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(HealthDay)—In patients who have previously been considered difficult to image, dual-source cardiac (DSC) computed tomography (CT) can identify clinically significant coronary artery disease, according to a review published in the May issue of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-dual-source-cardiac-ct-ids-cad.html Cardiology Thu, 23 May 2013 18:20:01 EST news288544285 Results from a large observational study reported at EuroPCR 2013 today question whether bivalirudin is superior to heparin in the absence of GPIIb/IIIa blockade, showing similar 30-day mortality in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-registry-superiority-bivalirudin-heparin.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 09:20:00 EST news288433194 A new stress test protocol that investigates reducing the use of perfusion imaging in low risk patients undergoing SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for possible angina symptoms was found to be diagnostically safe, revealed a US retrospective analysis. The study, reported as an abstract¹ at the International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT (ICNC11) May 5 to May 8 in Berlin, Germany, predicted that using exercise ECG stress testing alone in patients with high exercise capacity would have had no adverse effects on their prognosis at five years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-protocol-limits-spect-mpi.html Cardiology Sun, 05 May 2013 06:50:01 EST news286952015 (HealthDay)—For patients without diabetes undergoing coronary angiography (CAG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) performs better in diabetes screening than glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), according to a study published online Dec. 13 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-fasting-plasma-glucose-hba1c-diabetes.html Diabetes Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:50:01 EST news277660139 Although there is a widespread belief among physicians that the exercise treadmill test (ETT) is not reliable in evaluating the heart health of women, UC Davis researchers have found that the test can accurately predict coronary artery disease in women over the age of 65. They also found that two specific electrocardiogram (EKG) indicators of heart stress during an ETT further enhanced its predictive power. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-treadmill-heart-disease-women.html Cardiology Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:07:43 EST news274028840 Six organizations representing physicians, other health care professionals, and patients today issued two new clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing and treating stable ischemic heart disease (IHD), which affects an estimated one in three adults in the United States. The guidelines and patient summaries appear in the November 20 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-clinical-stable-ischemic-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:00:02 EST news272562546 While it is well recognized that patients with diabetes are at risk of developing Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), on World Diabetes Day the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) highlights the fact that patients with CAD are also at great risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-esc-dont-screen-diabetes-cad.html Diabetes Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:41:05 EST news272090457 A hydration regimen tailored to the patient's fluid status was effective in reducing damage to kidneys in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, according to a study presented at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hydration-based-ventricular-pressure-effective.html Cardiology Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:30:01 EST news270397185 Coronary angioplasty improves survival in all patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest, according to research presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2012. The study was presented by Dr Annamaria Nicolino from the Santa Corona General Hospital in Pietra Ligure, Italy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-coronary-angioplasty-cardiac-survival.html Cardiology Sat, 20 Oct 2012 04:44:37 EST news269927061 (Medical Xpress)—Who should get stents, the tiny metal tubes designed to keep once-clogged coronary arteries open? Someone who is having a heart attack certainly should, and the life-prolonging benefits have been demonstrated in several studies. But results have been more ambiguous for patients who have "stable angina": chest pain that comes with exertion but goes away at rest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-benefits-coronary-stents.html Cardiology Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:15:24 EST news266660103 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 Among patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease, use of a method that applies computational fluid dynamics to derive certain data from computed tomographic (CT) angiography demonstrated improved diagnostic accuracy vs. CT angiography alone for the diagnosis of ischemia, according to a study being published online by JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-diagnostic-potential-noninvasively-significant-coronary.html Cardiology Sun, 26 Aug 2012 04:30:01 EST news265172909 A registry -which includes every patient in Sweden having percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of acute and stable coronary artery disease- has found that PCI implantations using a new generation of drug-eluting stents is associated with lower rates of relapse (restenosis), stent thrombosis and subsequent mortality than older generation drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents.(1) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-real-world-reassuring-scaar-registry.html Cardiology Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:42:28 EST news245306525 Results from the SCAAR study, presented at the ESC Congress 2011 today, showed that Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) with "new generation" Drug Eluting Stents, was associated with a 38% lower risk of clinically meaningful restenosis and a 50% lower risk of stent thrombosis compared to old generation DES. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-considerably-stent-thrombosis-restenosis-drug-eluting.html Cardiology Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:35:54 EST news233922895 (Medical Xpress) -- Hospitals vary markedly when it comes to the rate at which diagnostic coronary angiography or catheterization – an invasive procedure that allows doctors to see the vessels and arteries leading to the heart – actually finds obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in people without known heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-hospitals-patients-cardiac-catheterization.html Other Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:40:01 EST news232075703 Stress cardiomyopathy (a transient form of acute heart failure triggered by stressful events) appears to have clinical characteristics that are broader than reported previously, including younger patients, men, and patients without an identifiable stressful trigger, according to a study in the July 20 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-cardiac-disorder-affect-broader-range.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:49:59 EST news230312987 A blood protein known as surfactant protein-D (SP-D), which is mainly synthesised in the lungs, has been described as "a good predictor" of cardiovascular disease following a large study in North America. Reporting the study online today in the European Heart Journal, the investigators said that circulating SP-D levels were clearly associated with CVD and total mortality in patients with angiographically diagnosed coronary artery disease independent of other well established risk factors (such as age, smoking, cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-circulating-lung-protein-strongly-cardiovascular.html Cardiology Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:54:55 EST news226724073