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Although chelation therapy with the drug disodium EDTA has been used for many years with limited evidence of efficacy for the treatment of coronary disease, a randomized trial that included patients with a prior heart attack found that use of a chelation regimen modestly reduced the risk of a composite of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, but the findings do not support the routine use of chelation therapy for treatment of patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study in the March 27 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-chelation-therapy-result-small-reduction.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:01 EST news283522928 In a move towards greater transparency patients will now be able to access a wealth of data about heart surgery in the UK and go online and examine their heart surgeon's and hospital's outcome data prior to an operation thanks to an innovative new website designed with input from The University of Manchester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-experts-outcomes-website-heart-surgeons.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:22:19 EST news282903730 While two large clinical trials recently showed that adding niacin to statin therapy failed to improve clinical outcomes despite a significant increase in HDL-C levels, little is known about exactly why the increased HDL-C levels did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. Now, a small study from researchers the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has shown that while niacin increased measured levels of HDL-C, it did not improve the functionality of HDL. This may provide an explanation for the failure of niacin to further reduce cardiovascular risk. The study results were reported today at the 62nd Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in San Francisco (Abstract # 919-7). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-niacin-added-statin-therapy-hdl.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:40:01 EST news282295749 Non-emergency angioplasty performed at hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery capability is no less safe and effective than angioplasty performed at hospitals with cardiac surgery services, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-angioplasty-hospitals-on-site-cardiac-surgery.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:40:01 EST news282241449 The 2011 annual report of the National Audit of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) highlights the significant progress within hospitals to expand PCI services to treat more patients with acute coronary syndromes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-national-percutaneous-coronary-interventional-procedures.html Cardiology Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:00:02 EST news278591562 (HealthDay)—For individuals with type 2 diabetes, incident cardiovascular outcomes are determined not only by the severity of diabetic retinopathy but also by its progression, according to research published online Dec. 13 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-retinopathy-severity-linked-cardiovascular-outcome.html Diabetes Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:20:01 EST news278332366 Fasting prior to blood lipid tests appears to have limited association with lipid subclass levels, suggesting that fasting for routine lipid level determinations may be unnecessary, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fasting-prior-blood-lipid-limited.html Medical research Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:00:05 EST news271954073 Among patients with either coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors only, known prior heart attack, or known CAD without heart attack, the use of beta-blockers was not associated with a lower risk of a composite of cardiovascular events that included cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack or nonfatal stroke, according to a study in the October 3 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-beta-blocker-cardiovascular-events.html Cardiology Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:00:04 EST news268404232 In a study that included nearly 70,000 patients, supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiac death, sudden death, heart attack, or stroke, according to an analysis of previous studies published in the September 12 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-omega-fatty-acid-supplementation-major.html Cardiology Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:00:07 EST news266597059 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 Two studies that included adults with obstructive sleep apnea examined the effectiveness of reducing the risk of cardiovascular outcomes, including high blood pressure, by treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), according to the articles in the May 23/30 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-cpap-treatment-cardiovascular-outcomes-adults.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:04 EST news256904839 Hospitals that perform expensive, invasive cardiovascular procedures on a disproportionate number of patients are more costly for all heart failure patients, including those treated with noninvasive methods, according to a new Yale study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hospitals-expensive-heart-procedures-costly.html Cardiology Thu, 10 May 2012 11:24:17 EST news255867852 Patients with mitral regurgitation, a type of valvular heart disease common in the elderly, are living longer after surgery, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-survival-mitral-valve-heart-surgery.html Cardiology Thu, 10 May 2012 11:03:48 EST news255866613 No one really wants the short end of the stick, in this case the short end of a chromosome. Telomeres, which are DNA-protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes, can be thought of as protein "caps" that protect chromosomes from deteriorating and fusing with neighboring chromosomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-link-chromosome-length-heart.html Cardiology Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:04:28 EST news251903047 A new study published Wednesday cast doubt on the usefulness of a genetic test for patients taking the anti-coagulant drug Plavix, calling into question last year's FDA warning about the blood thinner. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-genetic-plavix-unneeded.html Medications Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:56 EST news244357237 Compared to patients who had persistently high platelet reactivity, those who achieved low platelet reactivity, according to the VerifyNow P2Y12 Test, had a reduced incidence of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stent thrombosis, as indicated by a clinical trial presented today at the ESC Congress 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-platelet-reactivity-cardiovascular.html Cardiology Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:34:38 EST news233922850 The Homburg Cream and Sugar (HCS) study was designed to determine whether the measurement of postprandial triglyceride in addition to the assessment of glucose tolerance and traditional risk factors might improve the prediction of cardiovascular events. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-homburg-cream-sugar.html Cardiology Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:46:26 EST news233837176 New research shows that adolescents and young adults with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes have thicker and stiffer carotid arteries, also known as atherosclerosis, a risk factor for heart attack and stroke in adults. This research is believed to be the first to examine whether type 1 diabetes has a measurable effect on carotid arteries in this age group. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-young-people-diabetes-heart-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:39:14 EST news228155938