Coronary Artery Bypass Graft News and Research

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CABG completed "off-pump" has no advantages in patient outcomes: Study

A study of 2,203 cardiac surgery patients from Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers nationwide revealed that coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) completed "off-pump," meaning without a heart-lung machine, had no advantages in patient outcomes compared to the traditional "on-pump" procedure.

6 Nov 2009

Comparison study between pre and postoperative BNP measurements for predicting negative outcomes after CABG surgery

Results from a clinical study presented at the 2009 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Meeting suggest that elevated preoperative levels of the B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) biomarker may predict hospital length of stay and mortality after primary coronary artery bypass graft surgery better than measurements of elevated postoperative BNP levels.

26 Oct 2009

FDA grants IDE approval to Harvest Technologies to commence its BMAC Enhanced CABG trial

Harvest Technologies Corp. (www.harvesttech.com) announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to commence its BMAC Enhanced CABG Trial. This is a two phase 42-patient 'feasibility' clinical trial using the company's BMAC System to concentrate autologous bone marrow cells to treat patients with congestive heart failure undergoing treatment with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) Surgery.

22 Oct 2009

Two high blood pressure medicines effective in treating stable ischemic heart disease

Two medications commonly used to treat high blood pressure appear to be effective in treating a common type of heart disease known as stable ischemic heart disease, according to a new comparative effectiveness review funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

20 Oct 2009

PHARMACIA & UPJOHN COMPANY to pay the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the U.S.

PHARMACIA & UPJOHN COMPANY, INC., a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") today was sentenced today in federal court for a felony violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, for misbranding the drug, Bextra, with the intent to defraud or mislead.

19 Oct 2009

Novadaq Technologies commercializes patented visualization technology

Novadaq Technologies Inc., headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, has commercialized SPY imaging, a patented visualization technology that enables surgeons to monitor circulation and tissue perfusion intraoperatively, facilitating surgical mapping and revisions during major procedures.

12 Oct 2009

New medical breakthrough by Bioheart for treatment of patients with heart disorders

Bioheart, Inc. offers yet another medical breakthrough with the next-level stem cell treatment for cardiac patients. The stem cells aid in limiting damage due to a cardiac event and promote angiogenesis or formation of new blood vessels.

1 Oct 2009

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery is safe and effective

Surgical treatment for mitral valve disease includes either repairing the patient's diseased valve or replacing it with a metal, mechanical valve or an animal tissue valve. The majority of those procedures are open-heart operations that require a major incision in the chest. Now, after a six-year study, surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore conclude that minimally invasive mitral valve repair techniques, through only a two-inch incision in the right side of the chest, are safe, durable and effective. The results are published in the September 2009 Annals of Surgery.

29 Sep 2009

Heart surgery can be scheduled anytime: Study

The October issue of the journal Anesthesiology contains a study reviewing potential adverse effects associated with the timing of a patient's heart surgery; but based on this study, there is no bad time of the day or week or year to have elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

23 Sep 2009

New critical illness plan from Colonial Life introduced

A new critical illness plan from Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company can help many working Americans who may be one serious medical issue away from financial problems. Even with good health insurance, a serious illness, such as a heart attack or stroke, could leave employees on the hook for huge expenses.

15 Sep 2009

Carotid and cardiac procedures result in higher incidence of post-operative strokes

Among patients undergoing cardiac surgery, post-operative stroke occurred in approximately 2 percent, was not correlated with significant carotid artery narrowing, but was more common among patients who had combined cardiac and carotid procedures, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Sep 2009

Study reveals elevated cTnT levels in post-CABG patients

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.

5 Sep 2009

Boston Scientific reports two-year data from SYNTAX clinical trial

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI, TSX: ANP) today announced that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), has reported two-year data from its SYNTAX clinical trial comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the Taxus(R) Express(R) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

3 Sep 2009

SYNTAX clinical trial results announced

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced two-year data from its SYNTAX clinical trial comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using the TAXUS((R)) Express((R)) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

3 Sep 2009

Boston Scientific to discuss final results of MADIT-CRT trial at the European Society of Cardiology Congress

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the schedule of the Company's major events and news announcements for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, which runs from August 29 to September 2 in Barcelona. Highlights include final results from the MADIT-CRT trial and two-year results from the SYNTAX trial.

28 Aug 2009

Women face higher risk of mortality rate following acute coronary syndromes

Women may have a slightly higher risk of death than men in the 30 days following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS; such as heart attack or unstable angina), but this difference appears attributable to factors such as severity and type of ACS, clinical differences and angiographic severity according to a study in the August 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Aug 2009

Less is more when it comes to blood transfusions

A new study suggests that blood transfusions for hospitalized cardiac patients should be a last resort because they double the risk of infection and increase by four times the risk of death.

5 Aug 2009

Aptamers offer unique therapeutic advantages

A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical development as treatments for a broad range of common diseases, as described in a comprehensive review article published online ahead of print in Oligonucleotides.

5 Aug 2009

Long-term brain damage after bypass surgery - more evidence puts blame on heart disease

Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.

3 Aug 2009

Blood transfusions associated with infection

A study of almost 25,000 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients has shown that receiving blood from another person is associated with a two-fold increase in post-operative infection rates. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, also found considerable hospital variation in transfusion practices.

30 Jul 2009