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The safety debate about drug-eluting stents (DES) is still ongoing. In these times of uncertainty about DES safety, the study has shown that DES markedly improve long-term survival compared to modern bare-metal stents (BMS) implantation in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In our four year investigation, DES demonstrated a significant reduction of mortality in this sick patient subset.

Evidence has been accumulating for years that patients with heart failure - in contrast to decades of common belief - benefit from exercise, not from enforced rest. A recent...

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) reduce the risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) among patients with heart failure, and they do so without significantly altering a person's quality of life, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center. The finding - from the longest and most comprehensive study to date of ICD use to prevent SCA - may go a long way toward easing physician and patient concerns about the side effects of the therapy.

Human arteries play distinct roles in the immune system depending on their anatomical location, researchers at Emory University School of medicine have discovered. Their findings explain why vascular diseases affect different parts of the arterial network and could help doctors fine-tune the treatment of such diseases as atherosclerosis and vasculitis. Atherosclerosis causes heart attacks and strokes because it occurs preferentially in arteries supplying the heart and the brain.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Europe and early diagnosis is essential to save lives. Monitoring the heart's rhythm and electrical activity in real time using an electrocardiogram (ECG) provides vital information about abnormalities and gives clues to the nature of a problem. Some cardiac conditions need long-term monitoring - inconvenient for patients as it requires them to be away from their everyday environment for indeterminate periods of time.

Two studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (17:6) examine the efficacy of transplanting bone marrow cells (BMCs) for the repair of heart tissue. The first study found that implanting adult cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) in combination with BMCs has two advantages over transplanting cardiomyocytes alone.

The upcoming annual conference of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA) will include several presentations on ultrasound-guided placement of central venous catheters and peripherally inserted central catheters.

Hadasit, the technology transfer company of Hadassah Medical Organization, announced today the successful pre-clinical testing of a prototype of the Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter for use in the treatment of coronary artery disease. Unlike today's conventional catheters, the Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter has two lumens rather than one.

EKOS Corporation announced the launch of the EkoSonicT Endovascular System (EkoSonic ES) with Rapid Pulse Modulation (RPM) for the dissolution of vascular blood clots. EkoSonic ES is the only endovascular system that can deliver microsonic energy and thrombolytic drugs simultaneously, providing a safer, faster and more complete way to remove clots by accelerating dissolution. The EkoSonic ES recently received FDA clearance.

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Suppose you're a healthy, physically fit, nonsmoking male. Your risk of heart attack is already low. Would having a drink or two of alcohol a day provide any additional protective benefit?