Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Tunes and T-shirts for cardiac rehabilitation

Two studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany, showed how researchers are developing innovative approaches to help patients get the most out of cardiac rehabilitation.

29 Aug 2012

PROTECT: Still no clear winner in the battle of the stent generations

Three-year rates of stent thrombosis with zotarolimus- and sirolimus-eluting stents are low and comparable, show results of the PROTECT trial.

29 Aug 2012

FAST-MI highlights young women at risk for heart disease

An analysis of four French registries has shown a dramatic drop in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction mortality from 1995 to 2010, accompanied by a significant change in patient characteristics.

29 Aug 2012

Mortality risk similar for White vs Black diabetics

Diabetes does not lead to an intrinsically poorer survival in African Americans than it does in White Americans, report US researchers.

29 Aug 2012

DUP may differentiate schizoaffective disorder from BD

Among individuals with a first episode of psychotic mania (FEPM), a longer duration of untreated psychosis may differentiate patients with schizoaffective disorder from those with bipolar I disorder, study results suggest.

29 Aug 2012

Factors linked to occupational disability in BD identified

Occupational disability in patients with bipolar disorder is associated with the presence of axis II disorders, a greater number of previous manic episodes, older age, and not being in a stable relationship, researchers report.

29 Aug 2012

Study finds decline in 30-day mortality of acute myocardial infarction with improved treatment

Improved treatment after acute myocardial infarction and less severe patient profile have reduced 30-day mortality over the past 15 years, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012.

29 Aug 2012

AstraZeneca’s ticagrelor receives Class I recommendation from ESC

AstraZeneca today announced that ticagrelor, an oral antiplatelet medicine, received a Class I recommendation from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in the revised "Guidelines on the Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients Presenting with Persistent ST-Segment Elevation (STEMI)" guidelines.

29 Aug 2012

Omitting aspirin leads to less bleedings but does not increase risk of stent thrombosis, MI

Lifelong anticoagulation is necessary for the prevention of stroke in patients with rhythm disturbances and with mechanical valves. Patients who have a coronary stent implanted also need the antiplatelet drugs aspirin and clopidogrel to prevent the rare but lethal complication of stent thrombosis.

29 Aug 2012

Study to investigate how breast cancer patients might benefit from exercise

Researchers in Edmonton and Calgary want to recruit 1,500 breast cancer patients over the next decade to find out how exercise and fitness affects cancer survival and recovery.

29 Aug 2012

New Wilderness Medical Society guidelines for prevention and treatment of lightning injuries

About 24,000 people are killed by lightning every year, with about 10 times as many people injured. The Wilderness Medical Society has issued important new practice guidelines for precautions that can lower the likelihood of being killed or injured and recommendations for effective medical treatments post-strike.

29 Aug 2012

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

Acorda’s GGF2 can improve erectile function after cavernous nerve damage

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. announced data from a preclinical study showed that treatment with Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) improved erectile function in an animal model following a cavernous nerve (CN) injury, a common complication of prostate surgery.

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

Scientists decode signals that boost the burning of fat

The numbers of obese people are climbing steeply all over the world - with obvious major consequences for their health. Due to excess food intake and a lack of physical activity, but also due to genetic factors, the risk for overweight people dying from diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes und atherosclerosis increases.

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

Ultra-fast 320-detector CT scanner can accurately diagnose arterial blockages

An ultra-fast, 320-detector computed tomography (CT) scanner can accurately sort out which people with chest pain need - or don't need - an invasive procedure such as cardiac angioplasty or bypass surgery to restore blood flow to the heart, according to an international study. Results of the study, which involved 381 patients at 16 hospitals in eight countries, are scheduled to be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany, on August 28.

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

St. Jude’s EnligHTN renal denervation system safe and effective in treating resistant hypertension

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that interim data demonstrated the company's EnligHTN renal denervation system is safe and effective for the treatment of resistant hypertension.

29 Aug 2012