Platelet Function Tests May Provide Modest Benefit In Predicting Cardiac Outcomes
An analysis of six tests that are used to measure platelet function and help gauge the effectiveness of antiplatelet drugs for patients undergoing a cardiac procedure such as a coronary stent implantation found that only three of the tests were associated with a modest ability to predict outcomes such as heart attack or death, according to a study in the February 24 issue of JAMA. Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel (antiplatelet agent used to inhibit blood clots) reduces atherothrombotic (vascular obstruction) complications in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) with stenting.
Erectile Dysfunction As A Predictor For Subsequent Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Events: Findings From A Linked-Data Study
UroToday.com - In permitting longitudinal data analyses of our study cohort of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and without known previous history of cardiovascular (CV) disease, data linkage has provided us a novel methodological approach in our investigation on the role of ED as a predictor of atherosclerotic CV events. Based on hospital admissions and death registrations, findings from our linked-data study represent epidemiological information on this role of ED at the severe end of the CV disease spectrum. ED and atherosclerotic CV disease should thus be viewed as manifestations of generalised vascular endothelial dysfunction in different vascular beds.
Scientists Map Genetic Regulatory Elements For The Heart
Scientists have devised a new computational model that can be used to reveal genetic regulatory elements responsible for development of the human heart and maintenance of its function. Although the teams focused on the heart, the computational method they developed is broadly applicable to other tissues, and was successfully used to identify regulatory elements for cells of the limbs and brain. Cataloging these regulatory sequences may improve understanding of diseases and lays the groundwork for improved medical treatments. The research, conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the University of Chicago, is published in the March 2010 issue of Genome Research and is available online.
Osiris Therapeutics Announces Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy Presentation At BMT Tandem Meeting
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) announced that data from a 53-patient double-blind, placebo controlled trial studying the treatment of heart attack patients with Prochymal, a proprietary formulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as well as research on the underlying mechanism of action of MSCs for cardiac repair, will be presented at the 2010 BMT Tandem Meeting. Joshua M. Hare, M.D., Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will present the data during a session entitled "Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy" on Thursday, February 25.
New Cardiac CT Technology Drastically Reduces Patient Radiation Exposure
In a new study published in the March issue of Radiology, researchers from Columbia University and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have determined that an imaging exam of the heart using the latest generation of CT technology exposes patients to as much as 91 percent less radiation than standard helical CT scanning. "Coronary CT angiography has generated great enthusiasm in recent years, due to its diagnostic accuracy in assessing patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, " said Andrew J. Einstein, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine in radiology and director of cardiac CT research at Columbia University Medical Center.
Heartache To Heartbreak -- How To Recognize A Heart Attack, Or Avoid One All Together
Not everyone who suffers a heart attack clutches their chest and falls to the floor. "I woke up and felt like a pill was stuck in my throat, " says Betsy, a 68-year-old patient from Upper Providence. "I was taking antibiotics at the time and really didn't think much of it, " she adds. "So I tried drinking water and when the "stuck" feeling didn't go away after 45 minutes, I thought something might be wrong." "My son took me to the Emergency Room and yes, now I realize I should have called 9-1-1 immediately." After the ER staff ran an EKG (a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart), they told Betsy she was having a heart attack. "Next thing I knew, they took me right to the cardiac cath lab and inserted a stent to open up my artery.
Statement By American Heart Association President Clyde Yancy, M.D. On IOM Report On Hypertension
Millions of Americans are living with hypertension -- a ticking time bomb. From the age of 50 and onward, Americans have a 90 percent chance of developing hypertension. That is a startling risk for a condition that strongly predisposes to heart disease and stroke. What is most worrisome is that the prevalence of hypertension remains high, particularly among African-Americans, despite efforts to educate Americans about the importance of healthy eating, physical activity and smoke-free environments. This Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Hypertension now reinforces the need for a broad-based initiative in the science and public health spectrums to help individuals manage hypertension and perhaps even prevent the onset of hypertension.
Black Women At Increased Risk For Weakened Heart Muscle At Childbirth
Black women are at significantly increased risk for developing a potentially deadly weakening of the heart muscle around the time of childbirth, researchers report. A study examining the incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy in women who gave birth at a Medical College of Georgia's teaching hospital between July 2003 and July 2008, showed that while 55 percent of the women were white, 93 percent of those who developed cardiomyopathy were black, said Dr. Mindy B. Gentry, an MCG cardiologist. "When it hits, it's totally unexpected because these are young, otherwise healthy women with young children. (They aren't patients) you'd expect to have any sort of health problem much less heart failure, " Dr.
Senate, FDA Reports Increase Concerns About Controversial Diabetes Drug
"Hundreds of people taking Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market ... , " The New York Times reports. "The internal F.D.A. reports are part of a fierce debate within the agency over what to do about Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline." Some within the agency think the drug should be withdrawn because "they believe there is a safer alternative." Others maintain that research so far is provides "contradictory information and that Avandia should continue to be an option for doctors and patients.
German Appeals Court Says CoreValve Devices From Medtronic Do Not Infringe Edwards Lifesciences' Andersen Patent
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced that an appeals court in Germany has found that the CoreValve® transcatheter aortic valve system does not infringe Edwards Lifesciences' German Andersen patent, which is set to expire in May 2011. The appellate court's decision upholds a lower court's ruling and enables uninterrupted access to the leading transcatheter heart valve in Germany. "We are gratified but not surprised by today's ruling, " said Scott Ward, president of the CardioVascular business and senior vice president at Medtronic. "We look forward to similar outcomes in the U.K. and the United States." Court proceedings in the U.K. involving the U.