Atrial News Roundup:


Heart surgery patient and his surgeon complete a triathlon:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/sports/19racers.html?_r=1&WT.mc_id=SP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-SWR-071910-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click


Heart transplant recipient climbs mountains, though weather gets in the way this time:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gc2s_NzvMBDN_Omzx-a3Pov0nNKAD9H2RBP01


The same heart transplant recipient and the heart-centered non-profit she founded: http://movinghearts.org/index.php

A new heart pump prolongs the lives of heart failure patients (Apparently former Vice President Dick Cheney no longer has a pulse):
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12840692

The rare occasion when pizza delivery is good for your heart:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ileSXQcOAer0LhSNulIcRaRkOCcQD9H2VA7O0


Currently, damaged heart tissue cannot be repaired, but GGF2, which is one of a family of proteins knowns as neuregulins, may change that. Acordia Therapeutics and Vanderbilt University Heart and Vascular Institute received NIH grant to study GGF2. The award was announced today. This could eventually be great news for heart patients--heart attack survivors, for instance, sometimes have trouble down the road as damaged heart muscle becomes stiff and unyielding and is unable to contract. Depending on the amount of heart that is damaged, this could eventually lead to heart failure. So the research could prevent problems and could eventually mean excellent news for those already suffering from heart failure as well.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/acorda-therapeutics-announces-receipt-of-nih-grant-for-development-of-ggf2-in-heart-failure-2010-07-20?reflink=MW_news_stmp


More medicare patients are using their cardiomyopathy meds!
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66J3IC20100720