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 The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is withdrawn.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.

Women's mortality rates for cardiovascular disease differ widely among hospitals

Women treated for cardiovascular disease at the nation's best- performing hospitals have a 39 percent lower risk-adjusted mortality rate when compared with women at the nation's poorest-performing hospitals, according to the fourth annual HealthGrades Women's Health Outcomes in U.S. Hospitals study.

26 Jun 2007

$50 million gift for University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center

On June 11, the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center's new building opened its doors to patients.

26 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.

23 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

22 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

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

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

Facts about heart disease for women

Many women don't worry about heart disease, or if they do, they are concerned it's something the men in their lives might develop.

8 Jun 2007

Overview of coronary stents

Tiny, expandable mesh tubes - or stents - which help prop open clogged arteries are among the most commonly used medical devices.

8 Jun 2007

Moderate alcohol consumption lowers women's risk of heart attack

Women who regularly enjoy an alcoholic drink or two have a significantly lower risk of having a non-fatal heart attack than women who are life-time abstainers, epidemiologists at the University at Buffalo have shown.

24 May 2007

Danube Pharmaceuticals starts trial of DNB-001 in patients with ocular hypertension

Danube Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the initiation of a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase II study with DNB-001 in 60 patients with ocular hypertension (elevated intraocular pressure).

18 May 2007

Minimally invasive treatment of chronic mesenteric ischemia

Using catheter techniques perfected in the arteries of the heart, interventional cardiologists are successfully treating chronic mesenteric ischemia, a condition akin to intestinal angina.

17 May 2007

Gender disparities in heart disease and diabetes managed care

Women with heart disease and diabetes are less likely to receive several types of routine outpatient medical care than men who have similar health problems, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

16 May 2007

Is the 90-minute deadline for inflation of angioplasty balloons really critical?

In the treatment of heart attack, the 90-minute goal for inflation of an angioplasty balloon in a blocked coronary artery to restore normal blood flow is so revered it's been codified in clinical guidelines, accreditation standards, and pay-for-performance programs.

15 May 2007

Angioplasty better than drugs for preventing second heart attack

After suffering a heart attack many patients still have low blood flow to the heart tissue while experiencing no symptoms and new research suggests that angioplasty is more effective than drugs for preventing second heart attacks in this situation.

14 May 2007

Recent developments for drug-eluting stents

Drug-eluting stents -- small metal tubes used to prop open clogged arteries -- have been garnering headlines.

10 May 2007

Off-label and untested use of drug-coated stents is common in U.S. practice

The off-label and untested use of drug-coated stents in the treatment of coronary artery blockage is common in U.S. practice, and ischemic complication rates are higher among patients receiving drug-coated stents for off-label indications, according to two studies in the May 9 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 May 2007

Ischemic-targeted approach to angioplasty among asymptomatic survivors of heart attack

When compared with intensive drug therapy, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, angioplasty) was more beneficial in reducing the long-term risk of major cardiac events among heart attack survivors with "silent ischemia", according to a study in the May 9 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 May 2007

Efforts to standardize heart care are working

People who suffer a heart attack or severe chest pain today are much less likely to die, or to experience long-lasting effects, than their counterparts even a few years ago, according to a new international study in the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 May 2007