Angiography News and Research

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Erection problems may signal serious heart disease

Erectile dysfunction is always a matter of the heart, but new research shows that more than romance is at stake. Two new studies of men with type 2 diabetes found that erectile dysfunction (ED) was a powerful early warning sign for serious heart disease, including heart attack and death.

19 May 2008

FDA approves coronary artery plaque imaging device

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a device that a doctor can use to see inside a blood vessel to assess the fat content of the plaque which builds up on the wall of the coronary arteries.

29 Apr 2008

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery using a DaVinci robot provides health and economic benefits

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery using a DaVinci robot means a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery for patients, as well as fewer complications and a better chance that the new bypass vessels will stay open.

27 Apr 2008

Do patients have equal access to coronary angiography?

Seven in ten patients who have suspected angina are not given appropriate testing and are more likely to suffer from serious heart problems as a result, according to a study published on bmj.com (25 April).

24 Apr 2008

Best use for popular CAD assessment procedure is misunderstood

What is the best way to determine if you are developing the nation's most deadly condition, coronary artery disease (CAD)?

15 Apr 2008

Carotid stenting shows long-term benefit as alternative to surgery

Carotid artery stenting is an effective option for high risk patients who are not eligible for surgery, according to a long-term study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Apr 2008

Multidetector CT angiography accurate in detecting stenosis in calcified coronary artery plaque

Multidetector CT angiography can accurately predict the presence of obstructive disease (stenosis) in small and moderate-sized calcified coronary artery plaque (CAP), and is even fairly accurate in diagnosing large and heavily calcified CAP, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

11 Apr 2008

Extremely low dose CT coronary angiography shows promise in assessing heart function

Extremely low dose CT coronary angiography can be used to measure cardiac function and has the potential for use when other commonly used examinations are limited, a preliminary study indicates.

11 Apr 2008

Angioplasty and stenting for renal artery lesions

The largest-ever randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of catheter-based interventions in patients with narrowing of the renal artery has shown that angioplasty and stenting offer no benefit over medical therapy.

2 Apr 2008

Rimonabant shows mixed results for slowing progression of coronary disease

The anti-obesity medication rimonabant showed mixed results in slowing progression of coronary artery disease in patients with abdominal obesity and pre-existing coronary disease, according to a new study in the April 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Apr 2008

ExoSeal vascular plug gets good reviews in ECLIPSE study

A new bioabsorbable plug that seals the arterial puncture site used for threading catheters into the body during diagnostic angiography and interventional procedures significantly shortens bleeding time and enables patients to get up and walk around far sooner than when manual compression is applied to the groin.

2 Apr 2008

Catheter repair of mitral valve improves heart size, symptoms

A catheter-mounted device that acts like a clothespin to clip together the flaps of a leaky heart valve is not only reducing the abnormal backflow of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium, it is helping to shrink the enlarged, overworked heart and relieving symptoms of fluid overload - all without open-chest surgery.

2 Apr 2008

Study results on novel drug-eluting stent coated with a biodegradable polymer

"Real-world" use of a novel drug-eluting stent coated with a biodegradable polymer is associated with good clinical outcomes, according to one-year data from a large international registry.

1 Apr 2008

Disappointing resuts for pimecrolimus, investigational anti-restenosis drug

A new medication that researchers had hoped would reduce the risk of arterial renarrowing after stenting has turned in a disappointing performance in a multicenter clinical trial, but the multi-reservoir stent that was used to deliver the drug is still considered promising.

1 Apr 2008

Matrix registry probes adherence to clopidogrel at 1 year

A large community-based registry of patients treated with drug-eluting stents is providing important insight into how long patients with complex coronary artery disease typically stick to their doctors' orders to take clopidogrel, a drug that prevents unwanted blood clots; why they stop taking the drug; and the long-term consequences of that decision.

1 Apr 2008

Study gives nod to drug-eluting stents in heart attack

Although drug-eluting stents have become widely used for the treatment of stable coronary artery disease, many cardiologists choose bare-metal stents for patients with heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), citing conflicting data about the safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting stents in this patient group.

31 Mar 2008

Drug-eluting stents outperform bare-metal stents

New evidence from a large randomized study is answering important questions about the best approach to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with a type of heart attack known as ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

31 Mar 2008

Special catheter that clears debris from artery helps blood flow in percutaneous coronary intervention

Use of a special catheter that sucks out, or aspirates, bits of plaque and blood clot that break loose during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) significantly enhances blood flow deep in the heart muscle in patients who are experiencing a heart attack, according to a recently published study.

31 Mar 2008

Repeated episodes of stent thrombosis common

When a clot develops inside a coronary stent, it can block blood flow to the heart, potentially causing a heart attack or even death.

31 Mar 2008

HDL-associated protein gene linked to heart disease risk

The gene for the HDL-associated protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) appears to be associated with coronary artery disease and with the risk of developing adverse cardiac events, and variations in both the PON1 gene and its related enzyme activity may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease events, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA , a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

19 Mar 2008