Heart Attack News and Research

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FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.

26 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

Nicotine can contribute to atherosclerosis

Cigarette smoke has long been considered the main risk factor for heart disease. But new research from Brown University in Providence, R.I., shows that nicotine itself, a component of cigarette smoke, can contribute to the disease process by changing cell structure in a way that promotes migration and invasion of the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels.

24 Feb 2012

Circadian rhythm can influence a heart attack

Researchers have found that a biological clock can influence a heart attack. The risk of “sudden cardiac death” peaks in the morning and rises again in the evening as shown in lab animals.

23 Feb 2012

FDA approves Boston Scientific's ION and TAXUS Liberte paclitaxel-eluting stents

Boston Scientific Corporation's ION Paclitaxel-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System and TAXUS Liberte Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in patients experiencing an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attack.

23 Feb 2012

Silent & atypical heart attacks more dangerous & fatal in young women

It is known that chest pain or discomfort is the most common heart attack symptom. In addition, fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath and pain or numbness in the jaw, arms or back can also signal a blocked artery cutting off vital oxygen and nutrients from the heart.

22 Feb 2012

How 30 kidneys linked 60 lives

The New York Times examines a lengthy kidney transplant chain and explores how the current system continues to hamper transplantation efforts.

22 Feb 2012

New injectable hydrogel can treat tissue damage from heart attack

University of California, San Diego researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks.

22 Feb 2012

Nation's top hospitals for emergency medical care

A report released today by HealthGrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital, identified the nation's top performing hospital for emergency medical care. The analysis also found large differences in the risk adjusted mortality rates for patients admitted through the Emergency Department, both by hospital and by market area.

21 Feb 2012

Screening events to find out risk for heart attack or stroke

If you could find out if you had an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, wouldn't you want to know? Even if you are fit and healthy, coronary artery disease (CAD) or peripheral artery disease (PAD) are conditions with little to no symptoms and can put you at an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

20 Feb 2012

Addiction to social networking leads to sleep deprivation

Millions of Britons are losing valuable sleep each night because they are addicted to social networking according to findings from a new sleep report.

18 Feb 2012

Women with heart problems at higher cancer risk after Omega-3 and vitamin B supplementation

However, women with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies seem to have a higher cancer risk after five years of supplementation. The research is published in detail in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

18 Feb 2012

State roundup: U.S. Senators demand more medical board oversight; Californians losing coverage; Arizona's prison 'quandary'

"The administration never consulted us," said Susan Millerick, spokeswoman for the Hartford-based Aetna. Other Connecticut health insurers are letting the American Health Insurance Plans, a Washington-based trade association, voice their concerns. ... "We are concerned about the precedent this proposed rule would set," AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said.

17 Feb 2012

NCQA tool doesn't adequately evaluate quality of diabetes care at health centers

On the health front, the poor often have at least two things going against them: a lack of insurance and chronic illnesses, of which diabetes is among the most common.

16 Feb 2012

Diet exerts a strong influence on heart health

Food is your friend and your biggest foe. A healthy diet sustains us, but a poor diet can raise blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels and weight and put you at risk for heart disease.

16 Feb 2012

UCSF stem cell study suggests novel strategy for heart attack

A UCSF stem cell study conducted in mice suggests a novel strategy for treating damaged cardiac tissue in patients following a heart attack. The approach potentially could improve cardiac function, minimize scar size, lead to the development of new blood vessels - and avoid the risk of tissue rejection.

16 Feb 2012

Study finds poor QOL in South Asians with coronary artery disease

In a first-of-its-kind study in Canada, Kevin Bainey of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has discovered that South Asians who live in Alberta with coronary disease experience a lower quality of life.

16 Feb 2012

Direct link between short telomere length, heart attack and early death

Every cell in the body has chromosomes with so-called telomeres, which are shortened over time and also through lifestyle choices such as smoking and obesity. Researchers have long speculated that the shortening of telomeres increases the risk of heart attack and early death. Now a large-scale population study in Denmark involving nearly 20,000 people shows that there is in fact a direct link, and has also given physicians a future way to test the actual cellular health of a person.

16 Feb 2012

Large number of Australians with high blood pressure and heart disease risk

For the study researchers from Melbourne-based Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute looked at medical records of 532,050 patients who visited GPs between 2005 and 2010 and found 36 per cent, had high blood pressure. At least 250,000 patients did not meet individual blood pressure targets, placing them at risk of future heart attacks or strokes.

15 Feb 2012

Heart attack scars mended using stem cells

Researchers from United States have successfully healed the scars caused by a heart attack using stem cells gathered from the patient's own heart. The amount of scar tissue was halved in the small safety trial reported in the Lancet medical journal. The authors said there was also an “unprecedented” increase in new heart muscle.

15 Feb 2012