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.

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Heart attacks growing more common among people in their 20s and 30s

The proportion of heart attack patients who are 40 or younger has steadily increased over the last decade, according to research set to be presented March 17 at the American College of Cardiology’s scientific sessions in New Orleans.

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Women receive slower, less effective STEMI care than men

Women are more likely to call ambulances for male relatives like brothers, sons and husbands with suspected MIs than they are to call an ambulance for themselves, according to research presented March 3 at the European Society of Cardiology’s Acute Cardiovascular Care 2019 congress in Malaga, Spain.

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Poor post-PCI TIMI flow grades linked to excess mortality in women with STEMI

Delay to hospital presentation and suboptimal post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) TIMI flow grades are both independently associated with excess mortality in women who suffer ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), according to a study that sought to better define the disproportionate sex gap in STEMI mortality.

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DAPT with rivaroxaban improves post-ACS outcomes

The addition of rivaroxaban to aspirin monotherapy reduces the risk of atherothrombotic events in patients who have experienced an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but it can also increase those patients’ bleeding risk, according to a study published Feb. 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Coordinated follow-up program reduces readmissions, deaths for heart attack patients

A systematic approach to transitioning heart attack patients from the hospital to outpatient care helped the Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, drop its 30-day readmission and death rates while increasing the likelihood of patients making and keeping follow-up appointments.

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Hormone therapy could elevate CVD risk in transgender individuals

Transgender men and women might face an increased risk of cardiovascular ills like MI, stroke and venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) as a result of hormone replacement therapy—an often key aspect of the transitioning process for trans individuals.

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Discharge heart rate shows promise for predicting post-AMI mortality

An elevated heart rate upon hospital admission has been repeatedly linked to an increased risk of mortality for acute MI patients (AMI), making admission heart rate a key component of risk-stratification equations. But researchers recently found a patient’s heart rate at discharge was an even more powerful predictor of death over three years of follow-up.

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High-risk HPV raises women’s risk for heart disease

High-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV)—ones that have been linked to anogenital and oral cancers—might also increase a woman’s risk for developing cardiovascular disease, research out of Seoul, South Korea, suggests.

Around the web

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.