, M.D., director of cardiovascular research, Center for Thrombosis Research, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore

Noon – 1:00 p.m., InfraReDx Booth # 254
“Advances in Intra-coronary Imaging in the Past Year - NIR, IVUS, OCT and Others”
Expert: James E. Muller, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of InfraReDx

About ACC.10 and i2 Summit 2010
The Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the largest and foremost cardiovascular meeting, offering attainable, reliable and applicable learning solutions that help cardiovascular professionals turn knowledge into practice that saves and improves lives. The Annual Scientific Session delivers timely medical education leveraging innovative need-based learning methods. Together, ACC.10 and i2 Summit 2010 embody the College’s vision of building meetings with innovative solutions that assist the faculty to teach and audiences to learn.  For more information, visit http://acc10.acc.org/Pages/ACC2010Home.aspx.

About InfraReDx, Inc.
InfraReDx, Inc., headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a privately-funded medical device company founded in 1998 and focused on intravascular characterization of disease in the coronary arteries. InfraReDx is the maker of the LipiScan™ system, a novel near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy catheter that can detect the lipid core coronary plaques suspected to cause most heart attacks and known to complicate stenting procedures. For more information, visit www.infraredx.com.

Contacts:
Media:
Keri Mattox
Pure Communications, Inc.
215.791.0105
keri@purecommunicationsinc.com

Company:
Jim Dillon
Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
781.345.9679
jdillon@infraredx.com

Source: InfraReDx, Inc.

BURLINGTON, Mass. - February 24, 2010 – InfraReDx, Inc., an innovative medical device company focused on developing novel diagnostic imaging technologies to accurately identify and characterize diseased intracoronary tissues, today announced that the Company will be exhibiting at LUMEN 2010, the world’s premier ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) meeting, to be held February 25-27, 2010 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The 9th Annual LUMEN meeting is an educational symposium providing updates from world-renowned experts in key areas of interventional cardiology and vascular intervention. InfraReDx will be displaying its novel LipiScan™ Coronary Imaging System at booth #306 throughout the LUMEN meeting. InfraReDx will be available to discuss with attending clinical and interventional cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons and other cardiovascular professionals LipiScan’s abilities in identifying and characterizing lipid core (fatty) plaques and the importance of this novel technology.

InfraReDx’s LipiScan near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy catheter is the only FDA-cleared product to detect and assess the intracoronary composition of lipid core plaque, which cannot be detected by commonly used diagnostic tests such as treadmill exams and coronary angiograms. Lipid core-containing plaque (LCP) is believed to be “vulnerable plaque” that can rupture and form dangerous blood clots leading to coronary thrombosis.  LCP is widely considered to be responsible for a significant number of stenting procedure complications and is believed to be the primary cause of acute coronary events, the leading cause of death in the developed world.

LUMEN 2010 marks the third key educational symposium that the Company has participated in over the past month. InfraReDx was an active speaking and panel participant during the recent Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., and live case demonstrations of the LipiScan system were a highlight of the Scottsdale Interventional Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, earlier this month. InfraReDx will continue to showcase LipiScan at upcoming events and medical meetings, including the 59th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), taking place March 14-16 in Atlanta.

About InfraReDx, Inc.
InfraReDx, Inc., headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a privately-funded medical device company founded in 1998 and focused on intravascular characterization of disease in the coronary arteries. InfraReDx is the maker of the LipiScan™ system, a novel near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy catheter that can detect the lipid core coronary plaques suspected to cause most heart attacks and known to complicate stenting procedures. For more information, visit www.infraredx.com.

About LUMEN 2010
LUMEN 2010 enables productive peer-to-peer discussions pertaining to establishing the best practices in the treatment of acute MI patients, including diagnosis and treatment options, giving them the practical knowledge, tools, and insight they need to improve patient care and quality of life. LUMEN 2010 will benefit clinical and interventional cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, emergency department staff, critical care nurses, cardiovascular laboratory technologists and nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and hospital administrators. For more information, please visit www.lumenami.com.

Contacts:
Media:
Keri Mattox
Pure Communications, Inc.
215.791.0105
keri@purecommunicationsinc.com

Company:
Jim Dillon
Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
781.345.9679
jdillon@infraredx.com

Source: InfraReDx, Inc.