Heart Attack News and Research

RSS

Improved clinical quality leads to decline in quality of patients' experiences

Hospitals that adopt strategies to reduce errors and meet government requirements face an initial tradeoff between improved clinical quality and a decline in the quality of individual patients' experiences, according to new research.

27 Mar 2012

Detailed CT scan can safely and quickly rule out possibility of heart attack

A highly detailed CT scan of the heart can safely and quickly rule out the possibility of a heart attack among many patients who come to hospital emergency rooms with chest pain, according to the results of a study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session and published concurrently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Mar 2012

UAB cardiac rehab program reduces mortality among people with heart attack

After two heart attacks and 10 stents, Rick Vinson had a decision to make — do nothing and likely die from heart disease like his father or take a chance at having a long life. Vinson chose the latter. After receiving his last stent in October 2010, he entered a cardiac rehab program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Since then he has dropped 20 pounds, his cholesterol has dropped to 141 from 315 and his triglycerides are down to 149 from 465.

27 Mar 2012

CCTA can safely and rapidly identify candidates for discharge from EDs

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) -- a non-invasive way to look inside arteries that supply blood to the heart -- can quickly and reliably determine which patients complaining of chest pain at an emergency department can safely be sent home, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

27 Mar 2012

Researchers launch major aspirin trial to eradicate H. pylori

Researchers have launched a major clinical trial to investigate whether eliminating a common stomach bug could help to make taking aspirin safer in some patients.

27 Mar 2012

Carotid artery stenting safe and effective in older adults

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and a multicenter team of investigators have found that carotid artery stenting (CAS) is safe and effective in patients age 70 and older.

27 Mar 2012

Study clarifies conflicting reports for clot aspiration and abciximab administration

The anti-platelet drug abciximab, delivered directly to lesions caused by a heart attack, significantly decreased damage to the heart muscle in high-risk patients while clot aspiration showed no impact, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

From Medtronic 27 Mar 2012

Bolus intracoronary abciximab reduces infarct size in high-risk patients with STEMI

Administration of a bolus dose of the anticoagulant drug abciximab into the coronary artery involved in causing a certain type of heart attack among patients who were undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention and also receiving another anticoagulant resulted in reduction in the size of damage to the heart muscle at 30 days, while a procedure that involved use of a catheter to remove the blood clot blocking that coronary artery did not produce these results, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

27 Mar 2012

Study finds imbalance between growth of PCI centers and the U.S. population

There is an imbalance between the rapid growth of cardiac catheterization laboratories, which provide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures, relative to the growth in the overall U.S. population, as well as patients who experience an acute heart attack, or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), according to a study presented March 25 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

27 Mar 2012

Pregnancy raises risk of heart attacks

According to a new study pregnancy and related hormonal changes that continue 12 weeks after giving birth increase a woman's risk of heart attack. Although the likelihood of having a heart attack during pregnancy is very low - just 1 in every 16,000 deliveries - it is still 3 to 4 times higher than non-pregnant women of the same age.

26 Mar 2012

CCTA identifies more patients with coronary artery disease

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans allow doctors to determine safely and more quickly which patients at low-to intermediate-risk for a heart attack can be discharged from hospital emergency departments (EDs) than traditional methods, according to the results of a large, multicenter American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Mar 2012

Synthetic pasta-like objects are major chemistry advances for regenerative medicine

Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces - and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents - may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist said here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

26 Mar 2012

PCI may be an excellent option for STEMI patients 90 years and older

Selected patients 90 years and older who experience an acute heart attack, or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), have reasonable outcomes with coronary stenting, and should be considered for reperfusion therapy, based on a scientific poster being presented at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

26 Mar 2012

Multifaceted intervention improves use of evidence-based medicines

Among patients with acute coronary syndromes (such as heart attack or unstable angina) treated at public hospitals in Brazil, implementation of a multifaceted intervention that included educational materials, checklists and reminders resulted in improvement in the use of evidence-based medicines during the first 24 hours of hospitalization, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

26 Mar 2012

Blockages in right coronary artery are most common places for coronary dissection

Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital discovered that blockages in the right coronary artery and those in bending areas of the coronary artery are the most common places for coronary dissection, a tear in the artery that can occur during balloon angioplasty of the coronary arteries.

26 Mar 2012

Results from Merck's vorapaxar study on cardiovascular events

Researchers today presented and published results from the TRA-2P (Thrombin-Receptor Antagonist in Secondary Prevention of Atherothrombotic Ischemic Events) TIMI 50 study of vorapaxar, Merck's investigational anti-thrombotic medicine, in patients with a prior history of cardiovascular events or disease.

26 Mar 2012

High-fat, low-carb foods linked with increased risk of heart attack in obese people

High-fat, low-carb foods are a popular choice for dieters, but new laboratory research by University of Alabama at Birmingham cardiologists indicates these may be detrimental to the health of people who have ischemic cardiovascular disease or a predisposition to heart attacks.

26 Mar 2012

Strong link between telomere shortening and heart disease risk

No one really wants the short end of the stick, in this case the short end of a chromosome. Telomeres, which are DNA-protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes, can be thought of as protein "caps" that protect chromosomes from deteriorating and fusing with neighboring chromosomes.

26 Mar 2012

Diabetics less likely to survive in-hospital cardiac arrest

Patients with high blood sugar run an increased risk of dying if they have a heart attack, and diabetics are less likely to survive in-hospital cardiac arrest than non-diabetics, reveals research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

26 Mar 2012

CVD/MI complications tend to occur within first 30 days after PCI

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty or angioplasty, is a procedure used to treat acute coronary syndromes. PCI involves opening a blocked blood vessel by threading and inflating a balloon-tipped tube into the vessel. Sometimes a stent is also inserted to keep the blood vessel open.

26 Mar 2012