Heart Attack News and Research

RSS

Research study examines the depression rate in chronic kidney disease patients

One in five patients with chronic kidney disease is depressed, even before beginning long-term dialysis therapy or developing end-stage renal disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

9 Sep 2009

Exposure to air pollution can cause heart attack

It's well known that measures such as exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking can help reduce high blood pressure, but researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have determined the very air we breathe can be an invisible catalyst to heart disease.

8 Sep 2009

Harmless shard from childhood virus shell may halt biological process

A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.

7 Sep 2009

Study reveals elevated cTnT levels in post-CABG patients

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.

5 Sep 2009

94-year-old crusader seeks ban on trans fats in the American diet

Fred Kummerow, a 94-year-old University of Illinois veterinary biosciences professor emeritus who still conducts research on the health effects of trans fats in the diet, filed the petition with the FDA last month. The petition is now posted on the FDA Web site, and public comments are invited. (See below for information on viewing the petition and making a comment.)

4 Sep 2009

Bextra qui tam lawsuit leads to Pfizer's whopping $2.3 billion settlement

The decision by a Pfizer sales representative in Florida to file a whistleblower ("qui tam") lawsuit in 2003 kicked off the federal and state investigations that led to Pfizer's record-breaking $2.3 billion settlement today.

3 Sep 2009

ICD implantation reduces mortality in heart attack patients

Findings from the latest PreSCD II analysis show that patients protected against sudden cardiac death by an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) one month or more after MI showed a non-significantRemarkably," says investigator Professor Heinz Völler from the Klinik am See in Ruedersdorf, Germany, "we observed in the data a survival benefit that increased with the time interval between MI and ICD implantation."

2 Sep 2009

Pre-hospitalization strategies will bring down mortality rate of patients with heart disorders

Mortality rate following a heart attack has fallen by more than 50% in Europe over the past 25 years. However, because only minor advances in the medical treatment of AMI are expected over the next decade, it is through organisational changes in the pre-hospital phase that mortality rate will continue this decline to below 5%.

2 Sep 2009

Waist-hip ratio is a better of measure of obesity in older patients

Body mass index (BMI) readings may not be the best gauge of obesity in older adults, according to new research from UCLA endocrinologists and geriatricians. Instead, they say, the ratio of waist size to hip size may be a better indicator when it comes to those over 70.

2 Sep 2009

Irbesartan drug minimizes heart failure complications in patients with atrial fibrillation

In a major international trial, researchers from McMaster University in Canada, found that the hypertension drug irbesartan reduced the risk of heart failure complications and the combination of stroke, other embolic events and transient ischemic events, also known as ministrokes, in patients with atrial fibrillation.

2 Sep 2009

Polymyositis and dermatomyositis affected patients more prone to cardiovascular diseases

Patients suffering from two serious autoimmune disorders which cause muscular inflammation are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, says a group of Montreal researchers. Dr. Christian A. Pineau and his team at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have linked muscular inflammation to increased cardiovascular risk for the first time.

2 Sep 2009

Immediate catheterization not always better for ACS patients

For some patients with acute coronary syndromes, the strategy of immediate intervention at a medical center does not appear to result in differences in outcomes in comparison with an intervention performed the next working day, according to a study in the September 2 issue of JAMA.

1 Sep 2009

Heart health of kidney disease patients not affected by dialysis treatment

Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.

1 Sep 2009

Reperfusion therapy proves beneficial for patients with heart attacks

The wider use of reperfusion therapy in patients with heart attack (AMI) can save millions of lives in Europe. Effective reperfusion therapy in an AMI patient can cut the individual risk of dying by half.

1 Sep 2009

Traditional lipid risk factors to be strong predictors of cardiovascular events according to a study

For patients with established heart disease who were treated with a statin, 18 novel biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP) did not predict future cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to results of an analysis presented today at the 2009 European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

1 Sep 2009

Cordis enrolls first patient in the CYPRESS clinical study

Cordis Corporation, a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of interventional vascular technology, announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in the CYPRESS study, which will assess clinical outcomes in a broad range of patients with coronary artery disease who take dual anti-platelet therapy after receiving a CYPHER Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent. The procedure was performed by Patrick Flaherty, D.O., Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock, AK.

31 Aug 2009

Health Net urges Americans to have their blood cholesterol measured

Tomorrow, September 1, marks the start of National Cholesterol Education Month. In support of this educational effort, Health Net, Inc., (NYSE: HNT) is encouraging those who haven't yet done so, to have their blood cholesterol measured and, if it's high, to embark on a cholesterol-lowering program.

31 Aug 2009

Abbott introduces XIENCE PRIME Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for global market

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced at the European Society of Cardiology Congress the widespread availability of its next-generation XIENCE PRIME(TM) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

31 Aug 2009

Initial results of the CURRENT-OASIS 7 clinical trial due for release

Today, the OASIS study group will present initial results of the CURRENT-OASIS 7 clinical trial at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona. Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb, co-commercialization and co-development partners for PLAVIX(clopidogrel bisulfate), were sponsors of the study.

30 Aug 2009

Study reveals the detrimental effects of high concentration levels of dangerous ultrafine particles in tunnels

A toxic cocktail of ultrafine particles is lurking inside road tunnels in concentration levels so high they have the potential to harm drivers and passengers, a new study has found.

28 Aug 2009