heart disease tagged posts

A team of researchers led by the University of Adelaide and University of Stuttgart has used 3D micro-printing to develop the world’s smallest, flexible scope for looking inside blood vessels.

The camera-like imaging device can be inserted into blood vessels to provide high quality 3D images to help scientists better understand the causes of heart attack and heart disease progression, and could lead to improved treatment and prevention.

In a study published in the journal Light: Science & Applications, a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians was able to 3D print a tiny lens on to the end of an optical fibre, the thickness of a human hair.

The imaging device is so small that r...

Urinary sodium excretion, blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and mortality: a community-level prospective epidemiological cohort study. The Lancet, 2018; 392 (10146): 496 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31376-X

Public health strategies should be based on best evidence. New research shows that for the vast majority of individuals, sodium consumption does not increase health risks except for those who eat > five grams a day, the equivalent of 2.5 teaspoons of salt. Fewer than 5% of individuals in developed countries exceed that level.

The large, international study also shows that even for those individuals there is good news...

Norbert Leitinger, Ph.D. (left), and Vlad Serbulea, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, have determined why obesity causes harmful inflammation that can lead to diabetes, clogged arteries and other health problems. Doctors may be able to use this knowledge to battle these chronic diseases and others driven by damaging inflammation.
Credit: Dan Addison, University of Virginia Communications

Finding points to new approaches to battling diabetes, other chronic conditions. New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine explains why obesity causes harmful inflammation that can lead to diabetes, clogged arteries and other health problems. Doctors may be able to use this knowledge to battle these chronic diseases and others driven by damaging inflammation...

Shown are cross-sectional ultrasound images of coronary arteries from patients enrolled in the study. Plaque buildup (colored areas) in an artery from a patient that lacks sensitivity to red meat allergen (left) is much lower than plaque levels in an artery from a patient with sensitivity to red meat allergen (right). Credit: Courtesy of Angela Taylor, M.D., University of Virginia Health System

A team of researchers says it has linked sensitivity to an allergen in red meat to the buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart. While high saturated fat levels in red meat have long been known to contribute to heart disease for people in general, the new finding suggests that a subgroup of the population may be at heightened risk for a different reason – a food allergen...