Heart Attack News and Research

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Angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors may reduce cardiovascular risk

Angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, medications commonly used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), may reduce cardiovascular risk and the risk of death in patients with coronary artery disease, according to a new analysis of previously conducted clinical trials reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

13 Apr 2006

No evidence that taking estrogen alone increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women

The findings come three years after a related WHI study found that a different type of hormone therapy - which combined estrogen and progestin - did result in a higher risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women.

13 Apr 2006

A drink or two a day may be associated with better cognitive function in women

"Women who had up to two drinks a day scored about 20 percent higher on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) than women who didn't drink at all or who consumed less than one drink a week," said Clinton Wright, M.D., M.S., lead author of the study.

13 Apr 2006

Sildenafil improves blood flow after heart attack in an animal model

Dogs treated with sildenafil, a drug most commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, had better blood flow in coronary arteries than control animals, following an induced artery obstruction and treatment that modeled a heart attack and standard medical care given to people

13 Apr 2006

How you wake up might explain near death experiences

According to a new study, people who have had near death experiences often have different arousal systems controlling the sleep-wake states than people who have never had such an experience.

12 Apr 2006

Prostate cancer risk linked to high cholesterol

Italian Researchers say they have found what they believe to be the first direct link between high cholesterol levels and prostate cancer.

12 Apr 2006

Estrogen-alone hormone therapy does not increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women

The results contrast with the previously reported WHI Estrogen plus Progestin Trial, which found an increase in breast cancer over about 5 years among those taking combined hormone therapy.

11 Apr 2006

REM state intrusion contributes to near death experiences

People who have had near death experiences often have different arousal systems controlling the sleep-wake states than people who have not had a near death experience, according to a new study published in the April 11, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Apr 2006

Guidelines for medication withdrawal

Although thousands of scientific papers evaluate and compare new and established drugs each year, providing evidence to help doctors prescribe safe and effective doses, almost no studies focus on when or how to stop these medications, even late in life.

11 Apr 2006

MPD Foundation funds research for incurable blood disorders

The Myeloproliferative Disorders Foundation has awarded $750,000 to establish the MPD Research Alliance, a collaboration of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic to accelerate drug development for incurable, progressive bone marrow disorders.

11 Apr 2006

Discovery of a new mechanism for the neurodegenerative effects of amphetamines

University of Toronto study finds amphetamines are converted in the brain into free radicals whose effects manifest and linger long after the amphetamine has left the body.

7 Apr 2006

Staggering costs of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation on the nation

According to a new report by the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, which adversely affects daily functioning, health and longevity.

5 Apr 2006

Prostate drug doxazosin blocks receptor in heart muscle, increasing risk of heart failure

Doxazosin, a drug commonly prescribed to help improve urinary flow in men with enlarged prostates, increases the likelihood of heart failure by blocking specific receptors in heart muscle cells, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

4 Apr 2006

High levels of HDL cholesterol more important than low levels of LDL in protecting against heart attack

The researchers looked at the history of heart disease, age, sex, race, weight and other heart disease risk factors in almost 7,000 patients. The patients were predominately inner city residents and included a large number of African Americans, women, smokers and overweight people.

4 Apr 2006

Enzyme released by cardiac mast cells during heart attack contributes to arrhythmia

In times of cardiac crisis, mast cells in the heart secrete a powerful enzyme, renin, that indirectly triggers dangerous arrhythmias, according to a team of researchers at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City.

4 Apr 2006

Tobacco plants being used to produce human albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the intravenous protein most commonly used in the world for therapeutic ends. It is employed to stabilise blood volume and to avoid risk of a heart attack, its administration in operating theatres being almost a daily occurrence.

27 Mar 2006