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DALLAS, June 19, 2013 — Healthcare providers have a new tool to help identify and better treat people with an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Study Highlights: People with a gene that has been turned off through a natural process maybe at higher risk of heart and blood-vessel disease. The affected gene, called CPT1A, makes a liver enzyme which, at low levels, is linked to increased risk factors for heart and blood-vessel disease. Evaluating CPT1A as a new genetic biomarker may one day identify people at the greatest risk for developing heart disease

Study Highlights: A higher strength of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins did not increase the risk of kidney injury after heart attack. These findings may reassure doctors and patients of the safety of higher strength statins among heart attack survivors.

American Heart Association Comment: DALLAS, June 19, 2013 – The American Medical Association has announced the organization has designated obesity as a disease requiring treatment and prevention efforts.

Study Highlights: Older people may benefit from implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) as much as younger people. Overall health, not age alone, should determine how well people will do after receiving an ICD.

Today’s Supreme Court decision on gene patents is a win for Americans with heart disease and stroke,” said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association.

Representative Lois Capps (D-Calif.) today introduced the Teaching Children to Save Lives Act of 2013. If passed, this legislation would authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies and schools to implement nationally recognized cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training courses. The legislation also requires the Secretary of Education to report back to Congress within the first year on grant amounts and recipients, the use of the program funds, and the impact of the funds.