The worlds largest pharmaceutical company, US based Pfizer Inc, says they will start selling their new heart treatment drug, torcetrapib, in a stand-alone pill.  Previously the company planned to sell Torcetrapib only in combination with Lipitor. 

The New York Times reported that torcetrapib, is still being tested in clinical trials and is at least 18 months from federal approval.  So far the clinical trials have shown that the drug raises the so-called good cholesterol, a promising new approach to preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Analysts on Wall Street say that torcetrapib could be the new blockbuster medicine with sales of several billion per year.  If Pfizer had offered the drug only in combination with Lipitor, they would have forced patients that use Zocor and other statins to switch to Lipitor to get the benefits of torcetrapib.  Complete Article

Mayo Clinic researchers say that diastolic heart failure is increasing and now accounts for more than half of heart failure cases. They evaluated data from a 15 year period and discovered that this heart failure, which is characterized by a preserved ejection fraction, affects more than half of the total 5 million heart failure patients.

The percentage of these cases increase from 38 percent to 47 percent to 54 percent in three consecutive five-year periods.  There were 4,596 heart failure patients in this study.  Hypertension, atrial fibrillation and diabetes can worsen this type of heart failure.  Complete Article

A new study says that people over the age of 40 can still take steps to reduce their risk of developing coronary artery disease.  Of course people that have been physically active their whole life still have a lower risk, but those who became very physically active after the age of 40 were about 55 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease than those who had embraced inactivity all their lives.

The researchers interviewed 312 adults between the ages of 40 and 68 who had confirmed coronary artery disease and 479 volunteers matched for age and sex.  They were all asked questions about their physical activity between the ages of 20 and 39 and also for the period after 40.  Complete Article

Scientists believe they can genetically test patients suffering from heart failure to determine which ones will benefit from beta-blockers.  Maryland researchers have identified a common genetic variation that could help determine whether a person with heart failure would benefit from the common drug. 

The study, involving 1040 heart failure patients over a four year period, compared beta-blocker to a placebo and found a 38 percent reduction in the death rate among patients who took the beta-blocker and who also had two copies of a genetic variant called arginine (Arg-389).  They also found that 34 percent of these patients had a reduction in the combined number of hospitalizations and deaths.  Complete Article

New guidelines recommend non-invasive screening of men between the ages of 45 and 75 and women between the age’s of 55 and 75 to assess their coronary plaque buildup or carotid wall thickness. They recommend the implementation of cardiovascular imaging technologies as part of a comprehensive heart attack risk assessment and reduction strategy. 

The SHAPE (Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education) Task Force recommends this screening for men and women even if they do not have symptoms for cardiovascular disease.

SHAPE is an international contingent of leading cardiologists and researchers organized by the Association for Eradication of Heart Attack (AEHA).  They say this screening can prevent more than 90,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year.  The task force also says this could reduce the population with a history of heart attack by as much as 25 percent.  They estimate that this amounts to 13.2 million people.

Drug companies have been under heavy pressure by the insurance industry and other consumer groups to lower the cost of prescription drugs.  Since Lipitor is the most prescribed brand name drug in the world, news that the Statin drug is getting harder and more expensive to get raised some eyebrows.

The national newspaper, USA Today, examined how some U.S. residents have begun to find that the anti-cholesterol medication, Lipitor, more difficult to get a prescription for.  According to the report Lipitor, manufactured by Pfizer, has become "harder and more expensive to get" as employers encourage use of generic medications to reduce prescription drug costs.

Last month generic versions of the competing drug Zoror hit the market.  This comes at a bad time for Merck, the maker of Zocor, who has been facing lawsuits concerning their Vioxx pain reliever. United Press International reported that Novartis filed suit last month against a potential rival company, Teva, seeking to block the competitor from becoming the first to market a generic version of Zocor.

Doctors are not sure whether the extra stress killed Enron CEO Ken Lay.  He has been under a lot of stress the past year after his conviction of defrauding investors and employees by repeatedly lying about Enron's finances.  He was looking at a long prison sentence.

He was already being treated for heart disease, but according to Joy Victory, Bharathi Radhakrishnan and the ABC News Medical Unit, he was not viewed as an imminent risk for heart attack.  Back in the mid 1990’s he was prescribed a cholesterol-lowering statin drug. Around five years ago, his coronary disease had progressed to a point where his doctors decided to put in at least one stent.  This is a wire mesh device that was placed in one of his arteries to try to prevent a future heart attack, according to Victory. 

Researchers say that the new weight loss surgery cuts the risk of heart disease in half in extremely obese patients.  These patients are also less likely to require bypass surgery to unclog blocked arteries, compared to those that did not have the surgery.

Extremely obese means having a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher.  BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by his or her height (in meters, squared).  The extremely (or morbidly) obese individual is also more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure than their normal weight counterparts.

Nicolas V. Christou MD, PhD said “No other treatment has been shown to have this much impact on preventing or reducing heart disease in patients with morbid obesity.”  Nicolas is a doctor at the McGill University Health Center in Montreal.

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes the body to ineffectively move chloride in and out of cells.  Researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center have been able to isolate the overactive protein that causes the transport problem.  They further developed an RNA inference to silence the overproduced protein which made the cells return to normal.  These are preliminary studies and it would take years to develop a treatment for people.  The report was first published in the June 23^rd issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.  Cystic Fibrosis – RNA interference used to silence Protein and correcting Chloride Transport Errors

A study funded by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Food and Drug Administration found that if a mother takes angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy there was an increased risk of major congenital malformations when compared to mothers that did not take these medications.  The study was first published in the June 8^th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

ACE inhibitors are used to either lower blood pressure or protect the kidney in diabetics.  The FDA has a “black box” warning that says that it can cause injury and even death to a developing fetus when used during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.  The ACE inhibitor should be discontinued as soon as possible when a woman becomes aware that she is pregnant.  High Blood Pressure and Pregnancy - Birth Defects increase if Mother takes ACE Inhibitors during Pregnancy

Scientists call it the ‘Asian Paradox’ because of the lower amounts of cancer and cardiovascular disease in Asians, even though these countries have an abundance of heavy smokers.  Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine theorize that possibly it is related to the high consumption of green tea.  The article was first reported in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

"We do not yet have a full explanation for the 'Asian paradox,' which refers to the very low incidence of both heart disease and cancer in Asia, even though consumption of cigarettes is greater than in most other countries," said the lead author, Bauer Sumpio, M.D. who is a professor and Chief of Vascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery. "But we now have some theories."  Cancer and Heart Disease are much lower in Asia possibly from drinking Green Tea

There appears to be more bad news for Merck & Co. after a Canadian Medical Association Journal said the drug may raise the risk of heart attack for patients who took Vioxx for less than 2 weeks.  Investigative journalist Evelyn Pringle reports that the study published online this month, found that more than 25% of 239 patients who had heart attacks did so in less than 13 days of being on the drug.

New reports indicate that patients that took the drug may have a higher risk of death for years after taking the drug.  A Reuters reports quotes Curt Furberg, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration's Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, “It may be that Vioxx is causing permanent damage to the cardiovascular system, accelerating atherosclerosis or a sustained increase in blood pressure."  Vioxx Danger May Start Early and Last Long After Discontinued Use - Merck Disagrees With Interpretation - FDA Pos. Permanent Damage

RESPeRATE is manufactured by InterCure and has gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a device that can treat hypertension.  Multiple studies have shown using RESPeRATE consistently will lower blood pressure levels.  RESPeRATE is the only hypertension treatment approved by the FDA that does not have any side effects and is available without a prescription and is classified as over the counter (OTC).

InterCure will present four new studies to the American Society of Hypertension’s 21^st Annual Scientific Meeting being held in New York that will show the benefits of using RESPeRATE.  The studies show a reduction in the resistance of narrowed blood vessels to blood flow (peripheral resistance) which lowered blood pressure.  Hypertension and High Blood Pressure - RESPeRATE helps lower Blood Pressure

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that some prescription drugs can possibly cause dangerous interactions when taken with grapefruit juice. 

It was originally believed that flavonoids from the grapefruit juice caused the interactions; however the researchers believe that it is because of a chemical called furanocoumarins that is found in the grapefruit which contributes to the problem.

Grapefruit juice causes some drugs to not be absorbed because an intestinal enzyme called CYP3A partially destroys the medication before it is absorbed.  The researchers first reported there discovery in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Medications may have dangerous interactions when taken with Grapefruit Juice

Preventative treatments to avoid a stroke have been recommended by the American Stroke Association.  The report of guideline recommendations were published in the rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Stroke remains a major public health problem. Its human and economic toll is staggering," said Larry B. Goldstein, M.D. who is lead author of the report and chair of the association's Stroke Council.  Stroke Prevention - Recommendations by the American Stroke Association to lower the Risk of having a Stroke

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning parents and doctors that medications containing promethazine hydrochloride (HCl) should not be used to treat children under the age of two because of possible breathing problems.  The antihistamine can be found in tablets, syrups, injectables and even suppositories. 

There are reports of breathing problems and even some deaths associated with the drug involving children under the age of two.  The FDA says that parents and caregivers should also be careful and get a doctor’s advice about giving promethazine HCl in any form to children age two and older. 

According to an FDA press release, “the labeling on all products, brand name and generic, has been changed to reflect these strengthened warnings.”  The FDA is especially concerned and has alerted healthcare professionals, other caregivers, and patients that the drug is also found in cold and or cough syrups.  Antihistamine Causes Severe Breathing Problems in Children - Promethazine HCL Should Not Be Used On Children Under Two - FDA

A recent study transplanted stem cells to see if the heart muscle would regenerate after a patient had a heart attack.  The researchers delivered the adult mesenchymal stem cells that came from a healthy bone marrow donor by intravenous infusion.

This simple approach of using a standard IV line makes it less invasive than other methods of delivering stem cells.  Other procedures of delivering stem cells involved open surgical procedures through catheterization. 

"A person who has had a single, severe heart attack may survive but can be left with substantial damage to the heart muscle as a result of the blood supply to the heart muscle being cut off during the heart attack. The damaged muscle inhibits the heart's overall ability to pump blood, leading to heart failure," said Rush principal investigator cardiologist Dr. Gary Schaer, head of the Rush Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. Rush is the only center in Illinois participating in the trial. There are 15 other sites nationwide participating in the study.  Heart Attacks – Patients that suffered from Heart Attack Damage used Stem Cells to Repair the Heart Muscle

John Hopkins researchers say that Viagra reduces the stimulatory effects of hormonal stress on the heart by half.  Previous studies have shown that the erectile dysfunction drug is effective in treating hypertension.  It works by expanding the blood vessels.

In the heart, Viagra (sildenafil citrate) blunts the strengthened heartbeat caused by chemically induced stress, thereby lessening the excess amount of blood and force used to pump it to the body.  David Kass, M.D. says “Sildenafil effectively puts a ‘brake’ on chemical stimulation of the heart.”  Kass is a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute, and is the study senior author and cardiologist.

According to John Hopkins researchers, these findings are likely the first to confirm that Viagra has a direct effect on the heart.  Researcher knew that the drug could be effective for treating hypertension, but believed it had little direct effect on the heart. Viagra – Miracle Drug for Heart Disease – Sidenafil Citrate Can Be Used To Treat Heart Failure and Enlargement

A study published in the April 18^th, online Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology showed that children that were exposed to more dust and microbials had less of a chance of developing asthma.

Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand measured how much children were exposed to microbials when they were 3 months old and followed up and measured again at 4 years old.

The children were watched for the development of asthma symptoms such as wheezing or atopic sensitization.  Atopic sensitization can develop into allergies and may be inherited from one of their parents; if a child develops this allergy the reaction is instant when coming into contact with the allergen. Asthma – Dirty House is better than a clean one for preventing Asthma in Children