Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) News and Research

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A Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction) occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.

Heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women in the United States. But fortunately, today there are excellent treatments for heart attack that can save lives and prevent disabilities. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms. Heart attacks occur most often as a result of a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD). In CAD, a fatty material called plaque (plak) builds up over many years on the inside walls of the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to your heart). Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture, causing a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the part of the heart muscle fed by the artery.

82 percent of women have at least one factor that puts them at risk for a future heart attack

In the second year of a Northern California-based survey conducted by Sutter Health on women and heart disease, results show that more women are aware of heart attack warning signs and the need to take action quickly.

21 Feb 2005

Cannabis use may increase risk of stroke

Regular users of cannabis could be putting themselves at risk of stroke, while they are still young, indicates a case report, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

20 Feb 2005

Shedding new LIGHT on disease

New drugs for the 270,000 people who suffer heart attacks every year in the UK will be among the projects in Leeds' new research institute. The Leeds Institute of Genetics Health and Therapeutics (LIGHT) was opened by head of the Medical Research Council chief executive Professor Colin Blakemore yesterday.

17 Feb 2005

Blood tests improve within two weeks of quitting smoking

Long-term smokers who quit may benefit from almost immediate improvements in blood platelet function, which could potentially reduce their risk of heart attacks or strokes caused by blood clots, according to a new study in the Feb. 15, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Feb 2005

Changing chemistry helps explain estrogen threat to the heart

A piece of the topical puzzle of how estrogen goes from protecting women from heart disease to apparently increasing their risk later in life may have been found.

16 Feb 2005

Wine keeps women's hearts beating healthily

The Swedish research team studied 102 women under the age of 75, all of whom had survived a heart attack or heart surgery for blocked arteries. All participants were asked to record their alcohol intake for one week after a year.

14 Feb 2005

Clot-dissolving drugs such as tPA may help detect potentially deadly leg clots

A possible diagnostic use for clot-dissolving drugs such as tPA has been found by Medical College of Georgia researchers working to improve a test that identifies potentially deadly blood clots in the legs.

14 Feb 2005

UK tops Euro league for costs of living with heart disease

The UK is shouldering the brunt of economic burden from coronary heart disease, according to new pan-European statistics from the British Heart Foundation and the European Heart Network.

13 Feb 2005

Sudden emotional stress can result in severe but reversible heart muscle weakness

Shocking news, such as learning of the unexpected death of a loved one, has been known to cause catastrophic events, such as a heart attack.

10 Feb 2005

Link between heart disease and periodontal bacteria

Researchers report this week that older adults who have higher proportions of four periodontal-disease-causing bacteria inhabiting their mouths also tend to have thicker carotid arteries, a strong predictor of stroke and heart attack.

7 Feb 2005

People with gum disease are more likely to suffer from atherosclerosis

A new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center provides the most direct evidence to date that preventing gum disease could significantly improve your chances of avoiding vascular problems.

7 Feb 2005

Call for faster action to improve NHS cardiac rehab services

Major failings in National Health Service provision for patients recovering from heart attacks and surgery are revealed in a new report on rehabilitation services in England launched today.

3 Feb 2005

Potential risk of suffering ischemic stroke shortly after discontinuing aspirin

Stroke survivors who stopped taking their prescribed daily aspirin tripled their risk of having another stroke within the month, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2005.

3 Feb 2005

Rheumatoid arthritis linked to excess risk of congestive heart failure

A serious chronic disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by inflammation and damage of the joint, major organ involvement and increased mortality. Among patients, about one in three deaths results from cardiovascular disease (conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels).

3 Feb 2005

People with rheumatoid arthritis have more silent, unrecognized heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths

People with rheumatoid arthritis not only have a higher risk of coronary heart disease than those in the general population, but they have more silent, unrecognized heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

3 Feb 2005

Viagra protects cardiomyocytes against cell death

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have shown that a widely used drug for treating erectile dysfunction, Viagra, reduces the death of heart cells under heart attack-like conditions in a laboratory model.

31 Jan 2005

Cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention protocols to imperative prevent recurrent heart attacks

Physicians should aggressively encourage patients to exercise and follow cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention protocols to prevent recurrent heart attacks, the American Heart Association recommends in its updated scientific statement on cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.

27 Jan 2005

The role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases

As the prevalence of obesity in America approaches epidemic proportions, researchers are scrambling to learn more about how the body stores fat, how fat tissues affect body systems and the role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases.

27 Jan 2005

Exercise may be the easiest for women to decrease their risk of heart disease

For decades, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was prescribed for postmenopausal women to protect them from cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, results from the Women’s Health Initiative questioned its effectiveness, which has led to more caution in prescribing and using HRT for this purpose.

26 Jan 2005

Stem cells given in minimally invasive procedure improve heart function

Patients with severe congestive heart failure who had exhausted all other treatment options showed markedly improved heart function following a procedure in which their own stem cells were deployed directly into the heart by way of four tiny incisions in the chest, according to results of a trial presented today at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Thoracic Surgery.

26 Jan 2005