When the left ventricle of a patient's heart struggles, it may stay filled with blood instead of pumping it out to the rest of the body. This may increase the risk of developing heart failure.

Standard heart failure drugs are designed to force the heart to beat more often. A new class of medication that prompts longer heart contractions instead may prove to be a novel treatment.

Last month the PALLAS trial revealed adverse cardiovascular risks in taking dronedarone (Multaq) for irregular heart beat. Now the European Society of Cardiology is suggesting its use be limited.

When a diabetes patient's kidneys fail, that patient has to be put on dialysis. These patients may be at risk of having their heart suddenly stop. Now, researchers have found a way to spot who is most at risk.

Disease management is going high tech. NYU Langone Medical Center and rehabilitation provider Jewish Home Lifecare are testing how patients with congestive heart failure can benefit from telehealth technology.

Stress can bring plenty of undesired affects including a transient form of acute heart failure. It was suspected the cardiac disorder was fairly limited to postmenopausal women. Research suggests the risk pool is much greater.

Excess amounts of fat and sugar force cells to self destruct when they can no longer stand the toxic environment. Scientists believe they now know why these overloaded cells commit suicide.

A system of cooling then gradually re-warming cardiac arrest patients following resuscitation increases the outcomes. Yet the treatment remains underused.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Hypertension revealed that consuming less sodium would not lower the risk of heart disease or stroke. Now the American Heart Association is questioning the study's findings and trying to put that research into perspective.

Patients at smaller, rural hospitals may not be getting the same quality of care as some of the larger hospitals inside major cities. A study indicates patients at these less accessible hospitals have a greater chance of dying from serious illnesses such as congestive heart failure.