(September 15, 2009 - Insidermedicine)

From Michigan - According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, female heart failure patients may not benefit from implantable defibrillators. Researchers studied several different heart studies from the past 60 years, analyzing data on nearly 1, 000 women who suffered advance heart failure.  They found that women who had heart failure and had ICD's had no survival advantage over those without the device.

From Atlanta - Most adult Americans are at risk for developing heart disease, according to a report published in the journal Circulation. Researchers collected data from decades of national health surveys, looking for the percentage of adults who had 5 low risk factors for heart disease; low cholesterol, no smoking history, good blood pressure, healthy weight and no diabetes. In 1994, 10.5% of adults had these factors and were at low-risk for heart disease, whereas in 2004, only 7.5% were at low risk. These numbers represent a sharp decline after decades of progress against heart disease risk factors.

And finally, from Vancouver - According to a report published online in the journal Cancer, clinically depressed cancer patients may have an increased risk of mortality. Researchers investigated 32 different studies-- a total of nearly 12, 000 patients--analyzing the connection between depression and cancer mortality. Patients with symptoms of depression were at 25% increased mortality risk, while patients with clinically diagnosed depression were at an increased risk of 40%.