“Findings from a new study using 24-hour blood pressure monitoring confirm that physical activity reduces blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure, even when they’re taking medications to address this problem.”

“Boston Scientific Corp. announced Monday that it is recalling 23,000 heart pacemakers and defibrillators and recommended that 27,000 patients who already have the devices implanted in their chests consult doctors.”

“When it comes to blood transfused during surgery into very sick heart patients, newer may be better, researchers report.

"High-risk patients who received older blood were more likely to die after cardiac surgery," said lead investigator Dr. Elliot Bennett-Guerrero, director of perioperative clinical research at the Duke University Medical Center.”

“Some cardiac centers are decreasing their use of the drug-coated stents used to prop open the arteries of heart patients because of rising concerns about potentially deadly blood clots, according to a published newspaper report. The Swiss study cited by The Wall Street Journal was presented at a large cardiology meeting in March.”

“Patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator did not have a significantly lower risk of serious abnormal heart rhythms or death by consuming fish oil supplements, which had been thought to have a protective effect, according to a study in the June 14 issue of JAMA.”

“People who've had a heart attack and receive an implanted defibrillator may be at increased risk of heart failure that often ends in death, a new study found….

“Don't think that because you got a defibrillator, you can go out and have a Big Mac and not exercise," [lead author Ilan Goldenberg Ellenbogen] said. "It is important to address every aspect of heart disease."

“Up to 43,000 of people hospitalized for heart attack develop cardiogenic shock. A new study revealed treating these patients with emergency angioplasty or bypass surgery could significantly increase their survival rates.”

“A pioneering form of heart transplant has been performed for the first time in the U.K. Doctors say the technique, which keeps the donor heart beating while it is transported, could double the number of heart transplants each year.”

“Mild, often symptomless, impaired heart function may predispose a person to ischemic stroke, investigators report in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Having any degree of impaired heart function, known as left ventricular dysfunction (LVD), was almost five times more common in stroke patients than age-matched controls.”

“As many as 400,000 people in North America suffer sudden cardiac arrest. Only 30 percent have their hearts restarted, and only about 6 percent survive to hospital discharge. Once the heart is restarted, a significant factor for subsequent death is brain injury.”