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Using stents to open up kidney arteries is commonly done in patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease, but the procedure provides no benefit, according to a paper presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Patients with renovascular disease due to atherosclerosis have narrowed blood vessels leading to their kidneys.

These days most children born with congenital heart disease live well into adulthood, thanks to innovative surgical, interventional and medical treatments. That means that not only are cardiologists caring for a growing number of adults with repaired heart defects, but the resulting cardiac anatomy and physiology are often much more complex than in the past.

Glaucoma-related highlights of the scientific program of the 2008 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) and European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) include a study that correlates optic nerve damage in glaucoma patients with carotid artery narrowing and potentially elev

Hispanic patients were 57 percent less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) one year after successful angioplasty, a type of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blockages in the coronary arteries. Hispanics also had a trend toward lower rates of overall repeat revascularization procedures including stenting and bypass surgery, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

Several presentations by deCODE genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN) scientists and independent researchers at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2008 being held at the New Orleans Convention Center from November 8 to12 are expected to expand upon the clinical utility of evaluating individual risk of heart attack, or atrial fibrillation and stroke, respectively, by measuring the genetic markers that are the basis of the deCODE MIT and deCODE AFT tests.

Headphones for MP3 players placed within an inch of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may interfere with these devices, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. View the video news release here.

Heart patients who have coronary angioplasty are 10 times more likely to require further treatment as those who have a bypass graft, indicates research published ahead of print in the journal Heart. Coronary angioplasty, known as percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI is a less invasive technique than coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Results from the latest clinical study evaluating the predictive value of VENDYS®, the new FDA-approved cardiovascular test, will be presented to cardiovascular opinion leaders and luminaries during the 2008 annual conference of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. The study shows that a simple, inexpensive test that measures temperature changes at the fingertips can help detect hidden coronary artery disease.

Large, International REACH Registry Also Shows Many patients With Atrial Fibrillation are Undertreated With Antiplatelet and Anticoagulant Therapies A significant portion of patients with atherothrombosis also have atrial fibrillation (AF), greatly increasing their risk for cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke, according to new findings from the large, international REACH registry published today in the American Heart Journal.

Professor Tom Quinn will be delivering a Professorial Lecture at Coventry University later this month. Professor Quinn, the country's only Professor of Cardiac Nursing, will be giving the talk as part of a series of lectures organised by the University to promote the work of its academics. Professor Quinn's talk on Monday 24 November will be entitled - "Saving time, saving lives, improving emergency care of heart attack and stroke.