LOS ANGELES—A recombinant form of the human hormone relaxin — active in pregnancy to optimise the mother’s cardiovascular capacity — may help patients hospitalised for acute heart failure, according to findings discussed at the American Heart Association’s 2012 Scientific Sessions …

LOS ANGELES—Direct infusions of human HDL — to speedily boost HDL levels —could be an answer to preventing re-infarction in patients who’ve just had a heart attack and are at high risk of having another, according to conclusions from a …

LOS ANGELES—Aspirin has a new role: in preventing recurrent thromboembolism among patients who are not candidates for anti-coagulation — according to conclusions from the ASPIRE study reported to the American Heart…

LOS ANGELES—The “polypill” — a multi-drug pill — combining diuretic, ACE inhibitor, beta-blocker, statin and aspirin — brings even more benefit when it’s targeted at patients who are at elevated coronary risk rather than being used as a general “insurance” …

LOS ANGELES—The optimal revascularisation strategy for patients with diabetes and multi-vessel coronary disease was confirmed to be coronary artery bypass grafting rather than PCI at the American Heart Association 2012 Scientific Sessions…

LONDON—A man with no legs and only one arm and a boy crippled by polio have been instrumental in steering a Red Cross team’s work in Afghanistan. The ICRC’s head of Orthopaedics in Kabul, Alberto Cairo, was invited by …

LONDON—The health impact of diet and physical activity may play a part in the marked ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the UK according to research reported at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. …

LONDON—People are now routinely using the internet to find out about health conditions and to share their own experiences with others with similar diagnoses. This is a radical change in how people experience illness. Health professionals and policy makers have …

RIO DE JANEIRO and LONDON—A call for action on global health has been made in an article published by The Lancet medical journal about the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro. Issues which degrade the …

LONDON—One in twenty deaths in English hospitals could be prevented according to research published in the British Medical Journal Quality and Safety. Dr Helen Hogan of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and her colleagues studied the causes …