Surprising Rate Of Recurring Heart Attacks, Strokes Globally

Despite many medicines and other treatments for patients with vascular disease, a large international study shows these patients have a surprisingly high rate of recurring events such as strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations as well as mortality. Also unexpected: patients in North America (including the U.S.) experienced an above-average rate of these events. Patients in Eastern Europe had the highest rate, and those in Australia and Japan had the lowest.

In Heart Failure Patients Treated With ACE Inhibitor And/or Beta Blocker, Higher Plasma Renin Activity Is Related To Greater Risk Of Mortality

Data confirm that in heart failure patients being treated with ACE inhibitor and/or beta blocker, higher plasma renin activity still predicts greater risk of mortality1. PRA is a measure of the activity of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) which, when chronically activated, can lead to increased blood pressure and organ damage.

FDA Petitioned By Nonagenarian Researcher To Ban Trans Fats

I request to ban trans fats from the American diet." Thus begins a 3,000-word petition to the Food and Drug Administration, the work of a man on a dogged, decades-old crusade to eradicate trans fats from food. Fred Kummerow, a 94-year-old University of Illinois veterinary biosciences professor emeritus who still conducts research on the health effects of trans fats in the diet, filed the petition with the FDA last month.

Edoxaban - Next Generation Oral Anticoagulant To Help Prevent Stroke In Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Edoxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, is currently being investigated in the pivotal phase III study ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 (Effective aNticoaGulation with factor xA next GEneration in Atrial Fibrillation) as a potential new treatment for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The new drug, developed solely by DAIICHI SANKYO, could offer substantial improvements over the current standard of care in thromboembolic disease. In Europe, approximately 4.

Proton Pump Inhibitors Do Not Counteract Benefits Of Antiplatelet Drugs Clopidogrel Or Prasugrel In Patients After An Acute Coronary Syndrome

An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) do not interfere with the clinical benefit of the anticlotting drugs clopidogrel or prasugrel (thienopyridines) in patients after an acute coronary syndrome such as heart attack or unstable angina. PPIs are a commonly prescribed antacid medication. The article is the work of Dr Michelle O'Donoghue, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, and colleagues.

Trial Reports On New Therapy That Prevents Heart Failure

Patients who had a cardiac resynchronization device combined with a defibrillator (CRT-D) implanted had a 34 percent reduction in their risk of death or heart failure when compared to patients receiving only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD), according to a landmark study published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented today at the European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC) in Barcelona, Spain.

Eight Out Of 10 People Diagnosed With Heart Disease Consider Their Diagnosis A 'Wake-Up Call'

Your Heart: New Start initiative launched to provide heart patients and their carers with information about nutrition, fitness and medication adherence Eight out of 10 heart patients in an international survey of more than 3,000 patients felt their heart disease diagnosis was a wake-up call to live a healthier lifestyle.

Largest-Ever Database To Track Global Burden Of Atrial Fibrillation

The London-based Thrombosis Research Institute has announced the launch of a worldwide research initiative that will compile comprehensive information about the global burden of atrial fibrillation (AF). The six-year Global Anticoagulant Registry in the Field (GARFIELD) registry will prospectively track 50,000 patients with newly diagnosed AF who are candidates for chronic anticoagulation therapy with vitamin K antagonists.

Proton Pump Inhibitors Do Not Interfere With Benefit Of Antiplatelet Drugs Clopidogrel Or Prasugrel In Patients After An Acute Coronary Syndrome

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs-a commonly prescribed antacid medication) do not interfere with the clinical benefit of the anticlotting drugs clopidogrel or prasugrel (thienopyridines) in patients after an acute coronary syndrome (heart attack or unstable angina). These findings are in contrast to other recent studies that have shown potential harm when these two classes of drugs are combined.

New TRUST Trial Data Confirm Clinical Benefits Of BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring(R)

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, the pioneer of wireless remote monitoring technologies and leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices, announced that new data from the TRUST (Lumos-T Safely Reduces Routine Office Device Follow Up) trial1 presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009 demonstrate the benefits of BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring in the early detection of patient clinical events as well as the safe reduction of in-office follow-up visits.

The First Links In The Chain Of Survival For Heart Attack Patients Involve Pre-Hospital Organization

Mortality rate following a heart attack has fallen by more than 50% in Europe over the past 25 years. However, because only minor advances in the medical treatment of AMI are expected over the next decade, it is through organisational changes in the pre-hospital phase that mortality rate will continue this decline to below 5%. We estimate that acute coronary syndromes (ACS) account for 1.5 million hospital admissions throughout Europe each year.

MADIT-CRT Trial Results Provide Clinical Evidence That Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Significantly Slows Heart Failure Progression

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced final results from the landmark MADIT-CRT trial, which were published by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented during a Hot Line session at the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona. Arthur Moss, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Principal Investigator of the trial, presented the MADIT-CRT data.

Major Milestone Achieved - Berlin Heart EXCOR Pediatric IDE Study

Berlin Heart Inc. reported that it has completed enrollment in Cohort 1 of the Berlin Heart EXCOR(R) Pediatric IDE Study after having received unconditional approval of the study from the FDA in November 2008. The Principal Investigator, Dr. Charles Fraser, Chief of Congenital Heart Surgery at Texas Children's Hospital and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine said, "We are very pleased with the progress of this study.

Drugs Or Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation ablation is one of the fastest growing techniques in cardiology and due to the very high number of patients that might be candidates to this procedure, a significant number of resources will have to be devoted to it to be able to treat them in the following years. Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia. Its prevalence increases with age affecting more than 5% of the population older than 75 years of age.

From Fat To Chronic Inflammation

Researchers may have found a key ingredient in the recipe that leads from obesity to chronic low-grade inflammation, according to a report in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Chronic inflammation within fat tissue is now recognized as a contributor to the many ill health consequences that come with obesity, from diabetes to cardiovascular disease, explains Yuichi Oike of Kumamoto University in Japan.

The Kyoto Heart Study Results

The KYOTO HEART Study, which took place in Japan between January 2004 and January 2009, shows that the addition of valsartan to conventional antihypertensive treatment to improve blood pressure control is associated with an improved cardiovascular outcome in Japanese hypertensive patients at high risk of CVD events.

Ablynx Initiates Phase II Clinical Trial For ALX-0081

Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] announced the initiation of a Phase II study for its anti-thrombotic Nanobody® ALX-0081, a first-in-class Nanobody® targeting von Willebrand Factor (vWF). The open-label, randomized Phase II study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of multiple doses of ALX-0081 versus the GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor ReoPro® in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Inflammatory Diseases Linked To Increased Cardiovascular Risk

Patients suffering from two serious autoimmune disorders which cause muscular inflammation are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, says a group of Montreal researchers. Dr. Christian A. Pineau and his team at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have linked muscular inflammation to increased cardiovascular risk for the first time. Their results were published recently in The Journal of Rheumatology.

Pennsylvania Cardiology Program Implanting Defibrillators That Slow Heart Failure Progression

Electrophysiologists Robert Stevenson, MD, and Jeffrey L. Williams, MD, MS, FACC, are safely implanting cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators in the Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH) Cardiology (Heart Failure) Program. These advanced defibrillators are used to treat sudden cardiac death, which is abrupt heart failure, usually due to an electrical rhythm dysfunction in the lower chambers of the heart that causes the heart to pump blood ineffectively.

Otamixaban Is Promising New Treatment For Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes (SEPIA-ACS1 TIMI 42 Study)

An Article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet shows that otamixaban is a promising new agent for patients with acute coronary syndromes (heart attacks or sudden worsening of angina). The Article, by Dr Marc S Sabatine, TIMI Study Group, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, and colleagues, is being presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting, Barcelona.

1-Year Follow Up Data Shows Bivalirudin Reduces Clinical Events In Heart Attack Patients Undergoing Angioplasty (HORIZONS-AMI Study)

Use of the anticlotting drug bivalirudin results in less complications/clinical events in heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty than does use of the conventional treatment of heparin plus a glycoprotein inhibitor (GPI). The findings of the HORIZON-AMI study are reported in an Article Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, by Dr Roxana Mehran, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA.

Individuals With Large Thighs Have A Lower Risk Of Heart Disease And Early Death

Research just published on bmj.com reports that men and women whose thighs are less than 60cm in circumference have a higher risk of premature death and heart disease. The study also concluded that individuals whose thighs are wider than 60cm have no additional protective effect. Professor Berit Heitmann is the lead author and based at Copenhagen University Hospital.

Important Nutritional Recommendations Not Being Met By People With Type 2 Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes are not consuming sufficiently healthy diets and could benefit from ongoing nutritional education and counseling, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. The study appears in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

American University Of Beirut Medical Team Successfully Performs First Artificial Heart Implant In Lebanon

A medical team at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) has successfully performed the first artificial heart implant in Lebanon, saving the life of a 37-year-old man suffering from terminal heart failure. Led by two AUB doctors, the six-hour operation, which took place on August 28, 2009, was deemed a success after the patient survived the first critical 72 hours and showed improvements in all his vital signs.

PreSCD II Registry Shows ICDs Lead To 44 Percent Reduction In Mortality For Heart Attack Survivors

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced long-term data from the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death II registry (PreSCD II). The results found that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) were associated with a 44 percent reduction in all cause mortality (p=0.053) when implanted in patients following myocardial infarction (heart attack). The mortality reduction trend was also observed in high-risk patients with severely reduced heart function.