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.

Estrogen HRT can limit plaque accumulation in arteries

Estrogen can limit significantly the accumulation of plaque in the arteries of women in their 50s, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Newson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/20).

22 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

In the first trial of its kind in the world, 60 patients who have recently suffered a major heart attack will be injected with selected stem cells from their own bone marrow during routine coronary bypass surgery.

22 Jun 2007

HRT not such a bad idea after all!

Older women struggling to cope with the symptoms of the menopause will be reassured by the latest research into hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

21 Jun 2007

High rate of misdiagnosis in patients in an acute vegetative state

New studies underline the importance of extreme caution in any decision to limit the life chances of patients during the acute phase of a vegetative state.

20 Jun 2007

Rheumatoid factor is a risk factor for heart disease in men

Scientists have found that a product of white blood cells linked to rheumatoid arthritis could cause heart disease in men.

20 Jun 2007

Obese heart attack patients more likely to survive after treatment than normal weight patients

Obese and very obese patients have a lower risk of dying after they have been treated for heart attacks than do normal weight patients, according to research published in the European Heart Journal today (Wednesday 20 June).

20 Jun 2007

Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of heart attacks a success

Acute heart attacks can be successfully treated through a multidisciplinary team approach involving Emergency Medical Services, emergency physicians, cardiologists and specialty centres, according to a study conducted by Dr. Jacobus S. de Villiers and colleagues in Calgary.

19 Jun 2007

Patients hospitalized with pneumonia at increased risk of major heart problems

A new study suggests patients hospitalized with pneumonia may be at serious risk of new or worsening heart problems.

19 Jun 2007

Aspirin resistance

Aspirin is used by millions of patients for the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease, the single leading cause of death in the world.

17 Jun 2007

Need for a better system of drug evaluation

The current drug surveillance system needs to be fixed, argues an editorial in the British Medical Journal.

17 Jun 2007

Does Alli work?

The first and only over-the-counter product for weight loss approved by the Food and Drug Administration will be available Friday, June 15.

17 Jun 2007

Swift system for heart attack care improves treatment

Heart attack patients received lifesaving care up to an hour sooner after an Indiana hospital implemented a novel protocol to rapidly activate the cardiac catheterization lab, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Jun 2007

Newer breast cancer drug may protect heart

By uncovering how one breast cancer drug protects the heart and another does not, Duke University Medical Center researchers believe they may have opened up a new way to screen drugs for possible heart-related side effects and to develop new drugs.

16 Jun 2007

Study shows pre-op red blood cell levels affect post-op outcomes

Men over 65 with even slightly abnormal red blood cell counts either too low or too high are at greater risk of post-operative death or car-diac events following a major non-cardiac surgery, according to a new study by researchers at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

15 Jun 2007

Black Medicare patients less likely to receive angioplasty following a heart attack

A large study has found that black Medicare patients are less likely than white patients to receive blood vessel opening procedures such as angioplasty following a heart attack, whether they are admitted to hospitals that provide or do not provide these procedures, but also experience higher mortality rates at 1 year, according to a study in the June 13 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Jun 2007

Which exercise for heart failure?

Countless exercise programs claim to trim the thighs, abs and buttocks, but how many offer to reshape a flabby heart? According to new research, aerobic exercise does just that for patients with stable heart failure, literally turning an enlarged heart into a trimmer, more efficient organ for pumping blood throughout the body.

14 Jun 2007

Skin colour may dictate how well you do after a heart attack

A new study in the U.S. has found that the colour of your skin may predict how you are treated following a heart attack.

13 Jun 2007

Inflammation again implicated in atherosclerosis

Men whose blood tests positive for the auto-antibody rheumatoid factor have a three times higher risk of heart disease, according to a study published online ahead of print in Heart .

8 Jun 2007

In mice, drug protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online in Nature.

8 Jun 2007