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Researchers figure out how hearts fail
July 25, 2005New knowledge can improve current therapies and shape new ones
Researchers have determined how metabolic pathways differ between healthy and failing hearts. Normally, a heart derives its energy from a balance of fatty acids and carbohydrates, specifically glucose.
But Dr. Gary Lopaschuk, a pharmacologist and professor in the University of Alberta Department of Pediatrics, and his colleagues in the U.S. and Italy have found that during the early stages of heart failure, the heart uses too much fatty acid and not enough carbohydrate; and then, later on, the heart doesn't use enough fat.
Lopaschuk thinks that better treatments for heart failure patients may be available now that they have discovered that the type of "fuel" that the heart uses can contribute to the severity of heart failures. There are existing drugs that can make the heart more productive, but they don't remedy the fact that the heart is still inefficient because a lot of oxygen is necessary for it to drive the same amount of contractile activity.
"Many forms of heart diseases have many pharmacological therapeutic approaches to treat it. But heart failure is a difficult one. If you're diagnosed with heart failure, your five-year prognosis isn't that good. There's a high likelihood of mortality. So there's a major push to find new approaches to treat heart failure," Lopaschuk said.
"Heart failure is not a situation where the heart completely fails, it is a condition in which the heart fails to provide even itself with enough blood under certain conditions," Lopaschuk added.
Heart failure can be brought on by heart attack, congenital heart defects, viral infections, hypertension and more. Because of this, Lopaschuk, an expert in regulatory pathways involved in energy metabolism in the heart, worked with his colleagues to find out how metabolic pathways differ between healthy and failing hearts.
"The heart has a huge need for energy. Everyone talks about the brain having a high energy demand, which it does, but the main energy user is the heart itself. Even though it pumps blood and oxygen around the rest of the body, the heart itself also consumes a huge amount of the oxygen that it takes in. And it's not unreasonable-it beats 24 hours a day," Lopaschuk said.
University of Alberta
Lopaschuk thinks that better treatments for heart failure patients may be available now that they have discovered that the type of "fuel" that the heart uses can contribute to the severity of heart failures. There are existing drugs that can make the heart more productive, but they don't remedy the fact that the heart is still inefficient because a lot of oxygen is necessary for it to drive the same amount of contractile activity.
"Many forms of heart diseases have many pharmacological therapeutic approaches to treat it. But heart failure is a difficult one. If you're diagnosed with heart failure, your five-year prognosis isn't that good. There's a high likelihood of mortality. So there's a major push to find new approaches to treat heart failure," Lopaschuk said.
"Heart failure is not a situation where the heart completely fails, it is a condition in which the heart fails to provide even itself with enough blood under certain conditions," Lopaschuk added.
Heart failure can be brought on by heart attack, congenital heart defects, viral infections, hypertension and more. Because of this, Lopaschuk, an expert in regulatory pathways involved in energy metabolism in the heart, worked with his colleagues to find out how metabolic pathways differ between healthy and failing hearts.
"The heart has a huge need for energy. Everyone talks about the brain having a high energy demand, which it does, but the main energy user is the heart itself. Even though it pumps blood and oxygen around the rest of the body, the heart itself also consumes a huge amount of the oxygen that it takes in. And it's not unreasonable-it beats 24 hours a day," Lopaschuk said.
University of Alberta
Heart Failure Current Events and Heart Failure News RSSUniversity of Minnesota invention will help speed development of drug treatments for heart failure
Research conducted by University of Minnesota scientists, in collaboration with Celladon Corporation, has led to the invention of technology to more rapidly identify compounds for the treatment of heart failure.
New tool for helping pediatric heart surgery
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Carvedilol shown to have unique characteristics among beta blockers
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High Blood Pressure Easy to Miss in Children with Kidney Disease
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Inhibition of GRK2 is protective against acute cardiac stress injuries
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Young athletes need dual screening tests for heart defects, study suggests
To best detect early signs of life-threatening heart defects in young athletes, screening programs should include both popular diagnostic tests, not just one of them, according to new research from heart experts at Johns Hopkins.
Protein changes in heart strengthen link between Alzheimer's disease and chronic heart failure
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Elevated biomarkers lead to diminished quality of life in heart attack patients post-discharge
Many heart attack patients have high levels of cardiac biomarkers in the blood for several months after leaving the hospital, with more shortness of breath and chest pain, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Tiny particles can deliver antioxidant enzyme to injured heart cells
Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed microscopic polymer beads that can deliver an antioxidant enzyme made naturally by the body into the heart.
New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death
While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.
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Holy Heart Failure by Holy Heart Failure | |
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