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 The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is withdrawn.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

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) reduces angina

Patients with angina (chest pain) and left ventricular dysfunction respond very well to treatment using enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP), with little or no future heart failure events, according to researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

1 Mar 2006

Treatment of severe coronary artery disease with angioplasty/coronary stenting a viable alternative to bypass surgery

Severe stenosis (blockage) to the left main coronary artery - a condition commonly called a "widow-maker"- can result in sudden death. For nearly 30 years, the gold standard for treatment has been coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).

1 Mar 2006

Coronary stents that release the drugs sirolimus or paclitaxel produce similar results

Use of coronary stents that release the drugs sirolimus or paclitaxel produced similar results in patients with new coronary artery lesions, according to a study in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

24 Feb 2006

Cutting angioplasty risks

Significant gains made through multi-hospital cooperative effort led by U-M Cardiovascular Center and funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

16 Feb 2006

Stem cell injections may help those with severe peripheral artery disease

Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have begun a unique clinical trial using stem cell injections as a treatment that could offer hope to tens of thousands of people who face sores, ulcers and even amputations due to severe peripheral artery disease.

14 Feb 2006

Patients checking into a top rated hospital have a 27 percent lower chance of mortality

Patients checking into a hospital rated in the top five percent in the country have, on average, a 27 percent lower chance of mortality and a 14 percent lower risk of complications, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings company.

7 Feb 2006

Women at greater risk of subsequent stroke than men

Among patients who have suffered a single stroke, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, along with colleagues at other institutions, have found that severe stenosis, or narrowing, of the arteries in the head represents a major risk factor for the development of a subsequent stroke.

27 Jan 2006

University of Florida researchers restore vitality to cells in lab experiments

University of Florida researchers say primitive cells that act like molecular maintenance men - traveling throughout the body to repair damaged blood vessels - become too rigid to move in patients with diabetes, fueling the disease's vascular complications.

25 Jan 2006

FDA fast track status for Alfimeprase

Nuvelo Inc. today announced that it has been granted fast track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead product candidate, alfimeprase, for the treatment of acute peripheral arterial occlusion (PAO), or "leg attack."

23 Jan 2006

Emergency angioplasty better than clot-busting drugs

Across America, hospitals large and small have been racing to offer angioplasty and other minimally invasive treatments to open blocked heart arteries. But not all of them have the ability to do it on an emergency basis, performing angioplasty around the clock on heart attack patients. So, during evenings and weekends, many hospitals use clot-busting drugs instead.

16 Jan 2006

Quality of care for acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients with alcohol-related diagnoses

Older Americans with alcohol problems do not get worse treatment than their sober peers when they are hospitalized for a heart attack, according to new research on Medicare patients across the country.

6 Jan 2006

Microfluidics chips for simplifying medical imaging biomarkers of disease

A collaboration between scientists at UCLA, Caltech, Stanford, Siemens and Fluidigm have developed a new technology using integrated microfluidics chips for simplifying, lowering the cost and diversifying the types of molecules used to image the biology of disease with the medical imaging technology, Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

15 Dec 2005

Making angioplasty safer

When life-threatening problems occur during angioplasty procedures, doctors may perform emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery, but data from the Mayo Clinic indicates that need to send patients to emergency surgery has dropped sharply, according to a new study in the Dec. 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Dec 2005

Chronic stress induces rapid occlusion of angioplasty

Chronic stress can induce rapid blocking of arteries after a balloon angioplasty procedure, according to research performed in animal studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Blocked coronary arteries after angioplasty affect 41 percent of patients who undergo the procedure and can lead to death.

28 Nov 2005

Study of two drugs for angina treatment shows equal outcomes to patients

Researchers have found that the blood-thinning drug Lovenox works as well as a standard artery-clearing drug in patients with severe heart-related chest pain, but neither reduced the risk of death after a year of treatment.

24 Nov 2005

American physicians may be too liberal in their use of blood transfusions

In an analysis of some 24,000 patient records, the researchers found that Americans rushed to the hospital with heart attack symptoms have significantly higher rates of bleeding and transfusions after treatment than similar patients throughout the world.

21 Nov 2005

Lack of aggressive treatment for clogged leg blood vessels means missed heart attack prevention opportunity

Despite the fact that clogged arteries in the legs usually mean clogged arteries near the heart, doctors often fail to give heart-protecting drugs to people with severe leg blood vessel blockages, a new University of Michigan-led study finds.

15 Nov 2005

African-American patients have worse quality of life after heart attacks

African-American patients have more chest pain, worse quality of life, and worse physical function than white patients one year after suffering acute coronary syndromes, such as heart attacks or unstable angina, according to a new study in the Nov. 15, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

14 Nov 2005

Shortness of breath can be a serious cardiac symptom

Now, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that patients with shortness of breath can have a higher risk of dying from cardiac disease than patients without symptoms, and even than patients with typical cardiac pain.

3 Nov 2005

Feeling puffed? could be a sign of serious heart problem

Most people know that chest pain can indicate the presence of heart disease, but less well known apparently is that shortness of breath can also be a symptom of serious cardiac problems

3 Nov 2005