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Balloon pump use prior to PCI does not reduce infarct size in STEMI patients without shock

Intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation prior to PCI in patients with ST segment elevation MI does not reduce infarct size as measured by MRI, according to results from the Counterpulsation Reduces Infarct Size Acute Myocardial Infarction (CRISP AMI) trial.

30 Aug 2011

Study: Gender gap has not diminished in reperfusion therapy

In spite of an increased attention to gender differences in treatment of myocardial infarctions, focus on adherence to guidelines and a change in predominant therapy, the gender difference in treatment and mortality regarding the big infarctions - STEMI - has not diminished from 1998-2000 to 2004-2006. For some therapies, it has actually increased.

30 Aug 2011

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation prior to PCI does not reduce infarct size in AMI patients

Inserting intra-aortic balloon pumps prior to angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) does not reduce the scope of heart muscle damage, a condition referred to as infarct size, according to a new study conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

30 Aug 2011

High risk of serious complications or death in children with SP-HUS

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by infection with pneumococcal bacteria leads to severe illness—with a high rate of irreversible kidney damage—in infants and young children, reports a study in the September issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

30 Aug 2011

Study finds higher incidence of arrhythmias in elite cross-country skiers

A Swedish study presented at the ESC Congress 2011 today, found a higher incidence of arrhythmias in cross-country skiers with a long history of endurance training.

30 Aug 2011

Ivabradine reduces heart volume among patients with cardiac insufficiency

As guest speaker at the European Society of Cardiology's Congress currently under way in Paris, Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of the Montreal Heart Institute's Research Centre and professor of medicine at the Universit- de Montr-al, today presented the results of an analysis demonstrating that ivabradine, a medication used to reduce heart rate, also reduces heart volume (left ventricle) among patients with cardiac insufficiency.

30 Aug 2011

Vitamin A supplements in children could save up to 600,000 lives a year: Study

Researchers have found that giving vitamin A supplements to children under the age of five in developing countries could save up to 600,000 lives a year. Writing in the British Medical Journal, UK and Pakistani experts assessed 43 studies involving 200,000 children, and found deaths were cut by 24% if children were given the vitamin. They add that it would also cut rates of measles and diarrhea.

30 Aug 2011

Post myocardial infarction snus quitters have 44% lower risk of mortality

In this prospective cohort study, presented today at the ESC Congress 2011, discontinuation of smokeless tobacco after a myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with a lower risk of subsequent mortality. Investigators found that post MI snus quitters had a 44 % lower risk of total mortality.

29 Aug 2011

UCLA-Harvard medication study highlights 3 types of confusing outcome measures

Studies about medications published in the most influential medical journals are frequently designed in a way that yields misleading or confusing results, new research suggests.

29 Aug 2011

Post MI snus quitters have lower risk of mortality

29 Aug 2011

Statins protect people against death from respiratory illness, infections

The death rate among patients prescribed a statin in a major trial that ended in 2003 is still lower than those given a placebo, even though most participants in both groups have been taking statins ever since. ASCOT, the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, was stopped early because the statin was so effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but a new analysis has shown that eight years on, the most significant difference between the groups is a reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness.

29 Aug 2011

ELIQUIS better than warfarin in reduction of stroke, major bleeding, and mortality

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc. today announced the main results of the Phase 3 clinical trial ARISTOTLE, which evaluated ELIQUIS compared to warfarin for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in 18,201 patients with atrial fibrillation and at least one risk factor for stroke.

29 Aug 2011

MitraClip treatment could benefit heart failure patients who are unresponsive to CRT

Results of an observational study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting today in Paris demonstrate that the percutaneous catheter-based MitraClip treatment improves symptoms and promotes reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), who do not respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

29 Aug 2011

Apixaban superior to warfarin in preventing stroke and systemic embolism

A large-scale trial finds that apixaban, a new anticoagulant drug, is superior to the standard drug warfarin for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation.

29 Aug 2011

'Electronic nose' smells heart failure

A German team has developed a completely new non-invasive method to identify heart failure. It consists of an "electronic nose" which could make the "smelling" of heart failure possible. The projet was presented at the ESC Congress 2011 today.

29 Aug 2011

Rotavirus vaccine still effective in reducing diarrhea-related deaths in Mexico, researchers say

"The rotavirus vaccine introduced in Mexico in 2007 still appears to be preventing diarrhea-related deaths in children, despite speculation that years later the vaccine may not be as effective," according to the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog.

26 Aug 2011

Research roundup: The costs of obesity; Patients' post-hospital medicine; Women and heart failure

Association of ICU or Hospital Admission With Unintentional Discontinuation of Medications for Chronic Diseases -- Researchers examined records of older people admitted to a hospital in Ontario, Canada from 1997-2009 who were already taking medicines for chronic health problems. They measured "failure to renew the prescription within 90 days after hospital discharge," and found that patients "prescribed medications for chronic diseases were at risk for potentially unintentional discontinuation after hospital admission.

26 Aug 2011

ESC introduces update to HeartScore application

The number of heart attack and stroke incidents in Europe is likely to reduce with the imminent launch of an update to the HeartScore® application. HeartScore® was first developed by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in 2004, and it helps clinicians rapidly estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individual patients using age, gender, basic health indicators, and lifestyle factors.

26 Aug 2011

Heart Rate Observation System effectively reduces NICU infant mortality

In a long-running randomized study of over 3,000 preterm infants, those whose care included the Heart Rate Observation System, or HeRO monitor, experienced greater than 20 percent reduced mortality, effectively saving one infant's life for every 48 who were monitored.

26 Aug 2011

South African Health Minister promotes exclusive breastfeeding to fight rising infant mortality rate

Speaking at a breastfeeding conference on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that "reducing child mortality is one of the most important priorities in our country and central to this is breastfeeding as a child survival strategy," Agence France-Presse reports.

25 Aug 2011