Coronary Artery Disease News and Research

Latest Coronary Artery Disease News and Research

Erectile dysfunction, high blood pressure linked

Men with high blood pressure have a new reason to get their condition under control – they may be at risk for erectile dysfunction, medical experts announced at the American Society of Hypertension’s Twentieth Annual Scientific Meeting.

16 May 2005

New trend in treating heart disease in diabetics - angioplasty using the Cypher Sirolimus-eluting coronary stent

The World Health Organisation has predicted an increase in the worldwide prevalence of diabetes of epidemic proportions . Eighty percent of people with diabetes will die from cardiovascular complications -- stroke and/or coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2005

New GP contract may not improve treatment for heart failure patients

The new contract for GPs may improve identification and diagnosis of chronic heart failure, but there is a danger that it may fall short of ensuring optimal treatment for these patients, says research published this week in Postgraduate Medical Journal.

4 May 2005

Abnormal heart scans predict higher risks for African-Americans and Hispanics

SPECT imaging scans show that abnormalities in blood flow to the muscle of the heart indicate higher cardiovascular disease risk in African-Americans and Hispanics than similar abnormalities in white patients, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

MDCT highly accurate for diagnosing coronary artery disease in patients with zero to moderate coronary calcification

In patients with no or moderate coronary calcification, 16-slice MDCT allows the reliable detection of coronary artery stenosis with high diagnostic accuracy, say researchers from Tuebingen University Hospital in Germany. Coronary artery stenosis is the narrowing of coronary arteries due to the build-up of calcified plaques.

3 May 2005

E. coli poses significant public health threat to seniors in the U.S.

A new study finds that E. coli bacteremia - a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection caused by a common bacteria also associated with less dangerous urinary tract infections - poses a significant public health threat in the United States, especially among seniors.

2 May 2005

Myogen's Ambrisentan granted orphan drug designation by Europeans

Myogen today announced that the Commission of the European Communities, with a favorable opinion of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has granted orphan drug designation to ambrisentan for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

2 May 2005

Research may re-define management of heart failure in diabetes

Control of oxidised copper levels in the body may be as important as lowering blood glucose levels in preventing cardiovascular complications in diabetes mellitus, according to New Zealand researchers.

28 Apr 2005

Antibiotic treatment does not reduce risk of secondary cardiac events

Taking antibiotics weekly for one year does not reduce the risk of a heart attack or other cardiac event for patients with stable coronary artery disease, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. It is published in the April 21, 2005, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

20 Apr 2005

Modest triglyceride elevations linked to coronary artery disease risk

Even modest increases in blood levels of triglycerides, as well as a type of high cholesterol known as type III hyperlipidemia, are strongly associated with coronary artery disease in people with a family history of the disease, according to a new study in the April 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Apr 2005

Gene therapy shows effect in heart patients

The first double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of VEGF gene injections into the heart muscle of patients with coronary artery disease with the intention of spurring growth of new blood vessels showed significant effects on heart wall motion, although blood flow was not significantly better in treated patients, according to a new study in the April 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Apr 2005

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can successfully identify the characteristics of coronary plaques

A catheter-based imaging technology called optical coherence tomography (OCT) can successfully identify the characteristics of coronary plaques in patients with various cardiac symptoms. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will appear in the journal Circulation.

29 Mar 2005

Heart attacks can be triggered by physical exertion and emotional stress

Philip Strike and Andrew Steptoe of University College London, in a review published in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, of dozens of studies done between 1970 and 2004 have come up with compelling evidence that indicates that people with a history of heart disease, can trigger heart attacks, some of them fatal, by physical exertion and emotional stress.

23 Mar 2005

First patient to test new treatment for peripheral arterial disease

For several years, crippling leg pain has prevented Joan Erickson from walking more than a block. If she paused to rest, she could walk a little more, but not enough to continue playing golf, her favorite pastime.

23 Mar 2005

Physical exertion and emotional stress can trigger heart attacks in people with a history of heart disease

Authors Philip Strike and Andrew Steptoe of University College London point out that the triggers for heart attacks may be quite different from the factors that lead to development of coronary heart disease over the long term, such as cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, work stress, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

22 Mar 2005

More research on Vitamin E surprises scientists

50 years of research into the supposed benefits of taking vitamin E has extolled its antioxidant potential to offer a variety of potential health benefits, including reducing the risk of Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease.

15 Mar 2005

Vasogen granted European patent in chronic heart failure

Vasogen today announced that it has been granted a European patent covering the use of its Celacade technology for the treatment of chronic heart failure, and has completed the registration procedure to bring it fully into force in all the major countries of Europe including the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Sweden.

15 Mar 2005

New insight into key mechanism by which cells limit cholesterol

The finding suggests a novel approach to the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs that may boost the effect of statins, one of the most prescribed cholesterol inhibitors, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

15 Mar 2005

Community care tops medical care at preventing heart disease in black Americans

Upgraded community health services, including checkups by phone or in person with a local nurse practitioner at a neighborhood clinic, and free charge cards for medications are almost nine times more likely to benefit black Americans at greater risk of heart disease than full-service physician care alone.

15 Mar 2005

Obesity among African-American stroke survivors increases risk factors for recurrent stroke

Obesity may put African-Americans who have survived one stroke at risk for a second stroke by increasing their risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and high cholesterol, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Mar 2005