Heart Attack News and Research

RSS

Best seller Lipitor shown to improve kidney function

According to drug maker Pfizer it's top selling product worldwide, the cholesterol lowering medication Lipitor (Atorvastatin) has been shown to improve kidney function in patients with heart disease.

13 Mar 2006

Aspirin still the best for reducing the heart attack risk

New research has revealed that the addition of the blood-thinning drug Plavix to a daily dose of aspirin does not lower the risk of death, heart attack or stroke in high-risk patients.

13 Mar 2006

B vitamins and folic acid don't cut the risk of further heart attacks

Scientists have found that levels of the amino acid homocysteine may be high in people destined for a heart attack or stroke, and some studies in the past have linked homocysteine to an increased risk of heart disease.

13 Mar 2006

A more accurate method for measuring blood levels of endothelial progenitor cells

A more accurate method for measuring blood levels of specialized cells that circulate in the bloodstream and repair damage to the arterial lining has been discovered by Duke University Medical Center cardiologists.

13 Mar 2006

Health disparities in heart attack hospital transfer patterns

Older, female and minority patients rushed to community hospitals with acute heart attacks are less likely to be transferred to a larger hospital that offers procedures to immediately open clogged arteries, Duke University Medical Center cardiologists have found.

13 Mar 2006

Anxiety restricts blood flow in some patients

The fear of public speaking might cause some people to do more than just break out in a cold sweat and battle stomach-churning butterflies - it could prove to have consequences for their heart health.

13 Mar 2006

Expressing anger in the moment is not healthy

According to a new book, Getting Control of Your Anger: A Clinically Proven, Three-Step Plan for Getting to the Root of the Problem and Resolving It (McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Dr. Robert Allan, a noted clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, for most people and in most circumstances, directly expressed anger will only make a bad situation worse.

9 Mar 2006

How close Americans live to hospitals that can perform angioplasty

University of Michigan and Yale analysis shows that within 60 minutes, 80 percent of Americans could reach a hospital that can do emergency angioplasty.

9 Mar 2006

Aspirin is beneficial in a wide range of men for protection against heart disease

Taking aspirin to prevent coronary heart disease is beneficial and cost-effective for a wider range of men than is often recognized, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

9 Mar 2006

Link between coffee consumption and risk of myocardial infarction greater with certain gene variation

Individuals who have a genetic variation associated with slower caffeine metabolism appear to have an increased risk of non-fatal heart attack associated with higher amounts of coffee intake

9 Mar 2006

Coffee good or bad for you? It depends on your genes!

Scientists know that coffee, a major source of caffeine, is metabolized by the enzyme, cytochrome P450 1A2, and some individuals who have that particular gene are "rapid" caffeine metabolizers, whereas those with a different variation of the gene are "slow" caffeine metabolizers.

8 Mar 2006

Study may lead to ways to reduce heart attacks in diabetes patients

For people with type 2 diabetes, the death rate from a first heart attack is two to three times the death rate of patients without the disease. Similarly, patients with diabetes and ischemic (reduced blood flow) heart disease have a much higher mortality rate than the general population.

7 Mar 2006

Hostile women more likely to have atherosclerosis

Hardening of the coronary arteries is more likely in wives when they and their husbands express hostility during marital disagreements, and more common in husbands when either they or their wives act in a controlling manner.

7 Mar 2006

A healthy heart means all the usual plus don't fight with your spouse

According to researchers in the U.S. older couples who argue and row harm their hearts.

6 Mar 2006

Achieving rapid door-to-balloon times: How top hospitals improve complex clinical systems

Some of the key elements for success in the rapid treatment of heart attacks have been identified by researchers at Yale School of Medicine in a recent issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

1 Mar 2006

Bone marrow stem cells do not improve cardiac function in heart attack patients

There has been increasing evidence that stem cells contribute to regeneration of cardiac tissue and the development of new blood vessels following a heart attack, thus opening up new prospects for stem-cell based therapies.

1 Mar 2006

Study questions whether treatment is necessary for mild thyroid problems

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that leaving a mildly underactive thyroid gland (subclinical hypothyroidism) untreated does not lead to increased cardiovascular risk.

1 Mar 2006

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) reduces angina

Patients with angina (chest pain) and left ventricular dysfunction respond very well to treatment using enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP), with little or no future heart failure events, according to researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

1 Mar 2006

Upsurge in diabetes-related deaths in New York City

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have documented a dramatic upsurge in diabetes-related deaths and illnesses in New York City - including a sharp increase in diabetic patients hospitalized with heart attacks.

1 Mar 2006

FDA shields drug companies from lawsuits

Last month, the FDA revealed its latest protective policy for drug companies in a statement that said people who believe they have been injured by drugs approved by the FDA should not be allowed to sue drug companies in state courts.

1 Mar 2006