Heart Attack News and Research

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Like father like son - history of heart attacks in the family

Scientists know that heredity plays an important role in causing heart attacks. However the exact genetic mechanisms that transmit the risk of heart attacks from generation to generation still elude them.

17 Jun 2008

New approach for assessing and managing patients with sepsis

Each year over a million people suffer from sepsis, a condition caused by an infection spreading through the body. If sepsis develops into severe sepsis then the death rate can rise to nearly 30 - 50%, equalling the number of deaths caused by a heart attack.

17 Jun 2008

Lower incomes and lower education levels tied to higher death rates after heart attack

Researchers have long suspected that socioeconomic factors like education level and income also might affect survival rates following heart attack.

17 Jun 2008

Warning about use of psychiatric drugs with the elderly

Health officials in the U.S. are warning doctors that prescribing certain psychiatric drugs to elderly people suffering from dementia can increase their risk of death.

17 Jun 2008

Drink up that coffee to reduce your risk of a heart attack!

According to new research drinking coffee on a long-term basis does not increase the risk of early death and may in fact reduce the risk of dying from heart disease.

17 Jun 2008

Compound in grapes and red wine may help battle obesity

Resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, reduces the number of fat cells and may one day be used to treat or prevent obesity, according to a new study. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

Hearing loss twice as common in adults with diabetes

Hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes compared to those who do not have the disease, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

16 Jun 2008

Study shows many Australian heart patients die needlessly

An extensive study of heart attack patients has found some patients in Australia are dying unnecessarily.

16 Jun 2008

Campaign says heart disease a top killer of women as well as men

A campaign by the Australian Heart Foundation is aiming to debunk the myth that heart disease is a medical condition that primarily affects men.

16 Jun 2008

Hope on the horizon for migraine sufferers

A generation of anti-migraine drugs with fewer side effects than existing treatments could be available to sufferers within three years.

11 Jun 2008

Heart Failure 2008 - Congress to address a heart condition whose prevalence is increasing with 'exponential growth'

Heart failure is by far the single biggest reason for acute hospital admission. Around 30 million people in Europe have heart failure and its incidence is still increasing: more cases are being identified, more people are living to an old age, and more are surviving a heart attack but with damage to the heart muscle.

11 Jun 2008

Chinese red food colouring beats heart disease and cancer

According to a large study carried out in China, a red food colouring ingredient widely used in Chinese cooking protects against cancer and heart disease.

11 Jun 2008

Man presumed dead recovers during surgery to remove his organs for donation

The revelation that a man whose heart had stopped beating, woke up just as surgeons were about to remove his organs for donation, is disconcerting to say the least.

11 Jun 2008

Sunshine vitamin protect against heart attacks

In a study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, it has been found that men with low levels of vitamin D have an increased risk for heart attacks.

10 Jun 2008

Low levels of vitamin D in men linked to heart attack

Low levels of vitamin D appear to be associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in men, according to a report in the June 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 Jun 2008

Chinese red yeast rice reduces repeat heart attacks

A clinical study on patients who have suffered a heart attack found that a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds.

9 Jun 2008

New NHS guidelines on recreational drug use in nightclubs

New guidelines have been written which will assist nightclub staff in deciding whether to call ambulances for unwell clubbers. At present, there is a worry that inappropriate management has lead to clubbers only being referred to hospital after significant problems have occurred - leading to increased risk of injury and death.

5 Jun 2008

New perspective on coronary disease thanks to ultrasound

Compared to other techniques, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is much better at monitoring the increase or decrease of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries. Can the method even be used to predict the odds of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event? Studies indicate this may be the case, states Professor Clemens von Birgelen in his inaugural address at the University of Twente.

5 Jun 2008

How and where fat is stored predicts disease risk better than weight

Young adults who abuse amphetamines may be at greater risk of suffering a heart attack, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

3 Jun 2008

NGAL protein levels in simple urine test speed diagnosis of failing kidneys

Walk into any emergency department complaining of chest pain and you are likely to have blood drawn. Within hours it should be clear whether you've had a heart attack, based on enzyme levels in your blood and whether those levels reveal the tissue damage normally associated with a heart attack or other major cardiac event.

2 Jun 2008