Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) News and Research

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A Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.

Heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women in the United States. But fortunately, today there are excellent treatments for heart attack that can save lives and prevent disabilities. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms. Heart attacks occur most often as a result of a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD). In CAD, a fatty material called plaque (plak) builds up over many years on the inside walls of the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to your heart). Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture, causing a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the part of the heart muscle fed by the artery.

Five steps to get on track with preventive screenings

Five health prevention strategies could save more than 100,000 lives a year, according to recent research reported in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

6 Mar 2008

Novel imaging technique provides comprehensive diagnosis of heart disease

In the current issue of the journal Circulation, a research team from the Medical University of South Carolina's (MUSC) Heart & Vascular Center report their initial experience with a novel imaging technique that enables comprehensive diagnosis of heart disease based on a single computerized tomographic (CT) scan.

6 Mar 2008

Does depression lead to stroke?

Psychological distress, but not depression, may increase the risk of stroke, according to a study published in the March 4, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Mar 2008

Clinical depression raises risk of death for heart attack patients years after attack

Depressed heart attack patients have a higher risk for sudden death in the months following a heart attack.

4 Mar 2008

Snoring linked to cardiovascular disease, increased health-care utilization

Loud snoring with breathing pauses is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and increased health care utilization, according to a study published in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

3 Mar 2008

Diabetes is rapidly increasing globally, and Asian Indians have the highest prevalence

The incidence of type 2 diabetes is rising, especially in urbanized parts of the world where sedentary lifestyles and obesity abound.

1 Mar 2008

Potential novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke

A new compound that blocks an early step in cell death could lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke.

28 Feb 2008

Effect of tumor necrosis factor a inhibitors on heart failure risk in rheumatoid arthritis

A chronic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent inflammation of the synovial membrane and progressive joint destruction.

28 Feb 2008

Age related macular degeneration doubles heart attack and stroke risk

The progressive eye disease, age related macular degeneration, or AMD for short, doubles the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, reveals research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

28 Feb 2008

Hormones produced by the heart eliminate pancreatic cancer in mice

Hormones produced by the heart eliminated human pancreatic cancer in more than three-quarters of the mice treated with the hormones and eliminated human breast cancer in two-thirds of the mice, according to researcher David Vesely, a doctor at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa and a professor at the University of South Florida (USF).

27 Feb 2008

Adult stem cells may be beneficial for certain cardiovascular disorders and autoimmune diseases

A review of previously published research suggests that stem cells harvested from an adult's blood or marrow may provide treatment benefit to select patients for some autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular disorders, according to an article in the February 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Feb 2008

Mechanism of blood clot elasticity revealed in high definition

Blood clots can save lives, staunching blood loss after injury, but they can also kill. Let loose in the bloodstream, a clot can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism.

26 Feb 2008

Many stroke, heart attack patients may not benefit from aspirin

Up to 20 percent of patients taking aspirin to lower the risk of suffering a second cerebrovascular event do not have an antiplatelet response from aspirin, the effect thought to produce the protective effect, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.

26 Feb 2008

Stroke risk factors may signal faster cognitive decline in elderly

Older Americans with the highest risk of stroke, but those who have never suffered a stroke, also have the highest rate of cognitive decline, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.

26 Feb 2008

Genetic mutation linked to peripheral artery disease

The finding, appearing online in the journal Circulation, is the first to document a genetic mutation linked to PAD. Although the work was done in mice, researchers say it is likely to give them new insight into how PAD develops and progresses in humans.

26 Feb 2008

Daytime dozing linked to increased stroke risk in elderly

Regular daytime dozing forewarns of a significantly increased risk of stroke in older Americans, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.

21 Feb 2008

Test for blood sugar not accurate in diabetic dialysis patients

The standard test for measuring blood sugar control in people with diabetes is not accurate in those on kidney hemodialysis, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

21 Feb 2008

Study confirms aprotinin drug increases cardiac surgery death rate

The largest study to date of a controversial cardiac surgery drug shows it increases death rates and damages kidney function, according Duke University Medical Center researchers.

21 Feb 2008

Standard test for blood sugar control not accurate in diabetic dialysis patients

21 Feb 2008

Reducing kids' salt intake may lower soft drink consumption

Children who eat less salt drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers reported in the print and online issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

21 Feb 2008