cardiovascular (heart) disease

On April 7, a 48-year-old man from Bethpage, Tennessee, became the 300th person to receive a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) at Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute (VHVI).

The 3 million prostate cancer survivors in the United States are likely to die from something other than cancer, thanks to early detection, effective treatment and the disease’s slow progression.

A signaling factor called Wnt10b is a novel target for optimizing cardiac repair after a heart attack.

For patients with heart failure, changes in pulmonary artery (PA) pressures are an early indication that their condition is worsening, even before they notice symptoms such as shortness of breath or weight gain.

Two vastly different causes of heart failure, both of which can devastate a patient’s life, are being studied at Vanderbilt University Medical Center thanks, in part, to the generosity of a grateful patient whose own damaged heart was repaired at Vanderbilt more than five years ago.

With support from a three-year, $2 million research grant from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the American Heart Association are teaming up to study heart failure care in the Emergency Department.

A metabolic change in adult stem cells makes them less “fit” for regenerative heart therapies, suggesting that strategies to prevent this response may boost the therapeutic usefulness of the cells.