How can damaged cardiac tissue following a heart attack best be treated with replacement muscle cells? A research team under the supervision of the University of Bonn is now presenting an innovative method on mice: Muscle replacement cells, which are to take over the function of the damaged tissue, are loaded with magnetic nanoparticles. These nanoparticle-loaded cells are then injected into the damaged heart muscle and held in place by a magnet, causing the cells to engraft better onto the existing tissue. Using the animal model, the scientists show that this leads to a significant improvement in heart function.

Study analysed health impact of a walk through the traffic-polluted Oxford Street in London, compared to Hyde Park.
Even short-term (2 hour) exposure to tiny particles of soot or dust found in traffic fumes on busy roads appears to thwart the benefits of walking on the heart and lungs among older adults (aged 60 or over), according to a study comparing the health effects of walking along a traffic-polluted road versus walking through a park. The effect was particularly marked in people with existing respiratory illness.

Researchers from the CTS-158 GALENO group at the University of Cadiz, directed by professor José Castro Piñero, have been working for three years on an important multicentre study based on an analysis of the influence of physical activity on the development of cardiovascular disease, a study in which they have taken into account environmental, nutritional, emotional and genetic factors, among others. The main novelty of this study is the fact that the group of individuals analysed was made up of 230 children of between 6 and 10 years old, from 18 schools in the province of Cadiz.

A new study has found that heart failure patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes have higher hospitalisation and death rates, but that keeping blood sugars balanced can help lower the risk almost to that of heart failure patients without diabetes.
The study, led by Keele University researcher Claire Lawson, and in collaboration with the University of Leicester, highlights the complex interplay between type 2 diabetes and heart failure.

Sexual activity is rarely associated with sudden cardiac arrest, a life-threatening malfunction of the heart’s electrical system causing the heart to suddenly stop beating, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017.

Risk of blood clots increases with the amount of time spent watching television, even if people get the recommended amount of physical activity, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians.