heart failure

A new drug combination appears to reduce the toll of heart failure by almost one-fifth. Some caveats warrant attention, but for such a common, lethal condition, this therapy may change the standard of care if confirmed.
A commonly-used heart drug, digoxin, has never passed a controlled-study test to see if it s both safe and effective for patients with atrial fibrillation. A large VA retrospective analysis shows that it may be even riskier than suspected: maybe time for it to go.
Monitoring blood pressure at home is more reliable than occasionally checking in at the doctor s office and it saves both time and money, and helps prevent disastrous cardiovascular events.
Heart failure affects about six million Americans. This may at least partially explain why the media has been so quick to seize the opportunity to link heart failure with processed meat consumption.
Digoxin, a drug derived from the foxglove plant, is one of the oldest and most widely used treatments for a variety of cardiac conditions. For example, it can regularize the heartbeat in many who have atrial fibrillation and it can strengthen the heart beat for those with heart failure. A new study published in the journal Circulation, however, suggests that its use for adults with heart failure should be reevaluated.