Adding therapy to coordinate heart contraction reduces deaths, heart failure hospitalizations

Reports from the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions, 13-17 Nov. Chicago

Health economics in the PLATelet inhibition and patient outcomes (PLATO) randomized trial:

Report on within trial resource use patterns

Aged, damaged hearts yield stem cells that could treat heart failure

Ample and viable cardiac stem cells can be isolated from elderly and sick patients with heart disease and diabetes.It may be possible to treat heart failure patients with their own stem cells. An unrelated study notes that an aging heart can generate new cells at a substantial rate.

Blasting kidney nerves with radio waves -

helps lower blood pressure for those with stubborn hypertension

A procedure to deactivate nerves around the kidney arteries substantially reduces blood pressure in patients whose hypertension is not adequately reduced by medications, according to a new study.

Drug thought to protect kidneys from imaging dye doesn’t work

Acetylcysteine didn’t protect kidneys from the adverse effects of contrast dye used during certain heart or blood vessel imaging procedures. The drug has been thought to reduce the risk of kidney damage in patients at high risk of being harmed from contrast dye.

Drug-eluting stents are as safe as non-coated stents for large arteries

Patients with drug-eluting stents and those with bare-metal stents had a similar number of deaths and heart attacks. The findings counter the concern that drug-eluting stents may have increased adverse event rates term when used in large arteries.

Experimental gene therapy -

did not prevent amputation or death in patients with peripheral vascular disease

Although earlier trials were promising, an experimental gene therapy growth factor failed to prevent death or amputations in patients with severely blocked blood vessels in their legs. The growth factor, NV1FGF, was designed to stimulate new blood vessel growth to increase blood flow to the legs and prolong patients’ lives.

No link found between insulin resistance and atrial fibrillation

Insulin resistance is not associated with the development of atrial fibrillation, according to an analysis of the Framingham Heart Study.

Clopidogrel

Higher dose of clopidogrel no better than standard dose for high risk patients with drug-coated stents

Patients who had received a stent to re-open a blocked artery were tested to determine if they had high platelet reactivity – indicating they’re resistant to the effects of the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel.

Post-traumatic stress disorder linked to death, atherosclerosis in veterans

Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have more than double the risk of death from any causes and a higher risk of cardiovascular death compared to veterans without the syndrome.

Prescription omega-3 no better than placebo in treating atrial fibrillation

Binge drinking increases risk of heart disease:

The Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME)

Binge drinking prevalence in Belfast could help explain high rates there of heart disease, according to a paper published on Nov. 23 in the British Medical Journal.