Medical 'superglue' shows promise for heart surgery
Conclusion
This innovative glue has shown promise during animal experiments involving rats and pigs. The consistency and technique of "fixing" the glue appears to show some advantages for new surgical techniques, but there are some limitations that need to be addressed before it can be tested in humans.
The researchers mention that the "rapid curing" (the light treatment process) helped avoid exposure to high temperatures, but it is not clear what effect the UV light may have on surrounding tissues. The animals were also only followed up for a short period of time after the surgery. It would be importa...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 9, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medical practice Source Type: news
Hearts of two runners collide
By Tara Poulin
“A runner must run with dreams in his heart,” said Emil Zatopek, Olympic long-distance runner, winner of 3 gold medals in the 1952 summer Olympics, and known for his brutally tough training methods.
Kendal
This statement was never more true than when considering the bond that has been formed between my daughter, who was born with congenital heart disease and kidney malformations, and a woman who runs in her name for each Boston Marathon, including during this past year’s tragedy.
On October 13, 2003, three days after her birth at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH), Kendal Powe had her first...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - November 12, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: All posts Heart conditions Our patients’ stories Heart Center our patients' stories Source Type: news
Decongestant sprays linked to rare birth defects
Conclusion
This study suggests a possible link between phenylephrine and phenylpropanolamine – found in decongestant medicines – and an increased risk of three specific birth defects (endocardial cushion defect, ear defects, pyloric stenosis). Numerous other medications were tested but were not found to be associated with birth defects.
However, the study performed many statistical comparisons looking for links with many different birth defects. These three defects were the ones where significant links were found, but it is possible that some of the results may be due to chance alone.
The authors clearly recognised the...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 24, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Pregnancy/child Cancer Source Type: news
What Are Indications for Pediatric Pacemakers?
Discussion
More pediatric patients are having cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) placed because the devices are becoming smaller and are technically feasible plus the surgical complexity of patients also keeps increasing. Pacemakers have an impulse generator and leads. The leads can be placed uni- or bilaterally and are attached to the endo- or epicardium. The generator is placed in the left pectoral area. Complications include lead dislodgement or breakage, and inappropriate shocks. Other problems include need for lead or generator revisions, lifestyle modifications, and cosmetic changes...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - July 7, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Donna M. D'Alessandro, M.D. Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Our patients’ stories: saving “princess” Emily
By Paul Schuster
Emily
Our daughter Emily’s heart defect wasn’t discovered until she was nearly 3 years old. In hindsight, we now know that her numerous illnesses and bouts of pneumonia were a sign that something wasn’t right, but until her diagnosis, we never suspected anything serious. She always had plenty of liveliness and certainly kept us busy with her antics—dancing or singing or getting Daddy to play princess with her… again.
By all counts, she was just our happy, energetic little girl.
Then, during a routine doctor’s visit, a nurse said she heard a murmur in Emily’s heartbeat. We didn’t th...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - June 28, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: All posts Heart conditions Our patients’ stories ASD atrial septal defects Christopher Baird David Fulton Heart Center Jenna Murray our patients' stories Source Type: news
One of a kind: The two-year-old who suffers from illness so rare it doesn't have a name
Alfie Jones, from Bridgend, Wales, baffled doctors with his unprecedented number of health problems, which include a hole in the heart, deafness and blindness. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - June 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
New Gene Discovered Associated With A Form Of Congenital Heart Disease - Babies Born With Hole In The Heart
British Heart Foundation (BHF) Professor Bernard Keavney, from The University of Manchester and Newcastle University, led the research which saw investigators from Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford and Leicester universities in the UK, together with colleagues in Europe, Australia and Canada pool resources. The discovery, published in Nature Genetics, will help lead to better understanding of why some patients are born with the disorder... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - May 30, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart Disease Source Type: news
Heart Defect Closure Rate Increasing (CME/CE)
ORLANDO (MedPage Today) -- The number of procedures performed to close an atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale has increased in recent years, while length of stay associated with the procedure has dropped, researchers found. (Source: MedPage Today Cardiovascular)
Source: MedPage Today Cardiovascular - May 9, 2013 Category: Cardiology Source Type: news
Our patients’ stories: Hunter’s heart journey
By Wendy Paulin
Hunter as a baby
As a parent, when you look at your newborn, it’s hard not to get swept up by all the possibilities that lie ahead. Your child has the world ahead of him—you can’t help but wonder what life’s adventures have in store. That feeling of unlimited potential is why Dr. Seuss’s, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” is such a big hit in our family, both for my four boys and myself. But when I read “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” to my youngest son, Hunter, the words took on a whole new meaning. As I read him the story and shared the bright, beautiful artwork with...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - April 9, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: All posts Children's in the news Heart conditions Our patients’ stories Heart Center Jim Lock our patients' stories Pedro del Nido Source Type: news
Our patients’ stories: fixing Brody’s omphalocele
By Maureen Simoncini
Brody
When I was 18 weeks pregnant my husband, Kenny, and I went in for a routine ultrasound. We were excited to find out if I was carrying a boy or a girl, but we found out much more than that. The ultrasound revealed that I was having a boy, but he would be born with a serious medical condition called an omphalocele. (It’s a birth defect where the baby’s intestine or other organs stick out of the belly button. In many cases only a thin layer of tissue covers the intestines.)
Once it was established that our baby had an omphalocele, we were transferred to a doctor at our local hospita...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - March 22, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: All posts Diseases & conditions Our patients’ stories omphalocele our patients' stories surgery Terry Buchmiller Source Type: news
Results of trial to determine how to prevent future strokes encouraging
UCLA RESEARCH ALERT
FINDINGS:
The results of a major, multicenter clinical trial to determine the best treatment for younger patients who have strokes that are potentially due to a hole in the upper chambers of the heart has provided suggestive but not definitive evidence of the benefit of a new heart hole–closure device.
The trial sought to determine which was the best treatment to prevent further strokes: a combination of closing the hole with a "button" device and anti-clotting medicines, or anti-clotting medicines alone. UCLA was one of the 69 performance sites for the study, called the Recurre...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - March 20, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
