Breakthroughs in Heart Disease

Heart Disease is a general term for heart conditions that negatively impact the heart’s ability to perform its vital functions. On average 1 in 4 American deaths each year are due to heart disease.  Fortunately, each year new discoveries are made that allow us to treat heart disease more successfully.  Here are three recent discoveries.  

Dialysis for Heart Failure?

 One of the symptoms of heart failure is fluid retention, which can lead to kidney problems. Diuretics are currently the standard treatment for fluid retention, however, there is a new treatment where a catheter is inserted through the neck so that it surrounds a major lymphatic vessel. The excess fluid is removed from the lymphatic system and then pumped back into the circulatory system where it is removed by the kidneys. This new treatment avoids some of the negative side effects of oral diuretics such as low blood pressure and decreased kidney function.

Beta Blockers: Old dog, new tricks?

A new study at York University in Toronto has analyzed the effect of beta-blockers on coronary gene expression in patients with heart failure. Researchers found that beta blockers “largely reverse the pathological pattern of gene expression observed in heart failure.” More research is needed to determine whether beta blockers can be used to protect against heart failure.

Tick saliva saving lives?

While ticks are often the subject of nightmares researchers now believe they can lead to a dream solution for myocarditis, heart attack, and stroke. Ticks use proteins called ‘evasins’ to escape their host’s detection by blocking the host’s inflammatory response.  Researchers are now isolating these evasins in a ‘bug to drug’ formula.  Hopefully these drugs will be able treat a variety of inflammatory diseases.