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  Cardiology research may seem well-vetted and complete. Doctors and scientists have spent centuries studying the heart and outside factors that negatively and positively affect the heart and its valves and related vessels. But with a little digging and hard work you can reorganize existing studies or shed light on different cardiologic conditions.
  
  

Researching New Peripheral Vascular Disease Symptoms

• Katie Charles, in a recent New York Daily News article, describes the medical advancements in PVD, or Peripheral vascular disease. PVD, according to Dr. Peter Faries, chief of vascular surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a disease that results when blockages in the blood vessels restrict the flow of blood to the feet and legs," causing severe heart problems if left untreated. A major problem, however, according to Charles, is that half of PVD sufferers exhibit no symptoms or warning signs. A good research project would be to try to find hidden symptoms that will allow doctors to more quickly diagnose and treat sufferers of PVD.
  
  

Additional Research into Fat and Heart Disease

• According to a 2010 Sunday Tribune piece, "The circumference of your waist is a better predictor of heart disease risk than your body mass index (BMI). It's belly fat that poses the most danger to your heart and arteries." This connection may seem obvious, but only recently in a 2008 study did scientists find the first actual scientific explanation between fat and heart disease using research from lab mice. A team of University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center scientists reported direct evidence of a link between inflammation around the cells of visceral fat deposits, and the artery-hardening process of atherosclerosis. But there are still many aspects of this connection to be worked out and studied.
  
  

Cloning and Cardiology

• According to an April 4 publication by the American Heart Organization, the AHA views cloning to create human beings and cloning to create humans or embryos for research material as unacceptable. However the AHA believes cloning research could be used to develop dramatic new procedures and techniques to reverse degenerative heart disease. Cloning may also, according to the AHA, help generate new, healthy heart tissue, valves and other vital tissues and structures. By researching the latest progress made in cloning you can put together an updated paper on where cardiology stands in relation to cloning advancements.