Culture

CHICAGO—A pre-procedure bleeding risk score can accurately identify high-risk, high-cost patients and may provide an opportunity to employ bleeding avoidance strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce total costs related to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures, according to a retrospective study being presented March 26 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

CHICAGO -- Getting too little sleep – or even too much – appears to spell trouble for the heart. New data reveal that adults who get less than six hours of sleep a night are at significantly greater risk of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure.

CHICAGO -- A nationwide effort in Denmark to increase the number of people trained in CPR led to an increase in bystander CPR and ultimately contributed to increased cardiac arrest survival rates in that country, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO -- Intensive community-based lifestyle interventions tailored to individuals and focused on psychological health can significantly reduce multiple risk factors for heart disease in low-income and minority women, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO -- Simple screening implemented in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) clinics may identify previously undetected heart disease risk among women and has the potential to greatly increase education about prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in female patients, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO -- Patients who are underweight or small in stature are twice as likely to experience complications or die during insertion of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) compared to obese and normal-weight patients, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

Philadelphia (March 26, 2012) – Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans allow doctors to determine safely and more quickly which patients at low-to intermediate-risk for a heart attack can be discharged from hospital emergency departments (EDs) than traditional methods, according to the results of a large, multicenter American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that low- to intermediate-risk patients who underwent a CCTA were more than twice as likely to be discharged and had significantly sho

Patient information leaflets for cancer trials are not up to the job, reveals a new study from the University of Leicester.

Research published in the international journal Sociology of Health and Illness reveals that patients find the leaflets far too long and incomprehensible, and even intimidating.

Patients with high blood sugar run an increased risk of dying if they have a heart attack, and diabetics are less likely to survive in-hospital cardiac arrest than non-diabetics, reveals research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Diabetes is common among patients with coronary artery disease, and this is a potentially lethal combination: a thesis from the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy reveals that diabetes in coronary artery disease patients brings a significantly increased risk of premature death.

CHICAGO -- The anti-platelet drug abciximab, delivered directly to lesions caused by a heart attack, significantly decreased damage to the heart muscle in high-risk patients while clot aspiration showed no impact, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO -- In a comparison of drugs to prevent blood clots after angioplasty, a three-drug regimen favored in Asia to increase anti-clotting effect was found to be as safe and effective as a double-dose two-drug treatment commonly used in high-risk patients in Western countries, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO -- A three-pronged intervention in Brazilian public hospitals significantly improved physician adherence to evidence-based protocols for treating acute coronary syndrome (ACS) – a type of disease causing chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

CHICAGO, IL -- Researchers have found that the antiplatelet drug abciximab significantly decreased damage to the heart muscle in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction, the most severe type of heart attack. Results of INFUSE-AMI trial were presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session and published simultaneously in the March 25th online issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers also found that clot aspiration did not significantly reduce the damage to the heart muscle.

CHICAGO -- Many athletes undergo cardiac screening to detect possible heart conditions before being allowed to participate in student or professional sports. Current European screening guidelines, which are based on data from white athletes, can lead to the over-investigation and potential false disqualification of healthy athletes of African or Afro-Caribbean descent, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session.

CHICAGO—Cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillators (CRT-D) is appropriate for patients who have left ventricular dysfunction and require chronic ventricular pacing, based on the findings of an observational study that being presented March 26 that the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

Previous clinical findings have indicated that chronic right ventricular pacing may cause left ventricular remodeling and heart failure (HF), but current guidelines do not recommend CRT-D for patients without HF who need frequent ventricular pacing.