Acute Coronary Syndromes

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is most commonly caused by a heart attack (myocardial infarction) where blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked. This is usually caused by a blood clot from a ruptured coronary artery atherosclerotic plaque. Other causes include spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), which most commonly occurs in women. ACS is usually treated in a cath lab with angioplasty and the placement of a stent to prop the vessel open.

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ICU admission yields better results for STEMI patients—at a price

Despite a sizable financial disadvantage, ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) patients who could be treated effectively in an intensive or non-intensive care unit fare better in the ICU, according to research published June 4 in The BMJ.

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Heart attack victims wait an average of 3 hours to get help—here’s why

Researchers have identified a new barrier to timely care for MI patients: a perceived inability to act that leaves them immobilized and unable to seek professional help, in some cases for an excess of 24 hours.

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Veterans with PTSD, depression more likely to participate in cardiac rehab

Mental health disorders like PTSD and depression might not be as much of a barrier to cardiac rehabilitation as was previously thought, according to a study of more than 85,000 U.S. veterans published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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New guidelines redefine cardiogenic shock

An expert consensus document endorsed by four major cardiology societies redefines cardiogenic shock based on patient descriptions, physical markers and a standardized set of vocabulary.

Risk of low-dose aspirin outweighs benefit in general population

Low-dose daily aspirin may be effective as a preventive therapy for heart patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic disease, but in the general population the drug’s risk of intracranial bleeding outweighs any CV benefits it may have, according to a study published May 13 in JAMA Neurology.

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CV deaths in the UK trending up for 1st time in 50 years

CVD-related fatalities in individuals under 75 years old are on the rise in the U.K. for the first time in five decades, the Guardian reported May 12.

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Algorithm tops physicians in predicting heart attacks, death

A machine learning algorithm can now predict death and MI more accurately than certified cardiologists, according to research presented at the International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT in Lisbon, Portugal, this May.

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Biotech startup aims to eradicate CAD with gene editing

A new biotech company out of Massachusetts is levering human genetics and genome editing to “turn the tide” of coronary artery disease (CAD), experimenting with CRISPR to stop CAD from ever developing in at-risk individuals.