American Heart Association says Government funds dwindle for cardiac arrest research

Journal of the American Heart Association Report

Dallas, TX – National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to conduct cardiac arrest research has dwindled in the last decade and is a fraction of what the government spends to study other leading causes of death, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Study authors cite Institute of Medicine statistics that suggest cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 450,000 lives each year.

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Heart Disease Research Should be a Key Priority, Says American Heart Association

Senate Labor HHS Bill Funding Does Not Measure Up to Disease

Washington, D.C. – The American Heart Association said today that the Senate FY 2017 funding bill for Labor, HHS and Education is a win for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH), but unfortunately, does not make heart disease research a priority. The bill includes a welcome six percent bump to the NIH budget: $2 billion over current funding.

However, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) received just a 4.1 percent increase. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke was boosted by 6.3 percent – the amount the association requested – and an additional $100 million was invested in the BRAIN Initiative.

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American Heart Association reports Sugar-Sweetened Drinks linked to increased Visceral Fat

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report

Dallas, TX – Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages every day was associated with an increase in a particular type of body fat that may affect diabetes and heart disease risk, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

Data from the Framingham Heart Study — federally supported, ongoing research that has advanced the understanding of cardiovascular disease — showed that among middle-aged adults, there was a direct correlation between greater sweetened beverage consumption and increased visceral fat.

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Immune cell plays dual role in allergic skin disease

NIH-funded study in mice enhances understanding of atopic dermatitis

Washington, D.C. – An immune cell involved in initiating the symptoms of an allergic skin reaction may play an equally, or perhaps more important, role in suppressing the reaction once it becomes chronic.

This finding in mice could have future implications for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects an estimated 10 to 20 percent of infants and young children. The research is by investigators at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health. [Read more]