A new scientific study, published in the European Journal of Heart Failure by University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing scientists, reveals that prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke may cause significant increases in both norepinephrine – a stress hormone – and other enzymes in the heart, which have the capability to virtually re-shape the form of the left ventricle.

A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) vs. patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).

Patient history and physical examination, traditionally the cornerstone diagnostic tool for medical care, may still be among the most accurate and cost-efficient methods to assess patients with congestive heart failure, researchers have found.

An implantable hemodynamic monitor may help to guide medical treatment in a large subgroup of patients with heart failure: those with diastolic heart failure.

Although heart failure is a chronic condition, acute exacerbations are frequent and occur with serious complications; patients with heart failure and their families can help improve prognosis in acute events if they are taught to recognize the tell-tale signs of worsening condition and seek immediate medical help.

Researchers have discovered that a prototype drug reduces heart enlargement, one of the most common causes of heart failure. Heart failure, which occurs when the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body, affects 5 million people in the United States. The condition contributes to 300,000 deaths each year.

Patients with severe heart failure can be bridged to eventual transplant by a new, smaller and lighter implantable heart pump, according to a just-completed study of the device.

Today, acute heart failure represents the most common reason for hospitalization in the over-65 population. Although hospital care improves symptoms in the first 24 hours after admission in around 50 percent of these patients, acute heart failure events still remain associated with a more than 50 percent mortality and rehospitalization rate at 6-12 months.

Individuals who receive implantable cardiac defibrillators after a sudden heart event appear more likely to die within five years if they experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, regardless of the severity of their disease, according to a new report.

Patients with heart disease who are subsequently diagnosed with depression are at greater risk for heart failure, a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body, according to a new study.