http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For patients with a type of irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation (AF), a new anti-clotting drug might be better at preventing clot-related strokes while minimizing the risk of causing a bleeding stroke. The research was presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-rivaroxaban-brain-patients-high.html Cardiology Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:35:19 EST news247397706 Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract causes serious health problems—and even early deaths—for many patients with kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that greater efforts are needed to prevent and treat upper GI bleeding in these patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-gastrointestinal-kidney-failure-patients-stomach.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:27:27 EST news246216432 Patients who discontinued use of an antiplatelet agent such as clopidogrel prior to undergoing cardiac surgery to lower their bleeding risk and received intravenously the platelet inhibitor cangrelor achieved a higher rate of maintenance of platelet inhibition, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the January 18 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-drug-platelet-inhibition-anti-clotting-prior.html Surgery Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:27:33 EST news246040043 Two emergency medicine physicians with wartime experience have developed a weapon against one rapidly lethal war injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-emergency-medicine-physicians-device-lethal.html Other Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:52:23 EST news245501524 A Rush University Medical Center led international research team has announced that a treatment to prevent bleeding episodes in children with hemophilia A also is effective for adolescents and adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hemophilia-treatment-annual-events-frequency.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:13:15 EST news245329945 Patients with recent use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), or anti-clotting drugs such as clopidogreal (Plavix) do not appear to have an increased risk of bleeding during or after removal of precancerous lesions in the digestive tract, according to results of a Mayo Clinic study. The findings, culled from a review of 1,382 procedures of patients treated at Mayo Clinic in Florida, are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Washington, D.C. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-anti-clotting-drugs-gi-procedure.html Cardiology Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:39:20 EST news239373550 The only medication currently approved for stroke treatment – tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which dissolves blood clots – is associated with an increased risk of bleeding in the brain, particularly among patients with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). A study led by Raymond A. Swanson, MD, chief of the neurology and rehabilitation service at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, provides a possible reason: high blood sugar fuels the formation of superoxide, a toxic form of oxygen, which in turn damages tissues, weakens blood vessels and promotes excess bleeding. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-clue-brain-treatment.html Neuroscience Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:26:22 EST news238062360 A large-scale data review by researchers in China of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) over the last decade showed the endoscopic procedure to be safe and effective for detection of diseases of the small intestine. DBE had a pooled detection rate of 68.1 percent for all small intestinal disease. Suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding was found to be the most common indication, with a relatively high detection rate. Inflammatory lesions and vascular lesions were the most common findings in patients with suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding. The study appears in the September issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-large-scale-balloon-enteroscopy-safe-effective.html Other Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:41:44 EST news236270492 Heart attack patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in combination with antiplatelet therapy -- acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), clopidogrel or both (dual antiplatelet therapy) -- are at higher risk of bleeding than patients taking ASA alone, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-combined-ssris-antiplatelet-therapy-heart.html Medical research Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:26:59 EST news236258793 The risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding needs to be considered when determining the potential preventive benefits associated with low-dose aspirin for cardiovascular disease and cancer. According to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the use of low-dose aspirin increases the risk for GI bleeding, with the risk being increased further with accompanying use of cardiovascular disease-preventing therapies, such as clopidogrel and anticoagulants. In patients who took proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), bleeding risk decreased. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology is the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-low-dose-aspirin-gi.html Medical research Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:57:23 EST news235043813 Thrombotic (clotting) and bleeding events are complications that may occur after surgery. With the aging population in the western world, there are more patients undergoing orthopedic surgery than ever before. This makes understanding the risk of complications from orthopedic surgery exceedingly important. However, there is a lack of data investigating the incidence of thrombotic and bleeding complications in orthopedic surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-patients-coronary-artery-disease.html Cardiology Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:21:59 EST news233922097 A large-scale trial finds that apixaban, a new anticoagulant drug, is superior to the standard drug warfarin for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. Moreover, apixaban results in substantially less bleeding and also results in lower mortality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-apixaban-superior-warfarin.html Medical research Sun, 28 Aug 2011 04:57:22 EST news233726229 A new and simple risk score may aid physicians in gauging the likelihood that a common drug will cause a hemorrhagic stroke or other major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation, potentially allowing wider but safer use of the effective drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-scorecard-patients-highest-blood-thinners.html Medical research Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:40:01 EST news231669054 If you were among the 1 million people annually who need an angioplasty to open a blocked artery, would you choose a procedure that required you to lie still for up to four hours and limit your activities for at least a week and that carried a risk of internal bleeding from one of your body’s largest arteries? Or would you prefer one that allowed you to quickly resume activities, with little discomfort or risk of major bleeding? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-uci-cardiologists-patients-safer-comfortable.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:49:56 EST news229686583 New research has suggested that tranexamic acid has the potential to prevent people dying from head injuries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-potential-simple-patients-injury.html Medical research Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:59:43 EST news228715156 The European Society of Cardiology (ESC Working Group on Thrombosis) is calling for greater attention to be paid by health care staff to reducing bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), and for increased research in the field. The position paper, published online today in The European Heart Journal, summarises current knowledge regarding the epidemiology of bleeding in ACS and PCI, and provides a European perspective on management strategies to minimise the extent of bleeding and subsequent adverse consequences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-esc-greater-awareness-potential-adverse.html Cardiology Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:40:36 EST news228627623 The incidence of internal bleeding was higher in the most commonly implanted heart device than in an earlier model, according to two studies at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-internal-higher-popular-heart-device.html Cardiology Sat, 11 Jun 2011 17:24:38 EST news227031738 Naltrexone reduced inflammation in Crohn's patients in a research study at Penn State College of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-naltrexone-inflammation-crohn-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 19 May 2011 09:56:40 EST news225017754 How much would you pay for an extra year of healthy life? The cost of filling up your car at the petrol pumps? Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have found that a year of life could be saved for around the price of filling up the tank of an average family car in the UK - which is a fitting comparison bearing in mind that most of the patients who will benefit from this cheap life-saving drug have been hit by cars. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-emergency-cheap-life-saving-drug-freely.html Medications Tue, 03 May 2011 17:33:14 EST news223662764