MDCT angiography can potentially help determine which patients are at greater risk of stroke
...help determine which patients with narrowedcarotid arteries are at greater risk of having a stroke, a new study shows.This information could help identify which patients need surgery and whichcan be treated with less invasive procedures. The study reviewed 31 patients who had greater than 60% carotid arteryst...To help your mind, take steps to help your heart, study says
...e small strokes cased by athero-sclerosis in small arteries in the brain or the larger carotid arteries in the neck." In other words, processes that hurt the cardiovascular system also hurt the bra...Strokes: Dental x-rays reveal more than cavities
... Because of their proximity to the mouth, carotid arteries (located on each side of the neck) often appear in these x-rays. Communicating any stroke risk factors patients have can help a dentist determine if their patient is at risk. In his case report, Dov M. Almog, DMD, incidentally detected in his patien...Got heart disease? The answer may be in your fingertips
...essels in the body, and is not just limited to the arteries of the heart," explains Amir Lerman, M.D., the Mayo Clinic cardiologist who led the study. "We expected patients with an abnormal result in the fingertip test to also have disease starting in their coronary arteries. We found a strong correlation, an...NHLBI stops sickle cell anemia transfusion study
.... A high blood flow velocity in one or more major arteries of the brain is linked with narrowing in key blood...tic resonance imaging study of the patients' brain arteries showing no severe blockages. Upon entry, patients were randomly assigned to receive either standard...Ongoing transfusions needed to avoid strokes in children with sickle cell disease
...ill poorly understood events that lead to narrowed arteries and stroke risk in these children. The idea of regularly transfusing children has understandably met with some resistance from clinicians and parents because of concerns such as iron buildup and blood-borne infections, Dr. Adams says. "Now, we need t...Artery variations increase complication risk in liver transplants
...at 3D MDCT is an accurate method for imaging liver arteries prior to surgery, said Erik K. Paulson, MD, an author on the paper. "Previously, patients underwent catheter angiography, diagnostic CT and sometimes an MRI as well. Now, all the relevant imaging issues can be addressed in one noninvasive test," said...American Thoracic Socety journal news tips for December 2004 (first issue)
...esults from chronic obstruction of small pulmonary arteries due in part to endothelial and vascular smooth muscle dysfunction and proliferation. In most cases, earlier death occurs as a direct result of PAH. The authors said that, as a result of the bosentan treatment, significant improvements were reported...New stroke prevention therapy as effective as invasive surgery
...ty and stenting, the same techniques used to clear arteries blocked by heart disease, can also be used on the ...kes. Fatty deposits building up inside the carotid arteries the two major arteries in the neck that deliver blood and oxygen to the brain can restrict or inte...Jefferson scientists use gene therapy to rescue failing hearts in animals
...uman S100A1 gene to the heart through the coronary arteries by injection of a genetically-modified common cold virus as a carrier. After about a week, they found the hearts began to work normally. In addition, the animals' heart muscle showed improved efficiency in using its energy supply, which was decreased...Hebrew University researcher finds 'sweet' way to help prevent heart disease
...mproving their chances of preventing blocked heart arteries and heart attacks, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. These findings were recently published by Dr. Shela Gorinstein of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of P...Researcher breaks down cholesterol mystery
...r lipoproteins, which can build up more quickly in arteries than any other type of cholesterol-carriers, including LDL. "At the moment, not enough is known about chylomicron remnants and their pathways," Proctor said. "As a first goal, I'd like to see a greater awareness among clinicians about the s...Rutgers-developed biomaterial drives a technology transfer story toward success
...r-shaped scaffolds that are inserted into diseased arteries to keep them open. The market for such devices currently exceeds $5 billion per year. Scientists at REVA Medical and at Kohn's Rutgers Laboratory collaborated to choose polymer compositions that would be ideally suited for use in the REVA stent. ...Estrogen-associated COX-2 pathways explain protection from heart disease in female mice
...at in female mice protection from hardening of the arteries purported to come from higher levels of estrogen acts predominately through cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. Garret FitzGerald, MD, Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, and colleagues found that estrogen binds to a cell receptor that activates COX-2...Computer reads heart condition from X-ray images
...edure, X-ray film images are taken of the coronary arteries providing the heart muscle with blood, and of the left heart chamber, which is the major pump of the heart providing the blood supply to the entire body. The condition of the heart can be determined by studying the wall motion of the ventricle from t...Drug-eluting stents adopted quickly, with early disparities
...of the procedure has been the high rate of treated arteries becoming blocked again, a process known as resteno...s. In an attempt to improve stents to keep treated arteries open, stent manufacturers coated them with a chemotherapeutic agent that limits the formation of sca...Can we learn new tricks from an old drug in treating heart attacks?
...tant role in the development of AMI. While clogged arteries are a major factor, Dr. Bacaner points out that it...ve no coronary blockage, while others have blocked arteries but never experience a heart attack. Sympathetic nervous system activation may be a previously...Loyola study shows drug-coated stent induces less inflammation than bare metal stent
...n problem with earlier stents, where 30 percent of arteries renarrowed. "Many times with the earlier sten...propriate for diabetics, because they have smaller arteries and thus a greater risk of restenosis of coronary vessels following angioplasty," he said. Part...Angioplasty, robotically assisted keyhole bypass combo appears effective
...ve procedure in which one or both internal mammary arteries (in the chest) are harvested with the help of a ro...octors then suture them to the obstructed coronary arteries through a left, keyhole mini-thoracotomy (about 2 inches wide) to supply blood below the obstruction...... patients with heart failure not caused by blocked arteries indicates that women, as well as men, may benefit ...lar heartbeats. The most common cause is narrowed arteries that feed the heart, called ischemic cardiomyopathy. However, the heart failure in this group of pa...