Older adults who take blood pressure (BP) medication may be at increased risk for serious fall-related injuries, researchers found, especially if they have previously suffered injuries in a fall.

High-potency statin use in patients who had heart attacks may lower mortality risk compared with simvastatin monotherapy, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in Heart.

A study published online Feb. 24 in JAMA Internal Medicine added yet more ammunition to the argument, “Eat your vegetables.” The meta-analysis found an association between vegetarian diets and lower blood pressure (BP) compared with omnivorous diets.

Using morphine along with clopidogrel may adversely affect the action of clopidogrel, potentially leading to treatment failure, according to a study published in the Feb. 25 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Congenital heart disease is the most common form of birth defect, affecting one out of every 125 babies, according to the National Institutes of Health. Researchers from the University of Missouri recently found success using a drug to treat laboratory mice with one form of congenital heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - a weakening of the heart caused by abnormally thick muscle. By suppressing a faulty protein, the researchers reduced the thickness of the mice's heart muscles and improved their cardiac functioning.

The American Heart Association has awarded Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine $438,740 for cardiac research in 2013, bringing the lifetime total the organization has awarded to Loyola to $10.6 million.

Continuing its leadership in advanced pacing technology and device miniaturization, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced the first U.S. implant of the world's smallest pacemaker: the Micra(tm) Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS). The device was successfully implanted at NYU Langone Medical Center by Larry Chinitz, M.D., director of the Heart Rhythm Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, as part of the Medtronic global pivotal clinical trial. The Micra TPS is an investigational device worldwide.

Christiana Care Health System is one of 15 hospitals selected out of 132 eligible hospitals nationwide by the American College of Cardiology to participate in a new program designed to keep patients healthy at home after discharge from the hospital.