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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Instances of cardiac arrest after sex are low, but so are the survival rates

The chances of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) after sex are slim, but in those rare cases mortality rates are high, reports a study presented this week at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions symposium.

Postmenopausal women face higher risk of CVD, stroke a year after discontinuing hormone therapy

Menopausal women who discontinue hormone therapy are at an increased risk for cardiac and stroke deaths a year after they stop taking estrogen, according to a Finnish study published this month in the journal Menopause.

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CVD, CKD should be assessed together in HIV-positive patients

HIV-positive patients at predicted risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an even greater risk for CVD and CKD events, according to new research published in PLOS Medicine.

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Financial stress a risk factor for heart attacks

People under significant financial stress are 13 times more likely to have a heart attack than those with no or minimal financial stress, according to research presented Nov. 9 at the Annual Congress of the South African Heart Association.

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Air pollution as great a risk as hypertension, obesity, diabetes for CVD

Ingestion of fine particulate matter in polluted air raises the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality just as much as, if not more than, common risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity, according to a large-scale study of 136,094 Seoul, Korea, residents.

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TCT 2017: 6-month DAPT regimen non-inferior to recommended 12 months in STEMI patients

Six months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) was found to be non-inferior in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients to the internationally recommended 12-month regimen in a pioneering trial presented at the 29th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference in Denver.

TCT 2017: ‘Landmark study’ could change practice for acute MI coupled with cardiogenic shock

DENVER — Patients with acute MI complicated by cardiogenic shock demonstrated significantly higher 30-day survival rates with culprit lesion PCI versus multivessel PCI, according to a new study that challenges current guidelines.

Women more likely to die within a year of heart attack than men

New research published in PLOS One this October reports not only do more women statistically die of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than men, but they see dramatically increased mortality in the first year after their heart attack.

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