Heart Failure

Federal investigators warned nearly five years ago that the diabetes drug Avandia might be causing heart failure, according to an internal government memo released Tuesday by a consumer group. Investigators also raised concerns about Actos, a similar drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes.

"A Stranger's Heart": Hallmark Channel, May 5, at 9 p.m. The premise: Suffering from severe heart failure, Callie Morgan (Samantha Mathis) is admitted to the transplant unit at University Central Hospital in Los Angeles, where she awaits a new heart. Another patient in the ward, Jasper Kates (Peter Dobson), reassures her that she will soon have a heart because type A blood is easier to match.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved expanded use of Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor by five new categories, including one to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes, the company said Wednesday. The expanded label for the world's top-selling prescription drug will also include its approval for use in reducing the risks of certain types of heart surgery, hospitalization for heart failure and chest pain in patients with heart disease.

Amgen Inc. and Cytokinetics Inc. said Wednesday that they would collaborate to develop drugs to treat heart failure in a deal that could yield smaller Cytokinetics more than $600 million if the products eventually succeed in clinical trials. Shares of Cytokinetics rose 11.4% on news of its deal with Thousand Oaks-based Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company that is best known for its drugs that treat anemia and boost immune systems of chemotherapy patients.

* Kirby Puckett: Baseball Hall of Famer, 45, stroke. * Floyd Patterson: Heavyweight boxing champion, 71, Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer. * Curt Gowdy: Preeminent sportscaster, 86, leukemia. * Steve Howe: Former Dodgers reliever, 48, car accident. * Byron Nelson: Golfing legend, 94, natural causes. * Red Auerbach: Longtime Boston Celtics coach, general manager, 89, heart failure. * Bo Schembechler: Former Michigan football coach, 77, heart attack.

"ER": "Scoop and Run," Nov. 23. The premise: ER resident Dr. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) accompanies the crew of a medical evacuation helicopter to a local community hospital, where an 88-year-old woman is having a heart attack. Abby's hospital is a Level One Trauma Center with a cardiac catheterization lab, which the other hospital lacks.

Not so long ago, heart disease was not considered a major problem among women. As recently as 1995, more than one-third of physicians surveyed did not even know that it was the leading cause of death among women, killing half a million each year. Even today, many doctors may not appreciate the risks because women often have different symptoms than men.

A device that helps severely damaged hearts pump may be able to do what was once thought impossible -- reverse heart failure in people who are weeks from death. The left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, can boost the heart's ability to function, allowing it to recover if used with the right drugs, British researchers have found. The team used the device and a combination of heart drugs in 15 patients who had severe heart failure.