Culture

Delayed or deferred stent implantation in patients experiencing the deadliest form of heart attack--ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)--failed to reduce death from any cause, hospitalization for heart failure, subsequent heart attacks or the need for a repeat procedure to restore blood flow to the heart, researchers reported at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

Giving intravenous beta blockers before performing a coronary angioplasty in patients who had experienced the deadliest form of heart attack--ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)--was safe but did not reduce heart attack severity or improve blood flow from the heart's main pumping chamber, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

Intermediate-risk patients who received transcatheter aortic valve replacement, known as TAVR, with the latest-generation valve fared better than patients receiving traditional surgical aortic valve replacement after one year, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

Boston, MA--Among reproductive-age women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as well as overweight and obesity are independently linked with asthma, new preliminary research from Australia suggests. The results will be presented in a poster Saturday, April 2, at ENDO 2016, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Boston.

Boston, MA-- Despite guidelines that advocate the use of weight loss medications to treat obesity, and the availability of FDA approved medications, very few patients use this treatment option, a new study suggests. The results will be presented Sunday, April 3, at ENDO 2016, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Boston.

CHICAGO - Congenital heart disease, which includes various conditions involving defects in the structure of the heart or blood vessels that develop before birth, affects nearly 1 percent of children - about 40,000 babies each year. Though many of these conditions were once fatal in infancy and childhood, surgeries and other treatments have evolved during the past few decades, and some 800,000 adults have now grown into adulthood with these conditions.

The first major clinical trial to include a blinded, placebo-controlled "statin re-challenge" in patients with a history of muscle-related side effects sheds new light on statin-associated muscle symptoms, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session. The trial also demonstrates that monthly self-injection of the relatively new non-statin cholesterol-lowering drug evolocumab reduces levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol to a greater extent than ezetimibe, a traditional drug used in statin-intolerant patients.

The more frequently a hospital performs a minimally invasive technique called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, to replace a damaged aortic heart valve, the better patients fare, on average, immediately after the procedure, researchers reported at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

Michelle L. O'Donoghue, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy and safety of the anti-inflammatory drug losmapimod on cardiovascular outcomes in patients hospitalized after a heart attack. The study was published online by JAMA, and is being released to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session & Expo.

Monday, April 4, 2016, Chicago: Cleveland Clinic researchers, as part of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), have found that two common approaches to post-operative atrial fibrillation - rhythm control and rate control - are equally safe and effective.

Post-operative atrial fibrillation is the most common complication after cardiac surgery, occurring in 20 percent to 50 percent of patients and leading to major adverse effects such as increased morbidity, long-term mortality, reoccurring hospitalizations and increased cost.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (April 4, 2016) -- An innovative interventional radiology treatment for men with enlarged prostates decreases the number of times they wake to urinate in the night, according to research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting. Researchers said the majority of men with enlarged prostates and lower urinary tract symptoms reported better sleep that resulted in an improved quality of life after they underwent a treatment called prostatic artery embolization (PAE).

DENVER (April 1, 2016) - New research from the University of Colorado Denver shows many communities fail to take historic preservation into account when planning for natural disasters, risking a loss of heritage and critical engines of the local economy in the event of catastrophe.

A "menu of harm" that measures crime according to the price of damage inflicted on victims - rather than counting crimes as if they are all of equal seriousness - needs to be adopted worldwide to focus police resources on the worst criminal acts, say leading University of Cambridge criminologists.

A new multi-year study from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City shows that testosterone therapy helped elderly men with low testosterone levels and pre-existing coronary artery disease reduce their risks of major adverse cardiovascular events -- including strokes, heart attacks, and death.

The study showed that patients who received testosterone as part of their follow-up treatment fared much better than patients who didn't. Non-testosterone-therapy patients were 80 percent more likely to suffer an adverse event.

Especially with improved chances of survival from severe combat trauma, plastic surgeons play a critical role in managing injuries sustained in modern warfare, suggests an experience at a combat hospital in Afghanistan described in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.