August 2011

Undernutrition in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood increases risk of heart disease in later life

A study of women who were children, teenagers or young adults during the Dutch famine in 1944-45 has shown that undernutrition, particularly in the adolescent years, is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in later life. The research, published online today in the European Heart Journal [1], provides the first direct evidence […]

Professional exposure of physicians to radiation prompt cellular changes that may protect the body from harm

Cardiologists who perform heart operations using x-ray guided catheters are exposed to ionising radiation at levels two to three times higher per year than those experienced by radiologists. Now, new research has found the first evidence that these constant, high levels of exposure cause changes at cell level that might represent the body’s way of […]

Diabetes and a history of heart disease increase the risk of heart problems for elderly breast cancer patients on trastuzumab

The first study to investigate the effect of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) on heart and vascular function in elderly patients has found that it increases the risk of heart problems, particularly in women with a history of heart disease, diabetes or both. Authors of the study, published in the cancer journal, Annals of […]