RxPG News : CAD

New European guidelines on the management of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:04:00 PST

New guidelines on the management of acute myocardial infarction in patients presenting with persistent ST-segment elevation were published online by the European Heart Journal on 13 November 2008."A well-functioning regional system of care... and fast transport to the most appropriate facility is key to the success of the treatment," state the guidelines, which have been developed by a Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Bivalirudin during primary angioplasty better than heparin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI).

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:38:28 PST

A study led by Gregg W. Stone, M.D., professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian and chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, has shown that heart attack patients who were administered the direct thrombin inhibitor bivalirudin during primary angioplasty had a reduced rate of adverse clinical events, a lower rate of major bleeding, and a lower mortality rate than those who were treated with a regimen of heparin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI).

Intermittent hypoxic treatment for reduced myocardial infarction and lethal arrhythmias

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:27:46 PST

Researchers at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas have demonstrated that, contrary to prevailing dogma, hypoxia can be remarkably beneficial to the heart. These discoveries, to be reported in the June 2008 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, may lead to a new paradigm to protect hearts of patients at risk of coronary disease. Hypoxia is generally considered harmful to the heart, since a steady supply of oxygen is required to maintain cardiac function. However, this research has demonstrated that a 20 day program of brief, repetitive, moderate reductions in the amount of oxygen in the arterial blood induce adaptations which increase the heart’s resistance to the more severe insult of a heart attack.

MDCT accurate in detecting stenosis in calcified coronary artery plaque

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:00:00 PST

Multidetector CT angiography can accurately predict the presence of obstructive disease (stenosis) in small and moderate-sized calcified coronary artery plaque (CAP), and is even fairly accurate in diagnosing large and heavily calcified CAP, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

Clopidogrel does not increase postoperative bleeding risk in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:39:45 PST

Aspirin combined with clopidogrel is the treatment of choice for acute coronary syndromes. Although the maintenance of aspirin until surgery does not affect postoperative bleeding after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, the latter may be dramatically increased when clopidogrel is continued over a period of 5 days preoperatively.

British Cardiovascular Society's Report comments on the future of Coronary Angiography

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:39:49 PST

A report from the British Cardiovascular Society Working Group throws light on the future of coronary angiography - a technique which is at present, the most popular test among the physicians in the diagnosis and management of the ischemic heart disease.

ACC/AHA Release Revised Guidelines for the Management of Unstable Angina and NSTEMI

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:35:19 PST

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have jointly released revised Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina (UA)/Non-ST- Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI).

"Lite" cigarettes impair blood flow through the heart as severely as regular cigarettes

Mon, 14 May 2007 20:12:10 PST

Low tar "lite" cigarettes impair blood flow through the heart as severely as regular cigarettes, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the journal Heart.

Aspirin less effective for women than men

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:10:58 PST

A new study shows that aspirin therapy for coronary artery disease is four times more likely to be ineffective in women compared to men with the same medical history.

New genetic biomarkers could predict coronary heart disease

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 11:59:14 PST

New genetic markers may be able to predict whether a person is likely to have coronary heart disease (CAD) in the future. Research carried out by Dr. M. Balasubramanyam and Dr.V.Mohan at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (India) shows that people who are pre-diabetic or who have Type 2 diabetes have much shorter telomeres1 and, since these people are prone to CAD, an early test could indicate their susceptibility and help them to alter their lifestyle to avoid or delay the onset of the disease. This work will be presented by Dr Adaikala Koteswari at the Society for Experimental Biologyâs Annual Main Meeting on Sunday 1st April 2007.

Genetic Regulator for Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells Identified

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:40:00 PST

Through studying pigeons with genetic heart disease, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have discovered a clue about why some patients' heart vessels are prone to close back up after angioplasty.

New Risk Factors Do Not Improve Assessment Of Coronary Heart Disease Risk

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 05:30:00 PST

Screening for levels of C-reactive protein and other compounds recently found to be associated with coronary heart disease may not help physicians predict risk for the condition with any more accuracy than traditional major risk factors, according to a report in the July 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Angioplasty: door-to-balloon time matters regardless of time to presentation

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 09:15:00 PST

Slicing minutes off the time it takes hospitals to deliver emergency angioplasty (the "door-to-balloon" time) improves the survival of appropriate heart attack patients, even when patients have been feeling symptoms for a few hours, according to a new study in the June 6, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

ESC Updated Guidelines for Stable Angina Pectoris Management

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:21:00 PST

The European Society of Cardiology released today new Guidelines for the Management of Stable Angina Pectoris. The updated Guidelines include information on new developments in cardiovascular care, advances that have been made in improving the prognosis of coronary artery disease including the use of statins and ACE inhibitors, as well as strategies to alleviate symptoms.

Antioxidant Selenium Offers No Heart-Disease Protection

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:08:00 PST

Selenium does not protect against cardiovascular disease, despite its documented antioxidant and chemopreventive properties, analysis of a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial covering 13 years has shown. The selenium-CVD association was a secondary endpoint in the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial, which was designed primarily to determine if selenium supplementation could prevent the recurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Coffee not linked with coronary heart disease

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 20:52:00 PST

Good news for caffeine addicts - coffee, in any quantity, does not raise the risk of coronary heart disease and could actually reduce the chances, says a study. Researchers led by Esther Lopez-Garcia of the School of Medicine at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain studied 44,005 men and 84,488 women and found that people who drink six or more cups of coffee a day could have less risk than those who consumed a cup or less a day.

Adding abciximab to the antithrombotic regimen significantly reduces post-stent complications

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 03:02:00 PST

Patients admitted to the hospital with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are often treated with a catheter-based procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI. But doctors are unclear about the optimal antithrombotic therapy to prescribe after procedure to prevent clotting, and new research suggests a possible alternative, according to a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 55th Annual Scientific Session. ACC.06 is the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, bringing together more than 30,000 cardiologists to further breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine.

Stenting just the left main stem gives equivalent results

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 02:49:00 PST

Cardiologists increasingly use non-invasive methods to treat patients with diseased arteries that previously required open-heart surgery. A late-breaking clinical trial presented today during the American College of Cardiology's inaugural Innovation in Intervention: the i2 Summit 2006. Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit is an annual meeting for practicing cardiovascular interventionalists sponsored by the American College of Cardiology in partnership with the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

Serotonin may play role in hardening of the arteries

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 16:01:00 PST

A less active brain serotonin system is associated with early hardening of the arteries, according to a study presented today by University of Pittsburgh researchers at the 64th Annual Scientific Conference of the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver. These findings, which are the first to establish a link between serotonin messages in the brain and atherosclerosis, could lead to an entirely new strategy for preventing heart disease and stroke, say the researchers.

Severe Heart Disease, Poor Prognosis Linked To Erectile Dysfunction

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:14:00 PST

In another study, researchers report that men with ED may have more severe cases of coronary heart disease and more risk factors for adverse outcomes than those without ED.

Framingham score underestimates the risk of developing coronary heart disease in women

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:24:00 PST

Traditional risk-factor scoring fails to identify approximately one-third of women likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading cause of death of women in the United States, according to a pair of reports from cardiologists at Johns Hopkins.

Octagenarians have higher mortality risk after CABG

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 15:53:00 PST

Patients aged 80 and older have a higher risk of death and disease than younger patients after undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery or valve surgery, and age alone influences these outcomes, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Diabetic black men have less atherosclerosis

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 13:32:00 PST

In a surprising outcome, investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that diabetic black men have dramatically lower amounts of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, than diabetic white men.
This result was also observed in the face of increased thickness of carotid artery walls in black diabetic subjects. Increased wall thickness is widely accepted including by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a marker for atherosclerosis and a predictor of coronary heart disease, so the result was surprising.

Fair Treatment at Workplace Reduces Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:18:00 PST

A sense of fair treatment in the workplace was associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in a large long-term study of British office workers published in the October 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

EUROASPIRE II2 - One in five heart patients continue to smoke after first coronary event

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 22:59:00 PST

An international survey published today (Thursday 6 October) in Europe's leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal1, reveals that fewer than half of the heart patients in the study who smoked quit after suffering their first coronary event, with one out of five continuing to smoke despite advice to stop.

Medication-Releasing Stent Reduces Risk Of Artery Re-Narrowing

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 18:04:00 PST

Compared to bare metal stents, placement of stents that release the medication paclitaxel reduces the risk of the artery re-narrowing nine months following angioplasty for patients with complex coronary artery lesions, according to an article in the September 14 issue of JAMA.

Clopidogrel Before Angioplasty Cuts in Half Risk of Death - PCI-CLARITY study

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 02:17:00 PST

A new study from Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) finds that early use of clopidogrel, an oral antiplatelet medication, started prior to rather than at the time of angioplasty, reduces the odds of death, heart attack or stroke following the angioplasty by more than 45 percent. Results of the PCI-CLARITY study were presented by Marc S. Sabatine, MD, MPH, an associate physician in the Cardiovascular Division at BWH and an instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden on September 3 7, 2005.

Genetic risk of acute coronary event (GRACE) study presented today

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 23:38:00 PST

An unusual British Heart Foundation (BHF) 'DNA database' from brothers and sisters across the UK has enabled researchers to pinpoint six genetic 'hotspots' that can double the risk of developing early heart disease.

Coronary Heart Disease Is Under-Diagnosed And Under-Treated In Women

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:40:00 PST

Coronary heart disease is under-diagnosed, under-treated, and under-researched in women, says a senior doctor in this weeks BMJ.

C-reactive protein can be an early indicator of stiffened arteries

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 20:49:00 PST

The Mayo Clinic collaborative study with researchers from the University of Michigan looked at 214 men and women with an average age of 59, who had no history of heart attack or stroke. Results suggest that low grade inflammation is associated with arterial stiffness (hardening). This inflammation may be a potential mechanism through which C-reactive protein is related to heart attack and stroke, and why testing for C-reactive protein in a blood test may be an effective early warning test for asymptomatic, or presymptomatic heart disease.

Prognosticating chest pain now easier and more accurate

Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:00:00 PST

Every physician knows that labelling a chest pain as angina means starting a cocktail of medications. And not doing so could mean a myocardial ischemia.Exersice stress tests and angiographies can mean a delay to a definite diagnosis. Now, using real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RTMCE), a type of ultrasound, physicians are able to rapidly and accurately detect coronary artery disease - a risk factor that leads to heart attacks.

A change of heart for MEF2A in coronary artery disease

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 13:11:00 PST

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major killers in Western societies. Recently, mutations in a gene called MEF2A on chromosome 15 were reported to be causative of premature CAD.