Fatty Blood
Michael Rühl from the University of Greifswald, Working Group on Immunoadsorption and Cardiovascular Technology, describes therapies to tackle familial hypercholesterolemia
Heart attack
Free phone app helped doctors perform better in simulated cardiac emergency
Doctors who used a free iPhone application provided by the UK Resuscitation Council performed significantly better in a simulated medical emergency than those who did not, according to a study in the April issue of Anaesthesia.
2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention review
"Some progress, but the big challenges remain". This was the verdict after the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) hosted the 2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention on 30 November. The summit was attended by a broad cross-section of medical experts, healthcare organisations, national societies, regulators and representatives from the European Union (EU). The aim of this bi-annual event is to…
Europe's inconsistent use of device therapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death
Even though the use of implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure and heart rhythm disturbances has increased enormously in Europe in recent years, there still remain large differences between countries. Indeed, a report last year in the European Journal of Heart Failure found that there is an underuse of devices in many of the European countries surveyed.(1) This is especially so in…
New diagnostic tools win the hearts of cardiologists
During the 2010 ESC meeting, held in Stockholm, new guidelines for myocardial revascularisation were handed down by a prestigious Task Force made up of representatives of both the ESC and the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons (EACTS).
Fighting acute coronary syndrome
Today in most countries of the world almost 50 % of patients in hospital for a cardiac condition began their treatment as emergency cases: chest pain at home . . . a cardiac arrest in the street. Thus, according to Dr Peter Clemmensen, of the 22 million hospital admissions in Europe each year for acute cardiac events, more than 10 million of them would have begun as an emergency and without…
Colder days raise the risk of more heart attacks
In the light of global climate change, the relations between weather and health are of increasing interest. A drop in the average temperature outside is linked to a higher risk of people having heart attacks, according to a new study published on bmj.com today. UK researchers found that each 1°C reduction in temperature on a single day is associated with around 200 extra heart attacks.
The Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study
Initiated in 1999, the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study involved 4,814 European participants. The results proved, for the first time, the connection between coronary calcifications and the risk of heart attack, according to scientists at the University Hospital in Essen. The finding by no means exhausted the potential inherent in the surveys. Subsidised until 2013, researchers are examining coronary…
New perspectives in coronary plaque imaging using dual source CT
Ongoing technical developments in computed tomography (CT) such as dual source CT have established coronary CT angiography (cCTA) as a robust non-invasive imaging test for the assessment of coronary artery disease. The most important advantage of cCTA over conventional catheter-based coronary angiography is that not only the coronary lumen but also the entire coronary artery wall is visualized…
Multi-modality imaging in coronary artery disease
The focus on Coronary artery disease – from genes to outcomes at ESC 2010 underlines the importance of CAD diagnosis on the scientific agenda. During the session ‘Multi modality imaging to detect coronary artery disease’, chaired by Professor JJ Bax, of the Cardiology Department at Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, experts will discuss, for example, the advantages of the…
Cardiac Biomarkers
When in 1992 Dr Luigi Marzio Biasucci, head of the Sub-intensive Care Unit at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy, published with his team the first paper on C-reactive protein (CRP) in unstable angina, few people believed in the diagnostic power of biochemical features to measure the effects or progress of disease, illness, or a condition. Today, biomarker tests are part…
News • Launch
Three improved cardiac marker test kits
Alere International* has launched three new next generation products: Troponin I -- a single-analyte, improved sensitivity Troponin I (TnI) test; Cardio2 -- a two analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I and BNP, and Cardio3 -- a three analyte panel consisting of the new Troponin I, BNP and CK-MB.
Diabetes doubles CVD risk
A team led by UK-based researchers has found that having diabetes doubles the risk of developing a wide range of blood vessel diseases, including heart attacks and different types of stroke. The consortium, headed by Dr Nadeem Sarwar and Professor John Danesh of the University of Cambridge, analysed data from the individual records on 700,000 people, each of whom was monitored for about a decade…
Schiller AG - Pace maker of trends in emergency medicine
In Switzerland, they say, the clocks tick a little slower than elsewhere in the world. Not at Schiller AG in Baar, however: The company remains forever ahead of the times. Since 1971, physicist Alfred E Schiller, the company’s founder and managing director, has successfully shown competitors in the tough intensive and emergency care market what innovative progress really means.
Mortality rates: success and failure
If patients suffering acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia are admitted to hospitals that frequently treat these illnesses they are less likely to die, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Imaging of myocardial viability and perfusion with dual energy CT and dynamic DSCT
Although cardiac computed tomography (cCT) has shown very good diagnostic accuracy for the detection of coronary artery disease, the physiologic significance of many lesions can be uncertain. Furthermore, the presence of calcified atherosclerotic plaque reduces the ability to differentiate significant stenosis from non obstructive plaque.
Cardiac MRI at 7-Tesla
During conventional electro-cardiology, interference from electromagnetic fields (EMFs) tends to diminish image quality due to cardiac motion. To exclude that interference an acoustic cardiac triggering (ACT) approach, also called MR stethoscope, has been developed to trigger cardiac MRI at 7-Tesla.
Every picture tells a story
Cardiologists are looking beyond on-screen images of the heart to extract data behind these scans that describe coronary dysfunctions and can reveal hard evidence of the cause of disease reports John Brosky.
CardiAid CT0207 AED
Manufactured by Amsterdam-based company CardiaTech Holland BV, which specialises in defibrillators and AED trainer units, the CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) has been designed to provide electroshock treatment for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
A Stroke prevention device
Patients with atrial fibrillation, so at risk of stroke, are usually treated with medication to prevent coagulation. The Hanover Medical School (MHH) has devised an alternative treatment.
The role of exercise training in cardiovascular health
Western societies are struggling to pay for their ever increasing medical budgets. In the US up to 393 billion US-$ were spent in 2005 for cardiovascular diseases alone. Based on epidemiologic studies in primary prevention it is reasonable to estimate that 30% of coronary heart disease and stroke could be prevented by 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week.
"Any cath lab that is not open 24/7 should be closed"
Surviving a heart attack depends upon where you live in Europe. For cardiologists that is unacceptable. A majority of European countries can deliver life-saving primary percutaneous coronary interventions (P-PCI), yet too often these centres are closed over weekends or after working hours - when 50% of all myocardial infarctions occur.
Post-MI mortality
Measuring left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) is the gold standard for determining the risk of cardiac death or sudden cardiac death after a myocardial infarction (MI). If LVEF is below 30%, a cardioverter-defibrillator is implanted to avoid such an event.
Clever kiosk scoops EAFS award
A potentially life-saving kiosk has been voted the best self-service application of 2009 by the Board of the European Association for Self-service (EAFS), during Kiosk Europe Expo 2009, held this May in parallel with Digital Signage Expo 2009 in Essen, Germany.
CardioPod for NHS Health Check
CardioPod will be installed in pharmacies and GP surgeries across England, allowing patients easy access to an NHS Health Check carried out by a trained professional, who will give expert advice on their cardiovascular risk score and what action they can take to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes and kidney disease.