Blood Clot News and Research

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A Blood Clot is a mass of blood that forms when blood platelets, proteins, and cells stick together. When a blood clot is attached to the wall of a blood vessel, it is called a thrombus. When it moves through the bloodstream and blocks the flow of blood in another part of the body, it is called an embolus.

Specific altered function in heart's left atrium may signal stroke risk in people with a-fib

Stroke is a frequent and dreaded complication of atrial fibrillation. But predicting which of the estimated six million Americans with a-fib are at highest risk has long challenged physicians weighing stroke risk against the serious side effects posed by lifelong therapy with warfarin and other blood thinners.

28 Apr 2015

WPI researchers receive NIH grant to develop new class of tissue-engineered heart valves

With a $450,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will analyze how mechanical forces and cellular growth factors affect the growth and development of human heart valves to advance the long-term goal of using tissue engineering to develop replacement valves that are more natural and longer-lasting than current replacement valves.

23 Apr 2015

Pulmonary Hypertension Center at RI Hospital receives PHA accreditation

The Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Rhode Island Hospital is one of the nation's first centers of its kind to be accredited by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. For those affected by pulmonary hypertension (PH), accreditation assures them and their providers that they have access to the most advanced care available in the country.

20 Apr 2015

Study confirms benefits of removing blood clots after stroke

A technique that removes blood clots from large brain blood vessels reduced disability after stroke in a trial conducted in Catalonia, Spain, and co-led by an expert from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

20 Apr 2015

Warfarin and PT-INR testing: an interview with Paul Wright, CEO, Universal Biosensors

There are roughly 10 million people worldwide taking Warfarin, accounting for more than 200 million point of care (POC) PT-INR tests performed globally each year...

15 Apr 2015

Stroke patients can benefit from clot-busting drug, shows brain scan study

A drug that breaks up blood clots in the brains of stroke patients could be used more widely than at present without increased risk, a brain scan study suggests.

10 Apr 2015

Shorter individuals at greater risk of heart disease

In a study of more than 200,000 people with or without heart disease, researchers from the University of Leicester found that for every 2.5 inch decrease in a person’s height, the risk of coronary heart disease increased by 13.5%...

9 Apr 2015

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute sets new national standard for most adult heart transplants

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute completed 120 adult heart transplants and two adult heart-lung transplants in 2014, setting a new national standard for the most adult heart transplants performed in a single year.

9 Apr 2015

Changes in height can affect risk of coronary heart disease

The shorter you are- the more your risk of coronary heart disease. That's the key finding of a new study led by the University of Leicester which discovered that every 2.5 inches change in your height affected your risk of coronary heart disease by 13.5%. For example, compared to a 5ft 6inch tall person, a 5 foot tall person on average has a 32% higher risk of coronary heart disease because of their relatively shorter stature.

8 Apr 2015

TOAST classification remains effective, easy-to-use system to classify strokes

In 1993, neurologists Harold P. Adams Jr., MD, and Jose Biller, MD, and colleagues proposed a new way to classify strokes. It became known as the TOAST classification. Twenty-two years later, the TOAST classification remains an effective and easy-to-use system that is routinely employed in stroke studies around the world, Drs. Adams and Biller report in the journal Stroke, published online ahead of print.

8 Apr 2015

Pouchlike structure inside the heart's left atrial chamber could cause strokes

A pouchlike structure inside the heart's left atrial chamber in some people may explain strokes that otherwise lack an identifiable cause, according to UC Irvine School of Medicine researchers.

2 Apr 2015

New stent retriever device reduces stroke damage

Elizabeth Celli was experiencing a moderate-to-severe stroke when she arrived at Loyola University Medical Center's Emergency Department. Mrs. Celli was weak on her left side, had difficulty speaking and was unable to walk. But after being treated with a new device called a stent retriever, her symptoms dramatically reversed.

30 Mar 2015

Laparoscopic hysterectomy with morcellation safer than abdominal procedure for treating presumed fibroid uterus

In a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill compared the relative risks of laparoscopic hysterectomy (with morcellation) with abdominal surgery for hysterectomy in premenopausal women undergoing surgery for presumed uterine fibroids.

25 Mar 2015

Migraine headaches with auras may increase risk of stroke

People who suffer migraine headaches with auras are at roughly double the risk of suffering the most common type of stroke.

25 Mar 2015

Boston Scientific announces successful implantations of WATCHMAN Device in three US patients

This week, three patients in the United States received the first implants of the Boston Scientific Corporation WATCHMAN™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device.

25 Mar 2015

Newly discovered bodily process may explain fetal brain bleeds

A newly discovered bodily process in mice may explain why some human fetuses who have different antigens than their mothers suffer life-threatening brain bleeds, according to a new study.

24 Mar 2015

UM experts warn of serious risks associated with common IV devices

Every day, patients around the country get IV devices placed in their arms, to make it easier to receive medicines or have blood drawn over the course of days or weeks. But these PICC lines, as they're called, also raise the risk of potentially dangerous blood clots.

23 Mar 2015

Anticoagulant drug bivalirudin shows mixed results in MATRIX trial

Patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing angioplasty who received the anticoagulant drug bivalirudin did not show significant improvements in either of two co-primary endpoints--a composite of rate of death, heart attack or stroke at 30 days, or a composite of those events plus major bleeding--as compared to patients receiving standard anticoagulation therapy, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.

23 Mar 2015

New anti-clotting therapy no better than established anticoagulants

A novel therapy that would allow doctors to turn the body's blood-clotting ability off and on in a more controlled way was about as effective as established anticoagulants in patients undergoing angioplasty but was associated with higher rates of moderate to severe bleeding, according to an analysis of data from a terminated Phase III trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.

20 Mar 2015

3D printed heart models to aid doctors plan for complex ops'

A team of doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are exploring new avenues to improve surgical preparations and patient care. The hospital recently partnered with the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) to produce a 3D printed heart model of a patient with a rare, life-threatening heart condition. 3D printed anatomical models derived from patient scans enable doctors to “practice” surgery in advance and assess possible complications for delicate procedures, improving the outcome of operations.

19 Mar 2015