Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Latest Cardiovascular Disease News and Research

Acute Cardiovascular Care Association of ESC launches today

ACCA was previously the ESC Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care. Today it becomes one of six ESC Associations, whose presidents are invited to ESC Board meetings. "It will be easier to inform the ESC Board about the activities of the association," said Professor Christiaan Vrints (Belgium), outgoing chairman of the Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care. "We will also have a bigger impact on the policies and the development of the ESC as an organisation."

29 Aug 2012

FFR-guided PCI plus medical therapy reduce need for urgent revascularization in CAD patients

Patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) had a lower need for urgent revascularisation when receiving fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided PCI plus the best available medical therapy (MT) than when receiving MT alone. The results, from a final analysis of the FAME 2 trial, were presented today during a Hot Line session of ESC Congress 2012 in Munich.

29 Aug 2012

Risk of stroke after myocardial infarction seems to decrease with improvements in coronary care

The analysis of data from two Swedish registries was presented by Dr Anders Ulvenstam, and suggests that the reduction is due to improvements in AMI care.

29 Aug 2012

Catheter ablation for Afib is safe and suppresses arrhythmia recurrences

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (Afib) is safe and suppresses arrhythmia recurrences in 74% of patients after a single procedure, according to results from the one-year follow-up of the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Pilot Study, the first European registry to evaluate the real-life epidemiology of catheter ablation for AFib.

29 Aug 2012

Addition of CTP to CT angiography allows clinicians to identify flow-limiting coronary artery disease

A non-invasive imaging strategy which integrates non-invasive CT angiography (CTA) and CT myocardial perfusion imaging (CTP) has robust diagnostic accuracy for identifying patients with flow-limiting coronary artery disease in need of myocardial revascularisation, according to results of the CORE320 study presented here today by Dr Joao AC Lima from Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, USA.

29 Aug 2012

Elixir Medical’s DESyne BD Novolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System receives CE Mark approval

Elixir Medical Corporation, a developer of product platforms that combine state-of-the-art medical devices with advanced pharmaceuticals, announced that it has received CE Mark approval for its DESyne BD Novolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

29 Aug 2012

Oxford University Press announces acquisition of American Journal of Hypertension

Oxford University Press (OUP) today announced that the esteemed American Journal of Hypertension will be joining the publisher's journal collection.

28 Aug 2012

Copeptin estimates prognosis in patients with heart failure

Copeptin predicts prognosis in patients with heart failure, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today, August 25, by Professor Stefan St-rk from Germany.

28 Aug 2012

Major decline in early mortality for STEMI patients: French registries

Data from four French nationwide registries of STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) patients initiated five years apart and covering more than 15 years show that mortality rate decreased by 68% over this period, from 13.7% to 4.4%. Around one quarter of this mortality reduction could be attributed to a change in patient characteristics.

28 Aug 2012

Spinal cord stimulation could become novel treatment option for heart failure

Spinal cord stimulation improves heart function and could become a novel treatment option for heart failure, according to research presented at the ESC Congress 2012 today, August 25, by Professor Hung-Fat Tse from Hong Kong.

28 Aug 2012

Women with severe aortic stenosis less likely to die following TAVI

Women with severe aortic stenosis are 40% less likely to die after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) than men, reveals the latest data from the largest study to date of gender differences in outcomes after TAVI.

27 Aug 2012

Insulin glargine retards progression of atherosclerosis in high-risk people

A sub-study of the Outcome Reduction with an Initial Glargine Intervention (ORIGIN) trial, designed to investigate the effect of insulin glargine and omega-3 fatty acids on atherosclerosis progression, has found that, compared to standard care, only insulin glargine (a long-acting insulin) had a "modest" statistically non-significant reducing effect on the primary outcome of rate of change in maximum carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) at 12 carotid sites.

27 Aug 2012

Update on Merck's development programs for vorapaxar, ER niacin/laropirprant and anacetrapib

Merck today provided an update on the development programs for vorapaxar, extended release niacin/laropirprant (MK524A, Tredaptive) and anacetrapib in association with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Munich.

27 Aug 2012

Healthy foods consumed more often by the wealthy than poor

Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, proteins and non-saturated fats are consumed more often by the wealthy while poorer people consume more carbohydrates, concludes a new study involving people from 17 countries.

27 Aug 2012

CardioDx completes two-tranche equity financing

CardioDx, Inc., a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, today announced the completion of a $58 million two-tranche equity financing.

27 Aug 2012

Healthy behaviours decrease risk of high blood pressure by two thirds

Healthy behaviours regarding alcohol, physical activity, vegetable intake and body weight reduce the risk of hypertension by two thirds, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today.

27 Aug 2012

Patients with psoriasis are at high risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus

Patients with psoriasis are at high risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012.

27 Aug 2012

Creighton University research to improve patient care and outcomes in CAD treatment

Since 1990, Creighton University School of Medicine professor and researcher Devendra K. Agrawal, Ph.D., has been awarded more than $20 million in research grants to study coronary artery heart disease. He is determined to eradicate the impact of this heart disease—the number one killer of men and women in the United States.

26 Aug 2012

Mexican-Americans with ancestral links have higher insulin resistance levels

Mexican-Americans with an ancestral link to Amerindian tribes were found to have higher insulin resistance levels, which is an indication of several chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, according to research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

26 Aug 2012

Children with obesity face increased risk for gallstones

Children who are overweight or obese face an increased risk for gallstones, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition.

26 Aug 2012