(HealthDay News) -- A new study can help doctors decide when to treat people who have an underactive thyroid gland that does not cause symptoms strong enough to arouse worry, researchers report.

As many as 27 million Americans have some type of thyroid disease, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists; about half of these people are undiagnosed.

MONDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Beta blocker drugs don't prevent development of heart failure in people with high blood pressure and should not be used as first-line treatment for the condition, an analysis of studies indicates.

SUNDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Daily supplements of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids -- the kind found in fish oil -- reduced deaths and hospitalizations of people with heart failure, an Italian study found.

But a cholesterol-lowering statin drug had no beneficial effect in a parallel heart failure trial.

Dr. DeGuzman addresses the question, "Why Is It Important To Cure Atrial Fibrillation?"

MONDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can help heart failure patients' hearts beat more efficiently and effectively, but most U.S. hospitals don't use it as it should be used, a new report finds.

CRT involves doctors implanting a device that paces the heart's main chambers to beat in sync.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- A mesh patch designed to regenerate cardiac muscle damaged by a heart attack or heart failure has done well in animal studies and preliminary human trials.

The patch is made of vicryl, a material used for suturing injured tissue that is later absorbed by the body, explained Jordan J. Lancaster, a predoctoral fellow at the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center in Tucson, who reported on the animal studies Wednesday at an American Heart Association meeting in Keystone, Colo.

MONDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans admitted to hospitals for heart failure has jumped in recent years, and the trend almost certainly will continue, government experts report.

"Our study covers more than two decades, from 1979 to 2004, and the number of hospitalizations almost tripled during that time," said Dr. Jing Fang, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and lead author of the report in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

LOS ANGELES - Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. Some People Are Stupid. Stuff. People I Can Do Without.

George Carlin, who died of heart failure Sunday at 71, leaves behind not only a series of memorable routines, but a legal legacy: His most celebrated monologue, a frantic, informed riff on those infamous seven words, led to a Supreme Court decision on broadcasting offensive language.

Read full story

WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- When added to heart failure, the irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation can form a deadly combination.

Now, an international study shows that a less onerous strategy called "rate control" may be the best first option for keeping patients healthy under these circumstances.

Exciting news!

Dr. John T. McDevitt, a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin, along with colleagues, has developed a saliva test that can determine whether a person has had a heart attack. This test can be administered anywhere, even in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, lessening the need to begin tests at a later time, and allowing cardiac care to begin much earlier.

It is the protein in the saliva that can determine a heart attack and once the saliva is placed in a lab card, it takes 15 minutes for analysis.