American College of
Cardiology's 55th Annual Scientific Session
The American College of Cardiology's 55th annual scientific session took place March 11-14 in Atlanta. The event drew more than 30,000 cardiologists from around the world and included research on drug therapies, innovations in stem-cell treatment and speedier diagnostic procedures.
In one study, Hung-Fat Tse, M.D., of the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues removed bone-marrow cells from 28 coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and then randomly assigned the patients to receive low-dose or high-dose injections of bone-marrow mononuclear cells or plasma directly into the ischemic areas of the heart. After six months, the researchers found that patients who were treated with bone-marrow cells were able to exercise an average of one minute longer on a treadmill and showed a 4 percent increase in left ventricular ejection fraction while the control group showed no improvements in these measures.
Two in vitro studies presented by researchers from the Keio University School of Medicine in Japan showed that stem cells derived from menstrual and umbilical-cord blood may show significant promise in promoting cardiomyogenesis. In the first study, the team collected menstrual blood from six women and found that about half of the collected endometrial cells contracted simultaneously, showed appropriate cardiac gene expression and significant and sustained positive cardiac troponin-1 and connexin 43.
In the second study, the same team collected umbilical-cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells and found that nearly all of them contracted simultaneously, showed cardiac gene expression and significant positive cardiac troponin-1 and connexin 43. They also found that about half of the stem cells were successfully transformed into cardiomyocytes. "The value of finding new sources is in finding younger and stronger stem cells," said Shunichiro Miyoshi, M.D., one of the lead authors, in a statement.
Researchers from the William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan presented research on a new diagnostic tool -- Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA) -- which uses x-rays to track blood flow in the veins and arteries and provide a 3-D image of the heart. The team found that CTA alone quickly and accurately ruled out significant CAD in 89 percent of cases and correctly assessed CAD in 100 percent of patients. "Immediate use of CTA helps reduce a patient's length of hospital stay and decreases overall cost without putting the patient at increased risk," said lead author Gilbert L. Raff, M.D., in a statement.
Researchers from the Ehime University School of Medicine in Japan presented research on the 2nd Spec 256-Multislice CT scanner, which represents the next generation of CT scanners to assess coronary artery health and cardiac anatomy and function. After testing the device on two heart-attack survivors, the researchers found that it completed the whole-heart scan in 1.5 seconds. The commonly used 64-slice CT scanner usually takes about 10 seconds to complete a whole-heart scan. "We are pleased by the speed of the procedure which allows us to assess patients with just one beat of the heart," said lead author Akira Kurata, M.D., in a statement.
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Transfusions Linked to Mortality Risk in Heart Patients
WEDNESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Blood transfusions are associated with an increased risk of mortality in cardiac patients, and the risk may be higher with certain blood types and donor blood that is older, according to three studies presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Women Benefit Less from Implantable Defibrillators
WEDNESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Women who receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) have significantly lower survival rates than their male counterparts, according to research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Pregnancy Complications Associated with Heart Disease
WEDNESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Women with a history of pregnancy complications may have an increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiac death, according to research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Most High-Risk Hypertensive Patients Not Taking Statins
WEDNESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of hypertensive patients with dyslipidemia, established coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, or three or more CHD risk factors do not take statin medications during their first year of treatment for hypertension, according to research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Fondaparinux Reduces Death, Reinfarction After STEMI
TUESDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Fondaparinux, an inhibitor of factor Xa in the coagulation cascade, reduces mortality and subsequent myocardial infarction in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) compared with usual care, according to a report that will appear in the April 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study is being released early to coincide with the annual American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Enoxaparin Effective as Post-MI Fibrinolysis Regimen
TUESDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- In patients receiving fibrinolysis for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, treatment with the low-molecular-weight heparin enoxaparin is more effective than treatment with unfractionated heparin, but is also associated with an increase in major bleeding episodes, according to a study released early online March 14 by the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Candesartan May Help Prevent Hypertension
TUESDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment of pre-hypertension with candesartan may reduce the risk of incident hypertension, according to a study released March 14 in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the American College of Cardiology annual conference in Atlanta.
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Ultrafiltration May Be Superior to Diuretic for Heart Failure
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- The Aquadex ultrafiltration system developed by CHF Solutions, Inc., may be more effective than diuretics at removing excess fluid from patients with congestive heart failure, according to research presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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Abciximab Reduces Adverse Events in Some PCI Patients
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- The glycoprotein (Gp) IIb/IIIa inhibitor abciximab reduces the risk of adverse events in patients with acute coronary syndrome who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after pretreatment with clopidogrel. However, the benefits appear to be confined to patients with an elevated troponin level, according to a study released early online March 13 by the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the American College of Cardiology annual conference in Atlanta.
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Intensive Statin Therapy May Reverse Atherosclerosis
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- Very high-intensity therapy with rosuvastatin (Crestor) can induce regression of coronary atherosclerosis, according to a study released early online March 13 by the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the American College of Cardiology annual conference in Atlanta.
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Disparities Seen in Hospital Transfer of MI Patients
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- Women, minorities and older patients with myocardial infarctions who are admitted to non-revascularization hospitals are less likely than other patients to be transferred to hospitals that offer surgical or percutaneous revascularization, according to research presented this week at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.
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Drug-Eluting Stents Beat Brachytherapy for Restenosis
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- Sirolimus- or paclitaxel-releasing stents are more effective than vascular brachytherapy for treating restenosis within bare-metal stents, according to two studies released early online March 12 by the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the American College of Cardiology annual conference in Atlanta.
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Clopidogrel Plus Aspirin No Better Than Aspirin Alone
MONDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- Clopidogrel plus aspirin is not significantly more effective than aspirin alone in reducing adverse cardiovascular events, according to a study released early online March 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the American College of Cardiology conference in Atlanta.
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