admin | September 7, 2009
ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2009) — Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.
Their report implies that, while measurement of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) can help determine patient prognosis, current consensus recommendations regarding the use of cTNT to diagnosis post-CABG heart attack (myocardial infarction) probably should be reconsidered. The paper appears in the September 8 issue of Circulation and has been released online,
Category: Bypass Surgery, Diagnostic Tests, Studies |
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admin | July 27, 2009
By LOIS BAKER
Published: July 22, 2009
A collaboration involving physicians, researchers, graduate students and undergraduate students from three prominent regional institutions is intent on improving heart health in Western New York, an area with a heart disease death rate that is twice the national average.
The collaboration, which took shape in 2005, involves UB, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Niagara University (NU), and converges at The Heart Center of Niagara (HCON), part of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center in Niagara County, where rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality from the disease are the greatest in the five-county region.
Category: Diagnostic Tests, Studies |
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admin | July 14, 2009
Britain News.Net Thursday 9th July, 2009 (ANI)
London, July 9 : Scientists have come up with a new test that can help predict a person’s risk of heart disease more accurately.
An independent external validation of QRISK, a new score for predicting a heart disease risk has been found to be more accurate than the existing test.
Researchers from the University of Oxford have recommended its widespread use across the UK, in place of the more commonly used Framingham equation.
“We are delighted to receive another strong endorsement of the value of QRISK in assessing the risk of heart disease,” said Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox of The University of Nottingham’s Division of Primary Care.
Category: Diagnostic Tests, Studies |
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admin | July 14, 2009
By Matthew Herper and Robert Langreth
07.13.09
One million Americans suffer heart attacks every year. Quickly getting their arteries propped open with stents saves lives, studies have found. But millions more develop heart symptoms gradually. Usually it comes in the form of angina, a squeezing pain in the chest or arms caused by clogged arteries that starve the heart muscle of oxygen. The pain comes with exercise or stress, and then goes away.
Category: Angio/Stent, Bypass Surgery, Cardio Rehab, Diagnostic Tests, Medicine, Studies |
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admin | January 29, 2009
Coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease, the build up of atherosclerotic plaque that can cause myocardial infarction and death, remains the target of huge worldwide markets for treatment, yet the disease state represents a moving target for both predicting who will develop the disease, who has “vulnerable plaque”, who is likely to suffer events like MI, who is likely to benefit from angioplasty w/ or w/o drug-eluting stents (of which type), who is likely to benefit from coronary artery bypass versus stenting, etc.
Category: Bypass Surgery, Diagnostic Tests, Medicine, Studies |
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admin | January 26, 2009
Vascular disease and the conditions that produce arterial problems consume roughly one- third to one-half of the $2 trillion annual spend in American health care. The science and systems exist today to dramatically improve the quality and cost related to cardio-metabolic conditions but almost nothing has been done to implement these new tools since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published “Crossing the Quality Chasm” in 2001.
Category: Angio/Stent, Bypass Surgery, Diagnostic Tests, Medicine, Studies |
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admin | January 25, 2009
Ottawa, ON - The implementation of a computed-tomography coronary angiography (CTA) program reduces the rate of normal findings on invasive angiography tests compared with centers without a dedicated CTA program, a new study has shown [1]. Researchers say that the imaging modality has a positive impact on clinical practice, particularly as it is able to reduce the number of lower-risk patients sent on to invasive angiography.
Category: Angio/Stent, Diagnostic Tests |
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admin | January 22, 2009
From car makers to cosmetic surgeons, everyone is scrambling to develop and market more economical products–and the consumer-genetics industry is no exception. DecodeMe, a division of Iceland-based Decode Genetics, launched two new services this week: a test that detects genetic variations associated with different cardiovascular diseases, and a screen that detects genetic variations linked to the risk of developing various cancers. At $195 and $225, respectively, the new tests are cheaper than Decode’s genome-wide screen, which for $985 assesses genetic risk for 34 diseases and traits ranging from diabetes to male-pattern baldness. “We wanted to give people an opportunity to buy a test that would only address their needs,” says Kari Stefansson, Decode’s president and cofounder.
Category: Diagnostic Tests |
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admin | January 21, 2009
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) — A sophisticated measure of blood flow to determine where artery-opening stents should be implanted is more effective than the X-ray examinations now commonly used, an international study finds.
The technique, measuring what’s known as “fractional flow reserve” (FFR), is designed for people who have multiple blockages that require artery-opening procedures such as angioplasty, followed by implantation of the flexible tubes called stents, explained study co-author Dr. Nico H. J. Pijls, professor of cardiology at the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Such multiple blockages are seen in about 60 percent of cases, said Pijls, a leader in development of the flow-measuring technology.
Category: Angio/Stent, Diagnostic Tests |
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admin | January 21, 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Using positron emission tomography (PET) scanning rather than other types of imaging as the first tool to diagnose heart-vessel blockages is more accurate, less invasive and saves dollars, a study by University at Buffalo researchers has shown. The research findings were presented today (March 8, 2005) at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, Fla.
Results of the study provide a rationale for PET scanning to become the initial diagnostic test for assessing a patient’s risk of heart attack, say lead researchers Michael Merhige, M.D., UB clinical associate professor of nuclear medicine, and Joseph Oliverio, UB clinical instructor of nuclear medicine who is a certified nuclear medicine technologist. Both also are affiliated with the heart Center of Niagara at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.
Category: Diagnostic Tests |
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