http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Children born with certain heart defects have impaired blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, requiring implanted devices (known as right-ventricular outflow tract conduits) to maintain the flow. However, these conduits fail over time, and children typically face multiple open-heart operations during their lives to reopen the passage. http://www.physorg.com/news176409450.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:10:01 EST news176409450 Surgical treatment for mitral valve disease includes either repairing the patient's diseased valve or replacing it with a metal, mechanical valve or an animal tissue valve. The majority of those procedures are open-heart operations that require a major incision in the chest. Now, after a six-year study, surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore conclude that minimally invasive mitral valve repair techniques, through only a two-inch incision in the right side of the chest, are safe, durable and effective. The results are published in the September 2009 Annals of Surgery. http://www.physorg.com/news173365214.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:10:08 EST news173365214 Research presented at the 21st annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), demonstrated an "exceptionally low" rate of complications one year after implantation of transcatheter aortic valve prostheses. http://www.physorg.com/news172761836.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:40:14 EST news172761836 Among patients undergoing cardiac surgery, post-operative stroke occurred in approximately 2 percent, was not correlated with significant carotid artery narrowing, but was more common among patients who had combined cardiac and carotid procedures, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news172166381.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:10:03 EST news172166381 Overblown fears about surgical risk and lack of awareness about the risk of not operating are among the reasons only half of eligible patients were referred for mitral valve repair, according to a study by doctors at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. http://www.physorg.com/news171883841.html Medicine & Health Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:40:02 EST news171883841 "Today, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) represents an effective therapeutic alternative to conventional aortic valve replacement for patients who are at high risk or with contraindications to surgery, and the combination of the transfemoral and transapical approaches further increases the number of patients who can be treated," said Prof Dominique HIMBERT from the Bichat Hospital in Paris France, at a press conference at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona. http://www.physorg.com/news170947428.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:24:42 EST news170947428 (AP) -- A mechanical failure forced a NASA contractor on Thursday to call off the first test firing of the main part of NASA's powerful new moon rocket. http://www.physorg.com/news170613568.html Space & Earth Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:40:23 EST news170613568 (AP) -- NASA called off the launch of space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday, the second day in a row the liftoff was scrubbed, this time because of a bad fuel valve. http://www.physorg.com/news170442927.html Space & Earth Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:15:48 EST news170442927 An innovative new maple spout developed by the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture secured by Senator Patrick J. Leahy, will have a dramatic impact on maple syrup production and will boost job creation and economic development in the state, the senator announced at a press conference August 17. http://www.physorg.com/news169814651.html Chemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:44:41 EST news169814651 Australian and US scientists have successfully tested hypersonic aircraft technology which could revolutionise international flight, officials said. http://www.physorg.com/news162184185.html Technology Fri, 22 May 2009 04:10:19 EST news162184185 When 91-year-old Irvin Lafferty was diagnosed with severe blockage of his heart valve -hardening that is formally known as aortic valve stenosis -open-heart surgery was out of the question. He'd already survived quadruple bypass while in his 50s, and having lived almost a century, Lafferty wasn't a good candidate for heart surgery for many reasons. His local cardiologist referred him to surgical and interventional specialists at Chicago's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. And, on January 21, 2009, Lafferty became the first patient in Illinois to receive a prosthetic heart valve through a procedure known as transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which combines catheterization technology and traditional surgery, allowing doctors to implant a new heart valve in place of Lafferty's diseased valve while his heart remained beating. http://www.physorg.com/news153500291.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:58:44 EST news153500291 An innovative approach for implanting a new aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery is being offered to patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Known as the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valves) trial, this Phase 3 multicenter study is being led by national co-principal investigators Dr. Martin Leon and Dr. Craig Smith and is focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open-heart valve replacement surgery. http://www.physorg.com/news150561085.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:31:25 EST news150561085 Fenfluramine, the appetite suppressant drug banned in the US in 1997 due to fears over its links to heart conditions, has been shown to have serious long-term effects. In a report published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine, researchers have shown that people who stopped using fenfluramine eleven years ago had damaged heart valves up to seven years later. http://www.physorg.com/news145182158.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:22:38 EST news145182158 Young adults with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart abnormality, experience subsequent cardiac events but do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news140802018.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:40:18 EST news140802018 Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The condition, which affects more than seven million people in the United States alone, occurs when valves in a person's veins can no longer ensure a one-way flow of blood back to the heart. http://www.physorg.com/news140694612.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:50:12 EST news140694612 Plant sterols have been touted as an effective way to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. However, a research study in the July JLR has uncovered that these compounds do have their own risks, as they can accumulate in heart valves and lead to stenosis. http://www.physorg.com/news135273390.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:56:30 EST news135273390