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.

Thumbnail

TCT.18: BIONYX finds novel zotarolimus-eluting stent noninferior to Orsiro

Resolute Onyx, a polymer-coated zotarolimus-eluting stent, has been proven safe and effective in an all-comer population of more than 2,000 heart patients, according to late-breaking results of the BIONYX trial.

Thumbnail

There’s a racial gap in NSTEMI care—and it’s not improving

Despite having the highest burden of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. and averaging more comorbidities than white patients, blacks are less likely to receive guideline-concordant care after a non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), researchers reported this week.

Thumbnail

Heart transplant patients see worse in-hospital outcomes after acute MI

The prevalence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the heart transplant (HT) population is “very low,” according to research published in the current online edition of the American Journal of Cardiology, but HT patients who do suffer a heart attack are more likely to experience longer hospital stays, higher 30-day readmission rates and greater in-hospital morbidities.

Thumbnail

Cerner, Duke partner for new CVD risk calculator app

Cerner and Duke Clinical Research Institute have teamed up to develop a new CVD risk calculator app, the companies announced late this summer—a move they hope will improve shared decision-making between physicians and their patients.

Thumbnail

Patients with sepsis predisposed to stroke, MI in month after discharge

Patients with sepsis are at a greater risk for heart attack and stroke in the four weeks following hospital discharge, research out of Taiwan has found, with more than half of all adverse CVD events in the ensuing six months occurring within 35 days of leaving the hospital. 

Thumbnail

CDC: Management of cardiovascular risk factors has stalled in the US

Fewer Americans smoked or were physically inactive in 2015-16 than four years earlier, but there were also fewer on “appropriate” aspirin therapy to prevent cardiovascular events, according to a Vital Signs report released by the CDC.

Thumbnail

Internet search trends mirror seasonal changes in CVD

Internet searches for terms related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) spiked in winter months in Australia and the United States, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The search results were consistent with previously reported seasonal variations in CVD, suggesting they could eventually be used to predict disease incidence at the population level.

‘A major safety concern’: World’s most common NSAID doubles CVD risk

Research out of Denmark suggests diclofenac, the world’s most commonly consumed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), poses a major threat to heart health—more so than paracetamol or run-of-the-mill NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen.