Please also see the archives for the president's "Heart to Heart" e-newsletter.
January 23, 2012
Houston's Dr. Cooley Recalls Historic Surgical "Firsts" in Memoir
One of Houston's great heart surgeons, in the decades after World War II, he helped develop open-heart surgery and transplantation. He also started the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's. Now, at age 91, Cooley has written a memoir.
Hear and read this report on kuhf.org.
January 16, 2012
Affiliation with Covenant Heart and Vascular Institute Announced
A unique affiliation agreement between THI at St. Luke's and Covenant Heart and Vascular Institute (CHVI) in Lubbock will create more opportunities for collaboration and research in the fight against cardiovascular disease.
January 16, 2012 
LoneStar Heart Acquires Worldwide Exclusive Rights to New Class of Small Molecules That May Lead to New Treatments for Diabetes
Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center identify new class of molecule that restores insulin expression in human pancreas cells. Working in collaboration with Texas Heart Institute and other centers, researchers have shown the molecules may also "modulate the differentiation of stem cells into nerve cells, and they can induce a population of progenitor cells found in the heart to become cardiac muscle cells." Read the full news release from Yahoo Finance news online.
January 13, 2012
Blase A. Carabello, MD, Appointed Chief of Cardiology
Dr. Blase Carabello has been appointed Chief of Cardiology for both the Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Earlier this year, Dr. Carabello was chosen to head THI's new Center for Heart Valve Disease. Read the full news release from St. Luke's.
January 10, 2012
Cooking with Heart on February 13 - Asian-inspired Valentine's Dinner
Spice up Valentine's Day with a delicious, heart-healthy meal with an Oriental twist. In this Central Market complimentary cooking demonstration, you will learn healthy eating tips and have heart-related questions answered. Menu: Japanese-Style Beef and Noodle Soup; Light and Crisp Egg Rolls; Asian-Style Chicken Wraps; Lemon Grass Spiced Poached Pears; and Chinese Five-Spice Chocolate Cake. [Update January 19 - This event is now full. Watch for next "Cooking with Heart" at www.stlukeshouston.com/register.]
December 20, 2011
Holidays and Winter Vacation Season Increase
Heart Attack Risks
Cautions about how the holiday season can put you at risk (including video from ABC13 HealthCheck).
Researchers Create the First Pulseless Heart
Discover magazine features THI's Dr. Bud Frazier and Dr. Billy Cohn.
December 19, 2011
Steve Miller Named to Succeed Meredith Long as Chair of THI Board
Meredith J. Long steps down, Steven L. Miller elected to serve as new chairman, David Grimes and Bobby S. Shackouls as vice chairmen.
December 15, 2011
Home for Holidays with New Donor Heart & Kidney
Patient able to bridge to transplant with SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart resolves to advocate for organ donation, inspire love and peace.
December 10, 2011
Ray C. Fish Award for Scientific Achievement
Patrick W. Serruys, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands, honored for contributions to interventional cardiology.
December 3, 2011
The pulseless dual heart pump developed by THI's Dr. Bud Frazier and Dr. Billy Cohn continues to garner attention in the medical/scientific world and beyond. The device, which helped keep a seriously ill patient alive for more than five weeks earlier this year, is featured in the .
November 23, 2011
Advocating and Educating for Women's Heart Health
THI educational resources for women are cited twice in the AWHONN Position Statement (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nursing) published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. In the Women's Cardiovascular Health paper, the authors reference the HIC topic, Women & Heart Disease, as well as "Straight Talk about Heart Attacks" in the Women's Center. Read the full position statement (PDF).
See also on this website: Center for Women's Heart & Vascular Health
November 17, 2011
Implanting Heart Pump to Limit Heart Muscle Damage after Heart Attack
Interventional cardiologists affiliated with THI at St. Luke's recently implanted the first two patients in the nation with a tiny heart pump in a feasibility trial to determine the pump's potential to limit damage to heart muscle following a STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction). Read the full news release to learn about the FDA-approved trial and the first enrolled patients.
November 15, 2011
Stem cells give new hope to heart attack survivors
"There is promising news for people at risk of heart failure after US researchers found stem cell therapy in humans has been surprisingly successful in replacing damaged muscle and getting the heart to pump better." The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports on the groundbreaking research work of Dr. Emerson Perin and others. Read the full article from ABC News.
See also on this website: Stem Cell Center
November 13, 2011
Sugary drinks hurt even skinny women's hearts
"There are some calories that come like a nuclear attack," said Dr. Stephanie Coulter, director for the THI Center for Women's Heart & Vascular Health. Learn more about findings presented at the American Heart Association meeting on the TODAY show website.
November 9, 2011
Event photos on 
Community Conversation with the Texas Heart Institute:
"Protecting the Rhythm of the Heart," presented by Dr. James T. Willerson and Dr. Mehdi Razavi.
November 1, 2011
Project Heart Honored with Web Health Award
The Project Heart website was selected as a winner in the 13th annual Web Health Awards program. This competition—held twice each year: Winter/Spring and Summer/Fall—recognizes the nation's best digital health resources. Project Heart (and Proyecto Corazón) received a Merit Award in the category of Web-based Resource/Tool. See What's New? for more details.
October 31, 2011
THI's Great Pumpkin Run Unites "Heartbeats"
The THI "Heart Car" was very popular at the Fun Run this past weekend. Read all about how this red racer is helping save lives! Visit www.godstoneranchmotorsports.com.
October 26, 2011
"A Heart That Doesn't Beat" featured in children's magazine
In the Science Scoops column for its Nov/Dec issue, Odyssey magazine (Adventures in Science for children) tells the story of THI's total artificial heart. Read the Odyssey article (PDF).
See the full story and video from THI: Successful Implantation of a Continuous-FlowTotal Artificial Heart
October 26, 2011
Health Literacy Innovator Award for Heart Information Center
Health Literacy Innovations honored the THI website with a 3rd place award in the category of Clear Focus Multi-Media for demonstrated commitment to excellence in health literacy in media usability and design. The award recognizes the Heart Information Center online library of health topics as well as Ask a Heart Doctor, Project Heart, and Center for Women's Heart & Vascular Health. View the award certificate (PDF).
October 12, 2011
Bionic bride has real heart
Allyssa Smith Babineaux on NBC's TODAY show.
To read Ally's story, see Why Support Us?
September 29, 2011
Best Medical Breakthrough - 2011
The Houston Press "Best of Awards" honored the Defib Task Force with best medical breakthrough 2011 for its Second Chance AED Pads. A group of Rice University bioengineering students (Lisa Jiang, Joanna Nathan, Justin Lin, Carl Nelson and Brad Otto), along with some experts (Texas Heart Institute's Mehdi Razavi and Rice University lecturer Renata Ramos), developed new pads for automated external defibrillators. Read the original Rice University news release, "Unique AED pads give hearts a second chance."
September 15, 2011
Artificial Heart Valve Undergoes Testing
Two great-grandmothers (Anna Jean Irwin, left, and Ana Riddel) share more than a first name after both underwent a unique procedure at THI to correct a life-threatening heart valve condition, severe aortic stenosis. Cardiologists Biswajit Kar, MD and Pranav Loyalka, MD, and cardiovascular surgeon Joseph Coselli, MD, implanted an artificial heart valve in each woman using a non-surgical technique. Read the full story in the Texas Medical Center News.
September 15, 2011
Newest artficial heart beats not
Craig Lewis lay dying in a Texas hospital bed. The 55-year-old was suffering from amyloidosis, a disorder that was destroying his heart. "This man was basically within an hour or two of death," says Billy Cohn, a doctor at Houston's Texas Heart Institute who oversaw Lewis earlier this year. Given Lewis's dire condition, Cohn and veteran artificial heart researcher Bud Frazier received the consent of the man's family to try something that had never been done before: the complete replacement of his heart with two continuous flow ventricular assist devices (VAD). Read the story in the online magazine, MACLEANS.CA.
September 1, 2011
THI cosponsors international heart failure forum
September 29, the Brano Heart Failure Forum presents the 4th International Symposium: Innovations and New Treatment Strategies in Heart Failure, in Belgrade, Serbia. THI staff on the program committee include Dr. Igor Gregoric, Dr. Reynolds Delgado, Dr. O.H. Frazier, Dr. Guillermo Torre-Amione, and Dr. Emerson Perin.
August 21, 2011
Schools extend heat safety, heart care beyond athletics
To help monitor the health of band members and athletes, some school districts are requiring heart screenings. Others have instituted heat restrictions on outdoor practices. Dr. James T. Willerson discusses the Houston MRI Screening Study. Houston Chronicle
August 19, 2011
Artificial hearts giving hope, saving lives
What happens when you are dying of heart disease, and you won't live long enough for a transplant? Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's has a new go-to plan: the artificial heart. ABC13's Christi Myers video report.
August 18, 2011
New FDA approved heart valve gets thumbs up from Kinder woman
Three years ago Sis Doumite, 73, was the first in Texas to receive a new heart valve called the Trifecta in a clinical trial. Doumite took the risk with reassurance from Dr. Joseph Coselli, chief of adult cardiac surgery for Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Hospital. Read Doumite's story from KPLCtv.com in Lake Charles, Louisiana. [The FDA has since approved the Trifecta; read the recent news.]
August 15, 2011
Texas Heart Institute President, Dr. James T. Willerson, heads International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences
August 12, 2011
Golf Digest passes along some tips from Texas Heart Institute for dealing with extreme heat: "Fitness Friday: Stay hydrated in severe heat."
See also on this website:
• Doctors warn of dangers of hot weather
• Exercise in Hot and Humid Conditions
August 9, 2011
First in Texas to Implant New Trifecta Heart Valve
Chief of adult cardiac surgery for Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Joseph S. Coselli, MD, is the first in Texas to implant the Trifecta™ aortic stented tissue valve, a clinically-proven replacement for diseased, damaged or malfunctioning aortic heart valves. Read the full news release on stlukeshouston.com.
August 8, 2011
Four Total Artificial Hearts Implanted in 12 Days
Life-changing device providing "bridge to transplant" implanted by team led by Dr. Igor Gregoric at Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. "For patients who are out of options, these devices are absolutely critical," said Dr.Gregoric.
Great Pumpkin Fun Run Set for October 29th
Register today; join us on Facebook; sign up for the newsletter.
July 22, 2011
Texas Heart Institute tests kids for heart conditions
Christi Myers reports on ABC13.com
July 22, 2011
Not All Belly Fat Is Bad for the Heart
THI cardiologist Scott R. Sherron, MD, quoted in look at results of a new study.
WebMD mobile
July 19, 2011
THI Remains Among America's Top 10 Heart Centers
Fourth Place Marks 21st Consecutive Year of Top Rankings
July 14, 2011
Fort Bend ISD partners with THI to provide free MRI screening to middle school students
Prevention-oriented research study can help identify children who may have undetected heart conditions that can lead to sudden cardiac death. Read the full press release on THI's Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies website.
July 13, 2011
Robotic procedure restores Spring man's heart health
Jose Vazcoy's irregular heartbeat was fixed using a remote surgical system. Dr. Mehdi Razavi and Dr. Ali Massumi, THI cardiologists, report on the procedure done at the Texas Heart Institute in 2010. Read the full story from yourSpringnews.com.
Also on this website, view the video (5:28 minutes), A Father's Story - From the Heart.
July 7, 2011
Final shuttle mission includes mobile health payload
This report on "mobile health technology" includes a reference to Dr. S. Ward Casscells, THI professional staff member, and his pioneering work in telemedicine technology for military applications as well as for disaster relief and emergency medicine. Read mobilehealthnews.com.
July 2011
Professor Igor Gregorič, a top Slovenian heart surgeon
from Houston
"'Knowledge counts, the patients we help count, relationships count,' says Professor Igor Gregorič." Read the full profile in SLOVENIA.SI [originally published January 2011]. Dr. Gregoric is Director, Center for Cardiac Support and Associate Director, Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplant Research at THI.
June 29, 2011
Heat Dangers for High-Risk People Like Heart Patients, the Very Young
Learn to avoid heat exhaustion in hot and humid conditions. Read the doctors' cautions and advice.
June 18, 2011
Dr. Denton A. Cooley honors his dad with gift to UT dental School
Famed surgeon will endow a professorship, center. Read the Houston Chronicle article.
June 13, 2011
Heart With No Beat ? Yes, here's how...
After decades of trial and error, Dr. Billy Cohn and Dr. Bud Frazier at the Texas Heart Institute have developed a technique to replace the heart while avoiding the risks of previous devices.
COVERAGE AROUND THE WORLD:
April 26, 2011
Unique AED pads give hearts a second chance
"An invention by Rice University bioengineering students in collaboration with the Texas Heart Institute is geared toward giving immediate second chances to arrhythmia victims headed toward cardiac arrest." For their capstone design project, a team of Rice seniors created a unique pad system for automated external defibrillators (AEDs), common devices that can shock a victim's heart back into a proper rhythm in an emergency. Read the full news release with links to photos and YouTube from Rice University.
April 26, 2011
Racing legend AJ Foyt recovers after heart scare
One of Houston's best-known sporting figures, AJ Foyt, was recovering after a heart procedure. Doctors placed a stent in his main coronary artery on March 25. "He was a ticking timebomb," said Dr. Reynolds Delgado, THI cardiologist and Medical Director, Mechanical Support Devices in Heart Failure. Read the article and see the video at KHOU 11 Houston.
May 17, 2011
Seniors from Houston's DeBakey High School for Health Professions visit with Texas Heart Institute researcher Sayadeth Khounlo during a tour of THI.
April 20, 2011Enhancing Blood Supply—Revascularization Procedure Options for Your Patients"Physicians can choose from a number of revascularization procedures to enhance patients' quality of life following a heart attack."
Dr. Scott Sherron, THI cardiologist, was consulted for this comprehensive article on alternatives for reestablishing blood flow to the heart.
Read the full article in the Spring issue of
Aging Well magazine (News & Insight for Professionals in Geriatric Medicine).
April 12, 2011
Longest-living heart transplant recipient recalls his life at age 74
"Charles Washington is an amazing man, and he's had an amazing life—and the fact that he is believed to be the longest-living single heart transplant survivor has little to do with it." Washington received his new heart at Texas Heart Institute in 1983, attended by Dr. Denton A. Cooley. Read the full story from The Oak Ridger newspaper.
April 2, 2011
Heart doctors praise new valve procedure
"Houston doctors have begun replacing worn-out heart valves without cracking open the patient's chest, an experimental procedure that could open treatment to roughly 100,000 Americans a year now considered too frail to have surgery." Dr. Biswajit Kar, THI cardiologist, discusses the benefits of the procedure and Dr. Blase Carabello, recently named director of THI's Center for Heart Valve Disease, calls it a "huge advance." Read the full article in the Houston Chronicle.
March 26, 2011
U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (photo left) and U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, visited with THI President James T. Willerson, MD. Dr. Benjamin requested to meet Dr. Willerson during her visit to Houston to learn more about the progress in cardiovascular research and the other work and accomplishments of his team of Texas Heart Institute physicians and scientists.
March 23, 2011
Successful Implantation of a Continuous-Flow Total Artificial Heart
"Medical history in the making." Doctors at THI have successfully implanted the first continuous-flow total artificial heart in a desperately ill patient facing imminent death.
March 19, 2011
Research may save lives of young athletes
The Houston Chronicle "Viewpoints" section published an article by Dr. James T. Willerson, Dr. Paolo Angelini, and Meredith J. Long concerning the activities of the Texas Heart Institute Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies (CCAA), including the Houston MRI Screening Study. Read the article.
See also on this website: CCAA
March 17, 2011
5 New Rules for a Healthy Heart
An article from Men's Health magazine discusses "new approaches most likely to improve your cardiovascular health," using 5 starting points: estimate risk, train with intervals, cut cholesterol with fiber, watch your stress, and go for a blood test. Dr. Mehdi Razavi, THI cardiologist, is quoted in the conclusion: "learn what your heart is trying to tell you." Read the article online.
March 9, 2011
Dr. Blase A. Carabello to Head Center for Heart Valve Disease
THI appoints Dr. Blase A. Carabello as director of its new Center for Heart Valve Disease.
March 3, 2011 
Pacemaker Allows Patients to Safely Undergo MRI Procedures
New pacemaker technology overcomes barriers which blocked patients fitted with pacemakers from access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines for medical diagnosis. Cardiac electrophysiologist John J. Seger, MD, first implanted the now FDA-approved pacing system in a 76-year-old cancer patient who needed the device to treat a slow heart beat, but also needed MRIs to ensure that his cancer had not returned or spread. Read the full news release from St. Luke's.
March 1, 2011
Innovative CryoAblation Technology Used to Treat Atrial Fibrillation
THI cardiac electrophysiologist, J. Alberto Lopez, MD is among the first in the nation to treat patients for an irregular heartbeat with a new, minimally invasive cryoballoon technology that uses cold rather than heat to interrupt faulty electrical circuits in the heart. Dr. Lopez used the FDA-approved Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter System to perform ablations on two women with refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), a serious heart rhythm disorder that affects millions of Americans. Read the full news release from St. Luke's.
February 24, 2011
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, met with Texas Heart Institute President James T. Willerson, MD, to discuss health care, medical research and other issues during a visit to Houston. (See photo.) Congresswoman Granger, also a former mayor of Fort Worth, represents Texas' 12th Congressional District. She co-chairs the Anti-Terrorism Caucus and serves as a deputy whip. She is also chairwoman of the House appropriations subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, and serves on the subcommittee of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
February 23, 2011
Abdominal aortic aneurysm surgeries getting easier
THI interventional cardiologist Zvonimir Krajcer, MD, repairs aneurysms using a new stent graft system that doesn't require major surgery. See the recent HealthCheck report from KTRK-TV, Houston.
February 21, 2011
Smithsonian Honors First Artificial Heart On Valentine's Day
Smithsonian celebrated Valentine's Day in a very unique and remarkable way. They used it as an opportunity to honor the very first artificial heart, the Liotta-Cooley Artificial Heart.
February 16, 2011
During American Heart Month, Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr, chief of congenital heart surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (pictured on left in photo) pays tribute to heart pioneer Dr. Denton A. Cooley, Texas Children's first chief of cardiovascular surgery when the hospital opened its doors in 1954. Dr. Cooley, already famed for adult cardiac surgeries, performed the first congenital heart surgeries on babies born with complex heart defects. Dr. Fraser, who joined the hospital in 1995, has built multidisciplined surgical teams dedicated exclusively to pediatric congenital heart surgery. Dr. Fraser's teams continue to advance the historic legacy set by Dr. Cooley's innovations. Combined, the two famous heart surgeons have performed more than 23,700 cases during Texas Children's 57 years of pediatric heart surgery.
February 11, 2011
'Bionic Bride' loses her title, gains new lease on life
The Texas A&M student first made headlines when doctors at the Texas Heart Institute installed a Left Ventricular Assist Device. Now she is a heart transplant recipient. See the video report from KHOU.COM.
February 3, 2011
Caution on heart health: sports events like the Super Bowl can pose health risks, particularly for people with heart disease.
January 27, 2011
Mrs. Laura W. Bush is honored as 2011 recipient of the Denton A. Cooley Leadership Award
January 26, 2011
New procedure can eliminate a major cause of heart-related stroke
THI's Dr. William "Billy" Cohn explains a new catheter-based procedure that uses sutures to tie off the left atrial appendage (LAA), which is considered a major source of stroke-causing blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib).
January 20, 2011
Cardinal DiNardo addresses Texas Medical Center community
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, spoke during a luncheon hosted by The Institute for Spirituality and Health (ISH). THI President Emeritus, Dr. Denton A. Cooley and St. Luke's Episcopal Health System's President and CEO, David Fine, were among those attending. [See photo.]
January 18, 2011
Using breakthrough imaging to better diagnose and treat patients with blocked arteries
THI cardiologists are the first in Houston to implement a new imaging tool known as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).
January 14, 2011
Innovative cardiovascular treatments offer new hope to patients
around the world
The pioneering research and technology at THI is featured in this article published in Middle East Health magazine (www.middleeasthealthmag.com) with the focus on left ventricular assist devices and adult stem cell therapies. Read the full article here.
January 7, 2011
Texas Lyceum to Honor Heart Surgeon Pioneer Dr. Denton A. Cooley
For his lifetime of leadership and service, THI founder Dr. Denton A. Cooley this month is receiving the 2010 Stewardship of Texas Values Award from the Texas Lyceum.
Go to archived news for 2005 through 2010.
Share
