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.

Long-term use of rosiglitazone (Avandia) increases heart attack risk by more than 40 percent

An analysis of four studies involving more than 14,000 patients found that long-term use of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) increased the risk of heart attack by 42 percent and doubled the risk of heart failure, according to a new report from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

12 Sep 2007

Glycemic control medication appears to have favorable effect regarding risk of cardiovascular events

A meta-analysis of previous research suggests that use of pioglitazone, a glycemic control medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, but increases the risk for serious heart failure, according to an article in the September 12 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Sep 2007

GlaxoSmithKline responds to Journal of the American Medical Association articles

GlaxoSmithKline believes that conclusions drawn from the most recent meta-analyses published by Drs. Nissen et. al. and Furberg et. al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association do not confirm a difference in the safety profile of Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone).

12 Sep 2007

Diabetes drug Pioglitazone reduces risk of death, heart attack and stroke, but increases risk of heart failure

A drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes has been found to reduce the risk of death, heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke when used alone or in combination with other therapies for diabetes, according to a Cleveland Clinic study.

12 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007

Preventing enlarged heart reduces heart failure

For high-blood-pressure patients, preventing or reducing enlarged heart (left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH) reduces risk of heart failure. The study is published in the Sept. 4 Annals of Internal Medicine and led by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

11 Sep 2007

Scientists identify process that causes blood vessels to constrict during and after a heart attack

They've also demonstrated that delivering a vital molecule that is depleted during this process directly to those blood vessels can reverse damage and help restore blood flow.

11 Sep 2007

Millions unaware they have potentially fatal high blood pressure

According to a medical charity in the UK more than five million Britons are living with potentially fatal high blood pressure and are unaware of it.

10 Sep 2007

Generic Coreg (carvedilol) approved in U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Coreg (carvedilol). Coreg is a widely used medication that is FDA-approved to treat high blood pressure, mild to severe chronic heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction following a heart attack.

10 Sep 2007

Experts say screening families of heart attack victims could save many lives

Scottish researchers say by screening the relatives of middle-aged heart attack sufferers many lives would be saved.

9 Sep 2007

Myoendothelial cells identified as new human source of stem cells with potential to repair muscle

For the first time, scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have discovered a unique population of adult stem cells derived from human muscle that could be used to treat muscle injuries and diseases such as heart attack and muscular dystrophy.

5 Sep 2007

Patients with depression may not recover their heart rate variability following heart attack

Patients with depression appear to have an impaired ability to recover their heart rate variability following acute coronary syndromes such as heart attack, a factor that could increase their risk of coronary death, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Sep 2007

getABI study finds that even mild atherosclerosis in the legs increases mortality substantially

Patients with atherosclerosis in the leg arteries face a substantially increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk, according to a large study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Vienna.

3 Sep 2007

Triage guidelines for emergency heart patients studied

Two new studies led by researchers at the University of Iowa and the Department of Veterans Affairs Iowa City Health Care System provide reassuring findings for patients evaluated in the emergency room for possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the physicians who treat them.

30 Aug 2007

Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) News and Research

Further Reading

Long-term use of rosiglitazone (Avandia) increases heart attack risk by more than 40 percent

Glycemic control medication appears to have favorable effect regarding risk of cardiovascular events

GlaxoSmithKline responds to Journal of the American Medical Association articles

Diabetes drug Pioglitazone reduces risk of death, heart attack and stroke, but increases risk of heart failure

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

Preventing enlarged heart reduces heart failure

Scientists identify process that causes blood vessels to constrict during and after a heart attack

Millions unaware they have potentially fatal high blood pressure

Generic Coreg (carvedilol) approved in U.S.

Experts say screening families of heart attack victims could save many lives

Myoendothelial cells identified as new human source of stem cells with potential to repair muscle

Patients with depression may not recover their heart rate variability following heart attack

getABI study finds that even mild atherosclerosis in the legs increases mortality substantially

Triage guidelines for emergency heart patients studied

Small animal imaging facility is big boon to research

New generation of implanted heart-assisting pumps help patients survive, regain function til transplant

Genial bone advancement trephine effective treatiment for sleep apnea

Blood HDL cholesterol levels influence association of alcohol intake with blood pressure in young men

Cholesterol-lowering statins may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's

Novel heart repair therapy could be in the pipeline

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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