Cardiovascular - August 2013 Archives

Mayo Clinic’s Nicotine Dependence Center (NDC) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. As one of the first centers in the country to focus exclusively on treatments for tobacco dependence when it opened in 1988, the NDC has been at the forefront of the battle of nicotine addiction nationally as well as globally, offering the latest education and training programs, advancing research aimed at tobacco dependence interventions, and offering treatment approaches to tobacco users. The founder and director of the NDC, Richard Hurt, M.D., says, “As I reflect on the past 25 years, the key to our success has been the dedicated and innovative staff. The patients we see are in need of hope and help, and our team delivers care in a compassionate and motivating way.” Dr Hurt says, while it's encouraging that the number of Americans who smoke has dropped to 18 percent that still means 45 million adults are lighting up. He says a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that 6 out of 10 current smokers, if they don't quit, will die of a tobacco-caused disease. Journalists: Sound bites and smoking b-roll are available in the downloads.   Read the entire news release: NDC 25 Anniv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kmb5W5YD6k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMZ8yPWMXDo&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 A Mayo Clinic-led study by U.S. and European researchers has found that having surgery sooner rather than later is better for otherwise healthy patients ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Aug. 8, 2013 — Patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation who are otherwise healthy should have mitral valve repair surgery sooner rather than later, even if they feel no symptoms, a Mayo Clinic-led study by U.S. and European researchers found. The results challenge the long-held belief that it is safer to "watch and wait" until a patient has symptoms, such as shortness of breath. This is the largest study to show that patients who undergo surgery early after diagnosis have improved long-term survival and lower risk of heart failure. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Video of Drs. Rakesh Suri and Maurice Enriquez-Sarano will be available for download on the Mayo Clinic News Network.