Angioplasty News and Research

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In angioplasty procedures, a balloon is fed through a catheter and used to prop open an artery that has become narrowed or blocked. In cases where stenting is appropriate, a stent mounted on a balloon is inserted and inflation of the balloon expands the stent against the blocked artery wall to hold the vessel open. The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is withdrawn. Stent treatment of arteries holds them open and improves blood flow to the heart. In cases where post-dilatation is needed, a high-pressure balloon is inflated inside a stent to help better place the stent against the vessel wall.

Rehabilitation significantly underused after heart attack and bypass surgery

Despite strong evidence that cardiac rehabilitation reduces disability and prolongs life, fewer than one in five people receive rehabilitation services after a heart attack or coronary bypass surgery, according to a Brandeis study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

26 Sep 2007

Vibrating catheters break through clogged arteries

A new vibrating catheter breaks through clogged arteries like a jackhammer, obliterating total blockages in patients with dangerous chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

13 Sep 2007

Health spending in OECD countries in 2004 and trends in the health of older Americans

Health Spending In OECD Countries In 2004: An Update, by Gerard Anderson, Bianca Frogner, and Uwe Reinhardt. "In 2004, the U.S. health care system continued to provide less access to health care resources than the health systems in many other [industrialized] countries; however, the United States continued to have the highest level of spending," Anderson and coauthors report.

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

Two drugs equally effective for heart patients undergoing angioplasty

In lifesaving procedures to open blocked heart arteries a key question has persisted for years: Is use of the more expensive drug, abciximab, justified over use of the less-expensive eptifibatide

11 Sep 2007

Drug eluting stents should be used with caution in acute myocardial infarction

Drug-eluting stents are extremely effective devices to prevent restenosis following angioplasty. Yet, since last year, there is some debate and persistent uncertainty regarding the long term safety of these devices. Specifically, there is concern that some of these stents may occlude abruptly more than 1 year after placement, due to "late stent thrombosis".

3 Sep 2007

Left main stem angioplasty

The left main coronary artery supplies at least two thirds of the hearts blood supply. When it becomes narrowed it causes large areas of the heart to malfunction with subsequent severe anginal chest pain and breathlessness. Occlusion of the left main coronary is usually fatal within a matter of seconds.

3 Sep 2007

Immediate emergency angioplasty can save the lives of those experiencing MI

We have demonstrated that patients who have an acute myocardial infarction and are admitted to a hospital which has no possibility to perform direct angioplasty, benefit from being transferred immediately after having received thrombolytics to a hospital where angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI, often including stent implantation) can be immediately performed.

3 Sep 2007

How to optimally prepare a patient for planned coronary angiography and subsequent angioplasty?

A Czech study compared two anti-clotting treatment regimens, currently used before coronary angiography / angioplasty to find the optimal balance between preventing ischemic versus bleeding complications of these procedures. The study was conducted in five Czech tertiary cardiology centers.

3 Sep 2007

Long term follow up of additional Swedish registry data does not indicate an increased

Four years of follow up including additional patients in the Swedish Coronary angiography and angioplasty registry (SCAAR) does no longer indicate any increased mortality in patients treated with drug eluting stents compared to patients treated with bare metal stents.

2 Sep 2007

Australian researchers discover a 'novel molecular dictator with a conscience'

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have uncovered an important naturally occurring mechanism in the body where "bad" cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while "good" cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected.

27 Aug 2007

Vitamin supplements no benefit to women's heart health

Researchers in the U.S. say middle-aged women at risk for heart disease derive little benefit from taking vitamins C, E or beta carotene.

14 Aug 2007

Many heart attack patients still not getting emergency reperfusion

Far more of today's heart attack patients receive emergency angioplasty treatment or clot-busting drugs to re-open their clogged heart arteries than even a decade ago, a new study finds.

6 Aug 2007

Emergency angioplasty use rises, but some patients still miss out

Compared with their counterparts a decade ago, today's heart attack patients are receiving emergency angioplasty or clot-busting drugs to re-open clogged arteries at a far greater rate, but 10 percent of patients who could benefit from this life-saving treatment still do not receive it, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine by Yale and University of Michigan researchers.

6 Aug 2007

Integrated system, rapid transfer offers lifeline for heart attack victims

Heart attack patients received lifesaving treatment quickly when hospitals and communities used an integrated, rapid transfer system to get patients to a facility equipped to perform artery-opening procedures, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

3 Aug 2007

Study compares specialty orthopedic and general hospitals

Specialty orthopedic hospitals serve a healthier population of Medicare patients compared to general hospitals, according to a new study by investigators at the University of Iowa and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Iowa City Health Care System.

3 Aug 2007

FDA Avandia recommendation welcomed by Endocrinologists

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), along with the rest of the medical community, has watched with concern the debate regarding usage of GlaxoSmithKline's rosiglitazone (Avandia) in diabetes and the question of whether it increases cardiovascular risk.

1 Aug 2007

Discovery of novel 'molecular dictator with a conscience'

23 Jul 2007

Genetically engineered herpes simplex virus keeps arteries free-flowing

A genetically engineered herpes simplex virus, primarily known for causing cold sores, may help keep arteries "free-flowing" in the weeks following angioplasty or stent placement for patients, according to research published early in the online edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).

11 Jul 2007

Transplant of angina patients' purified stem cells provides symptom relief

The first U.S. study to transplant a potent form of purified adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina provided evidence that the procedure is safe and produced a reduction in angina pain as well as improved functioning in patients' daily lives, reports the lead researcher at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

27 Jun 2007