Myocardial Infarction News and Research

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Air pollution associated with increased deaths after heart attacks

Air pollution contributes to an increased number of deaths among patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart attacks, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal

20 Feb 2013

CCR1 and CCR5 receptors play a crucial role in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is one of the commonest causes of death in modern societies. The condition is characterized by the build-up of fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaques on the inner surfaces of arteries, which restrict, and may eventually cut off, blood flow. The deposits can also be dislodged from their site of origin and may then block major vessels in the heart or the brain, leading to life-threatening myocardial infarction or stroke.

20 Feb 2013

Coronary computed tomography angiography effectively determines risk of heart attacks

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an effective tool for determining the risk of heart attacks and other adverse cardiac events in patients with suspected coronary artery disease but no treatable risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

19 Feb 2013

Income inequality equals more hospital readmissions

Patients living in areas of uneven wealth-distribution are at an increased risk for hospital readmission, according to US research findings published in the BMJ.

19 Feb 2013

Oxidized CaMKII may increase risk of death in diabetics following heart attack

Having diabetes doubles a person's risk of dying after a heart attack, but the reason for the increased risk is not clear. A new University of Iowa study suggests the link may lie in the over-activation of an important heart enzyme, which leads to death of pacemaker cells in the heart, abnormal heart rhythm, and increased risk of sudden death in diabetic mice following a heart attack.

18 Feb 2013

Diabetes increases mortality after myocardial infarction by oxidizing CaMKII enzyme

Diabetic patients are more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as non-diabetic patients, but the mechanisms that underlie increased heart attack-related mortality in diabetic patients are unknown. High levels of the oxidized form of the protein CamKII (ox-CaMKII) have been linked to increased risk of sudden death after heart attack.

16 Feb 2013

Crowded emergency department has psychologic impact

The likelihood for patients with acute coronary syndromes developing post-traumatic stress disorder rises with emergency department crowding, research suggests.

14 Feb 2013

Hospital mortality performance not boosted by readmission failure

Researchers say they have found no evidence of a link between hospital performance as measured by 30-day mortality rates and that by 30-day readmission rates in US hospitals.

14 Feb 2013

Patients with preinfarction angina have smaller heart attacks, improved cardiac function

Patients who experience chest pain in the 24 hours preceding a heart attack, also called preinfarction angina, have smaller heart attacks and improved cardiac function in the contemporary cardiac stenting era, researchers found in a study published Jan. 22 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.

5 Feb 2013

Patients with MS more likely to develop MI and stroke, regardless of migration background

A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) run a high risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure, regardless of migration background. According to Dr Tahereh Moradi, principal investigator, the study is the first in the world to examine the risk of cardiovascular diseases in male and female MS patients with both non-immigrant and immigrant backgrounds.

5 Feb 2013

Consensus move promotes radial access for coronary intervention

A European consensus document aims to encourage interventionalists to choose radial artery over femoral artery access where possible when performing percutaneous coronary intervention.

4 Feb 2013

Velomedix commences rapid therapeutic hypothermia system pilot study in heart attack

Velomedix, a venture-backed medical device company advancing the field of therapeutic hypothermia, today announced the enrollment of the first patient in its VELOCITY pilot study.

31 Jan 2013

Being married and cohabiting reduces risk of heart attack in both men and women in all age groups

A large population-based study from Finland has shown that being unmarried increases the risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attack in both men and women whatever their age. Conversely, say the study investigators, especially among middle-aged couples, being married and cohabiting are associated with "considerably better prognosis of acute cardiac events both before hospitalization and after reaching the hospital alive".

31 Jan 2013

DFG again approves funding for Mainz University to promote cardiovascular research

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has again approved funding for the Department of Internal Medicine II of the Mainz University Medical Center to promote cardiovascular research - for the second time within only a few weeks.

30 Jan 2013

Radial approach for PCI leads to less bleeding and improved survival in STEMI patients

The radial approach for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) was developed 20 years ago and is used for more than 50% of procedures in France, Scandinavian countries, the UK, Spain and Italy. Despite the advantages of radial access some countries in Europe such as Germany use radial access for fewer than 10% of PCI.

29 Jan 2013

EBV reactivation can increase risk of heart disease

A new study could provide the link that scientists have been looking for to confirm that reactivation of a latent herpes virus is a cause of some heart problems.

23 Jan 2013

Regular aspirin use appears to be associated with increased risk of neovascular AMD

Regular aspirin use appears to be associated with an increased risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of blindness in older people, and it appears to be independent of a history of cardiovascular disease and smoking, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

22 Jan 2013

Berries help women beat heart attack risk

Regular consumption of anthocyanin-rich strawberries and blueberries may help prevent heart attacks in young women, suggest study findings.

16 Jan 2013

Stroke need not delay bypass surgery

The time since a stroke need not determine when patients undergo elective coronary artery bypass grafting, say researchers.

15 Jan 2013

Heart attack patients may benefit from mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing

People who suffer from breathing disorders such as sleep apnea are usually at higher risk for cardiovascular disease. But an intriguing new study from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology scientists suggests that some heart attack patients with these conditions may actually benefit from mild to moderate sleep-disordered breathing.

3 Jan 2013