http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arms or legs on one side of the body, confusion and trouble speaking are among the signs that someone is having a stroke. The sooner a stroke is recognized and treated, the greater the chance of recovery, experts say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-quickly.html Cardiology Mon, 13 May 2013 18:10:01 EST news287685901 Patients who quit smoking and took an aspirin and statin before undergoing treatment for blocked leg arteries were less likely to suffer a complication six months later, according to new research led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-lifestyle-linked-outcomes-peripheral-intervention.html Cardiology Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:44:38 EST news275240650 Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a genetic factor that prevents blockages from forming in blood vessels, a discovery that could lead to new therapies for cardiovascular diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-genetic-factor-key-blood-vessel.html Medical research Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:34:06 EST news272550839 Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have shown that combining distal protection devices with the prophylactic use of the drug nicardipine is more effective at preventing life-threatening complications following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (angioplasty, stenting) on patients who have undergone previous bypass surgery than distal protection devices alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-safety-angioplasty-patients-coronary-bypass.html Cardiology Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:09:31 EST news270115762 What began in the Dentistry lab of Professor Paul Santerre more than a decade ago is now Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI) - a privately-held company poised to transform the market for medical devices in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-newly-additives-surgically-implanted-devices.html Surgery Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:50:48 EST news267263426 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-advanced-ct-scans-accurately-coronary.html Cardiology Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:10:38 EST news265360227 Data presented today from the prospective Determination of Fractional Flow Reserve by Anatomic Computed Tomographic Angiography (DeFACTO) study show that, when compared to standard coronary angiography (CT), the non-invasive assessment of fractional flow reserve by computed tomography (FFRct) provides a more accurate determination of which lesions require invasive evaluation.(1) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-non-invasive-fractional-reserve-identification-flow-restricting.html Cardiology Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:00:36 EST news265280425 Adding computed tomography (CT) scans to standard screening procedures may help emergency room staff more rapidly determine which patients complaining of chest pain are having a heart attack or may soon have a heart attack, and which patients can be safely discharged, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-heart-ct-scans-emergency-room.html Cardiology Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:32:13 EST news262456327 Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a tear of the layers of the artery wall that can block normal blood flow into and around the heart, is a relatively rare and poorly understood condition. It often strikes young, otherwise healthy people -- mostly women -- and can lead to significant heart damage, even sudden death. Now, in the first study of its kind of such patients, Mayo Clinic researchers have started to uncover important clues about SCAD, including its potential risk factors, optimal treatment approaches and short- and long-term cardiovascular outcomes, including a higher-than-expected rate of recurrence. They also found a surprising link to fibromuscular dysplasia, another rare condition that causes a narrowing in some arteries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-reveals-important-clues-rare-heart.html Cardiology Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:00:12 EST news261672796 The first biologically tissue-engineered vein grown from a patient's own stem cells has been successfully transplanted into a 10-year-old girl with portal vein obstruction, dramatically enhancing her quality of life. These pioneering results, published online first in the Lancet, could offer a potential new way for patients lacking healthy veins to undergo dialysis or heart bypass surgery without the problems of synthetic grafts (that are prone to clots and blockages) or the need for lifelong immunosuppressive drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-successful-transplantation-tissue-engineered-vein-child.html Immunology Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:30:01 EST news258811550 (Medical Xpress) -- A new report issued today by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and developed in collaboration with 10 other leading professional societies provides detailed criteria to help clinicians maximize the appropriate use of certain noninvasive vascular tests when caring for patients with suspected or known non-coronary arterial disorders. Emile R. Mohler, MD, professor of Medicine and director of Vascular Medicine at Penn Medicine, chaired the national committee producing the criteria. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-national-optimal-vascular-laboratory-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 05:27:04 EST news258697610 (HealthDay) -- The largest study of its kind finds that stroke patients benefit from a clot-busting drug even six hours after a stroke, suggesting that the current recommended 4.5-hour limit could be expanded. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-clot-buster-hours.html Cardiology Thu, 24 May 2012 04:40:01 EST news257051929 (HealthDay) -- People with peripheral artery disease have an increased short- and long-term risk of death after undergoing a procedure to open clogged heart arteries, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-angioplasty-risky-poor-leg-circulation.html Cardiology Wed, 09 May 2012 19:10:01 EST news255805908 Clogging of pipes leading to the heart is the planet's number one killer. Surgeons can act as medical plumbers to repair some blockages, but we don't fully understand how this living organ deteriorates or repairs itself over time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-cells-blood-vessel-tightly-regions.html Medical research Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:51:37 EST news254670683 Sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited condition that causes red blood cells to sometimes deform into a crescent shape, affects an estimated 100,000 Americans, typically those of African descent. However, far more have sickle cell trait (SCT), caused when individuals carry just a single copy of the disease-causing mutation in their genes. Rather than all their red blood cells being affected, those with SCT carry a mix of affected red blood cells and normal ones. Previously, researchers and physicians had assumed that those with SCT were immune from the increased burden of sickness and death that those with SCD carry. However, recent research suggests that the same morbidity and mortality that follow SCD patients at an increased rate also affect those with SCT to a lesser extent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-regular-complications-sickle-cell-trait.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:50:01 EST news254585311 (HealthDay) -- New long-term research now suggests that fully biodegradable stents are safe to use in heart arteries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-dissolvable-heart-artery-stents-safe.html Cardiology Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:24:27 EST news253815859 Cardiac computed tomography angiography scans (CT scans that look at the heart) can provide a virtually instant verdict on whether chest pain is from blockage of the coronary arteries. When used early to evaluate chest pain, the scans save patients and hospitals time and money by allowing doctors to quickly determine who should be admitted for treatment for a heart attack and who can be safely sent home, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cardiac-ct-faster-effective-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:46:28 EST news252063979 Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital discovered that blockages in the right coronary artery and those in bending areas of the coronary artery are the most common places for dissection, a tear in the artery that can occur during balloon angioplasty of the coronary arteries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-coronary-angioplasty-affect-patient-outcomes.html Cardiology Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:02:18 EST news251834527 (HealthDay) -- Aspirin works as well as Plavix in patients with blocked leg arteries, a new European study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-aspirin-good-plavix-poor-leg.html Cardiology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:10:01 EST news249151072 The American Heart Association has launched the online-only open-access Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease (JAHA) -- packed with free peer-reviewed research on heart disease and stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-american-heart-association-free-access-online.html Cardiology Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:02 EST news249046992 A new comparison of the procedures to help prevent strokes by removing or relieving blockages in the arteries of the neck concludes they are equally effective at halting repeat blockage. Two years after treatment with either surgery or a minimally invasive treatment using wire coils called stents, the re-blockage rate remained the same, approximately six percent. Results of the analysis were detailed in a presentation at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference today in New Orleans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-re-blockage-stented-surgically-opened-arteries.html Cardiology Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:50:01 EST news247314310 In a new study, researchers have found a 44 percent increase since 2001 in the number of hospitals that offer definitive emergency care to patients with heart attack, but only a 1 percent increase in access to that care. The study, led by Thomas W. Concannon, PhD, Assistant Professor Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, will be published January 1, 2012 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-hospitals-invest-heavily-heart-access.html Cardiology Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:31:28 EST news243520275 Physician preferences and hospital characteristics influence the type of procedures performed on blockages of the heart, leading to significant variations in rates of bypass, stent or angioplasty procedures, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-variations-cardiac-procedures-physician-hospital.html Cardiology Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:48:46 EST news242916517 Birth control drugs that were heavily promoted as having fewer side effects and the ability to clear up acne and other hormonal bothers are under new scrutiny from safety regulators. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-fda-revisits-safety-birth-drugs.html Medications Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:33:56 EST news242314427 A woman's heart breaks more easily than a man's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-women-broken-heart-syndrome.html Cardiology Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:59:58 EST news240681573 Hospitals that do not have cardiac surgery capability can perform nonemergency angioplasty and stent implantation as safely as hospitals that do offer cardiac surgery. That is the finding of the nation's first large, randomized study to assess whether patients do just as well having nonemergency angioplasty performed at smaller, community hospitals that do not offer cardiac surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-patients-fare-nonemergency-angioplasty-hospitals.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:49 EST news240508841 (Medical Xpress) -- Northwestern Medicine researchers have launched a clinical trial testing a new combination of treadmill exercise and drug regimen to see if the two together improve the walking ability of people with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) more than either therapy individually. Scientists are studying if a combination of walking and the medication together increase the production of a participant's own stem cells, and, ultimately, the development of greatly needed new blood vessels in the calf muscles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-stem-cell-boost-treadmill-artery.html Cardiology Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:56:20 EST news239349366 Small bypass vessels which act as a 'back-up system' for the heart's main arteries play a significant role in reducing the mortality of patients with coronary artery disease, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-back-up-heart-disease-deaths.html Cardiology Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:25:13 EST news236579098 Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have discovered that cardiac patients receiving medicated stents -- a procedure that occurs often when blood vessels are blocked -- have a lower likelihood of suffering heart attacks or developing new blockages in the vessel downstream from the stent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-stents-heart-downstream-medication.html Medical research Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:59:50 EST news235306777 Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) have discovered that an ancient pathway called autophagy also mobilizes and exports cholesterol from cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cholesterol-reverse-major-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:00:01 EST news234697133