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.

Scientists look to create blood platelets from stem cells to study genetics of blood clotting disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists have launched a pioneering research program to create, for the first time, human platelet cells from stem cells in order to study inherited blood clotting abnormalities ranging from clots that cause heart attacks and stroke to bleeding disorders. The study is funded by a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a nationwide initiative to examine how genetic variations cause heart, lung and blood diseases.

2 Aug 2011

Hormone therapy may be hazardous in men with pre-existing heart conditions

Adding hormone therapy to radiation therapy has been proven in randomized clinical trials to improve overall survival for men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. However, adding hormone therapy may reduce overall survival in men with pre-existing heart conditions, even if they have high-risk prostate cancer according to a new study just published online in advance of print in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology·Biology·Physics, the official scientific journal of ASTRO.

26 Jul 2011

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for BRILINTA to treat acute coronary syndrome

AstraZeneca announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BRILINTA (ticagrelor) tablets to reduce the rate of heart attack and cardiovascular (CV) death in adult patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), compared to clopidogrel.

21 Jul 2011

FDA approves AstraZeneca's anti-clotting drug Brilinta

The U.S. Food and drug Administration (FDA) has finally approved AstraZeneca's Brilinta blood thinner for patients with acute coronary syndrome - conditions, such as heart attack and angina.

20 Jul 2011

Stopping Aspirin may raise heart attack death risk by 60%: Study

The study results revealed that patients with a history of heart disease who stopped taking a low-dose daily aspirin had a 60% increased risk of having a heart attack over the three-year follow-up, compared with patients who continued the daily aspirin, says study researcher Luis A. Garcia Rodriguez, director of the Spanish Center for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research (CEIFE) in Madrid. The study is published in the British Medical Journal.

20 Jul 2011

Heaviest meals on the menu

According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week the accuracy of caloric counts from restaurants is unknown. On the same day, the Center for Science in the Public Interest released its annual ‘Xtreme Eating Awards’ to eight menu items on the restaurant menus.

20 Jul 2011

Married men with heart attack seek help sooner: Study

A new study implies that married men tend to live longer than their unwed counterparts, they're more likely to see their doctor regularly, and they even have a lower risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. The study shows that men who experience chest pains while having a heart attack tend to get to a hospital sooner if they're married or in a common-law relationship. A woman's marital status, by contrast, was not associated with how quickly she sought treatment after experiencing heart-attack-related chest pains, according to the study, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

19 Jul 2011

Coronary artery disease is a predictor for new-onset atrial fibrillation after heart attack

Results from a case control study show that coronary artery disease affecting the atrial branches is an independent predictor for new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after acute myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.

12 Jul 2011

Cardiology study looks at sodium and potassium in diet

A new study suggests that in addition to cutting the amount of sodium in their diets to improve heart health, Americans should also increase consumption of a key mineral found in many fruits and vegetables, potassium.

11 Jul 2011

New clot busting drug approved in UK

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), UK, has approved a new drug which one study has suggested could reduce the risk of death from a second heart attack by 20 per cent. The drug is manufactured by AstraZeneca as Brilique. It works by maintaining cardiac blood flow and stopping new blood clots from forming.

1 Jul 2011

Non-smoking women more likely to be obese: Study

According to the latest research non-smoking women are more likely to be obese and die of associated illnesses than those who smoke. About 8,000 women were recruited to the Renfrew and Paisley study from 1972 to 1976. Of these, 40% had never smoked.

30 Jun 2011

Diabetes numbers on the rise: Experts worried

According a new international study more than 350 million in the world now have diabetes. The analysis, published online by the Lancet on Saturday, adds several tens of millions to the previous estimate of the number of diabetics and indicates that the disease has become a major global health problem.

27 Jun 2011

Positive results for unprotected left main coronary artery PCI with drug-eluting stents

Patients with normal left ventricular function who undergo elective unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES) had favorable outcomes according to new research. Results of the multicenter, retrospective study are reported in the June issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).

22 Jun 2011

Johns Hopkins cardiology chief becomes American Heart Association President

Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D., professor and director of the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will become president of the American Heart Association (AHA), the nation’s leading voluntary health organization focused on cardiovascular disease and stroke, on July 1.

22 Jun 2011

New research finds 74% drop in myocardial infarction over 20-year period

Better control of cholesterol levels and blood pressure and a decline in smoking have contributed to a 74% drop in the risk of heart attack among nearly 10,000 civil servants working in London over a 20-year period, according to new research.

9 Jun 2011

Drug that makes the failing heart heal itself

Researchers have found that a drug can heal heart muscles in mice. Earlier it was considered that this damage to the heart is permanent but this new findings refutes earlier beliefs.

9 Jun 2011

Removal of tonsils and appendix heightens risk of heart attack: Study

According to a new study surgical removal of tonsils and the appendix before the age of 20 is likely to elevate the risk of a premature heart attack. The researchers found that tonsillectomy (removal of tonsils) increased the risk by 44 per cent and removal of the appendix by 33 per cent. The risk increases were even higher when both the tonsils and appendix were removed.

2 Jun 2011

Cholesterol drug Niaspan fails to protect heart: Study

According to researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), increasing the dose of niacin to patients with heart disease who are already taking a cholesterol-lowering statin does nothing extra to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Approximately one out of seven Americans have high blood cholesterol, a main risk factor in heart disease, which kills some 800,000 people in the United States annually.

29 May 2011

Efficacy of Abbott cholesterol drug in question

A latest study has found that using medication to raise good cholesterol while lowering the bad does NOT translate into fewer adverse cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. The study was revealed Thursday by the National Institutes of Health and it found that high dosages of Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan failed to prevent heart attacks and boosted the likelihood of a stroke when combined with the popular generic cholesterol pill Simvastatin, also known under the brand name Zocor.

29 May 2011

Discovery of possible new strategy for treating neurologic disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists say that a newly discovered "survival protein" protects the brain against the effects of stroke in rodent brain tissue by interfering with a particular kind of cell death that's also implicated in complications from diabetes and heart attack.

23 May 2011