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Researchers found a gene linked to increased risk for heart attack in women, but not in men, according to a newly published study. The gene, BCAR1, has been indicated in previous studies to encourage the thickening of blood vessel walls, which increases the chance for blockages that can cause heart attacks and strokes. The greater risk for women, researchers believe, results from the gene's combination with estrogen. "Heart disease is often seen as a disease which predominantly affects men, but this is simply not the case," said Dr. Shannon Amoils, a senior research adviser at the British Heart Foundation, in a press release. "We know that women have a lower overall risk of coronary heart disease compared with men but as this study shows, women do get coronary heart disease, and it is important to find out more about the factors that increase their risk."
The gene researchers identified has a greater effect on the thickness of artery walls and can increase risk for heart attack because of its interaction with estrogen.
Researchers analyzed data from five previous studies on 4,000 men and women, comparing their genes, artery thickness and artery health. Researchers said, in addition to noting the differences between men and women as a result of naturally-occurring estrogen, the GG version of the gene increases the risk, as opposed to the AA version's lack of increased risk. Men with the GG version of BCAR1 are not effected, based on the research.
Women with the high-risk gene had a 6.1 percent increased risk of heart attack, stroke or diseased blood vessel, as opposed to the 2.5 percent increased risk of women with the lower risk version of the gene. "We've known for a long time that risk factors for heart disease are different for men and women," Dr. Freya Boardman-Pretty, a researcher at the University College London, told the BBC. "This gene effect seen only in women, could be contributing to this difference, although we expect there are a lot of other factors at play. If we can confirm that this gene is involved, and work out exactly how it leads to an increased risk of heart disease in women, it could become a new target for drugs in the future."
Genetics may increase heart disease risk in women
While Botox is known for smoothing facial wrinkles, doctors found in a small study that injecting it into fat pads surrounding the hearts of patients after bypass surgery helped to prevent irregular heart rhythms. Atrial fibrillation, a quivering or irregular heartbeat, can lead to other heart problems, including blood clots, stroke and heart failure. Botox, a byproduct of the botulinum toxin produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium, blocks nerve signals telling muscles to contract when injected into muscles in small amounts.
The just-published research was previewed at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in May, with researchers discussing the steps to be taken for botox to become a standard part of open heart surgeries. "About a third of all patients undergoing bypass surgery will develop atrial fibrillation, putting them at higher risk for cardiovascular complications," said Dr. Jonathan S. Steinberg, M.D., an adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, in a press release. "Atrial fibrillation is also always associated with lengthened hospitalization and that means increased healthcare costs."
Dr. Jonathan Steinberg said that while Botox appeared to prevent irregular heartbeats in patients who had bypass surgery in a small study, more research will need to be done before it becomes a standard method of treatment.
Researchers at two hospitals in Russia enrolled 60 patients in the study, with half receiving injections of Botox in the four fat pads surrounding the heart and the other half receiving saline. Neither patients nor doctors were aware which was in the injections. During the first 30 days after surgery, 7 percent of patients given Botox developed atrial fibrillation, while 30 percent of the patients given saline developed the condition. A year after surgery, none of the patients injected with Botox had atrial fibrillation, compared to 27 percent of patients who were injected with saline.
Although no adverse symptoms were seen in patients given Botox, researchers said larger studies need to be done on the efficacy and safety of using it. If successful, however, they said patients undergoing heart valve repair or replacement could be candidates for Botox to prevent irregular heartbeat. "In the near future, botox injections may become the standard of care for heart bypass and valve patients, but we're not quite there yet," Steinberg said. The study is published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.
Botox may prevent irregular heartbeat after bypass surgery
Three patients with end-stage heart failure were successfully treated by doctors who implanted a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, into the right atrium of their hearts to keep them alive. An LVAD is device placed into the left ventricle of the heart to help blood flow through the body better. In the cases of these three patients, doctors sought to protect blood flow, as well as give circulatory support to the heart and replace part of its function. "There is no standard of care for patients with biventricular failure, so using two LVADs to address this critical need gives patients another treatment option and hope," said Dr. Eric Adler, director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support at the University of California San Diego Health, in a press release.
Although LVAD devices are not meant to be used in both sides of the heart, doctors at the University of California San Diego found it to be effective for seven patients.
Although doctors employed a novel solution to keeping their patients alive, there are no right vetricular assist devices approved by the FDA. LVADs placed in the right ventricle can be detrimental to the proper function of the device and of the heart. About 30 percent of patients treated with an LVAD require support in both ventricles, some patients are left partially treated. "An alternative strategy would be to remove the heart completely and replace it with a total artificial heart, but this strategy does not allow for the failing heart to potentially recover, and there is the risk of the device malfunctioning," said Dr. Victor Pretorius, surgical director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health. "All three patients involved in the study were in desperate need of right-sided circulatory support. Our team placed an additional HeartWare HVAD, the smallest available LVAD, in the right atrium, the upper chamber of the heart, to provide right heart support."
Two of the three patients have received heart transplants since the double-LVAD treatment, and the third is in good condition with the implants still in place, doctors reported. Four other patients have also been treated this way, though Adler said more long-term research is needed to determine the treatment's efficacy. The study is published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Cardiac experts pioneer heart failure treatment with device implant
Hello Friends........
Can anyone tell me the difference between cardiac chest pain from non-cardiac chest pain?
Thanks
Sudden cardiac arrest may not be so sudden -- apparent warning signs are often ignored by more than half of patients for as long as a month, according to a new study. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Oregon Health and Science University found in a long-term study that many sudden cardiac arrest patients have symptoms indicative of a heart attack for weeks but don't report them to their doctors.
About 326,000 people had a heart attack outside the hospital in 2011, of whom just 10.6 percent survived, according to an American Heart Association report. "These new findings give good reason not to ignore unusual sensations, as vague as they may be," said Dr. Eduardo Marbán, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, in a press release. "Better to seek medical attention early than to risk dying suddenly."
Researchers in the study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data on 839 patients in the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death survey who had sudden cardiac arrest. In the four weeks before having a heart attack, 50 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the study had warning symptoms, including chest pain and difficult or labored breathing. In 93 percent of those patients, the symptoms recurred within a day before the heart attack.
Calling 911 when symptoms of could be felt increased the chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest by four times.
Of patients with symptoms, just 19 percent called 911 to report their symptoms and most had a history of heart disease or continuous chest pain. Calling 911 improved chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest -- 32 percent of patients with symptoms who picked up the phone survived the heart attack, as opposed to just 6 percent who did not call. "Sudden cardiac arrest in middle age hits society hard since most who are affected are their families' primary breadwinners," said Dr. Sumeet Chugh, MD, medical director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. "Now that we realize that sudden death may not be so sudden, there is also potential for new shorter-term approaches by increasing awareness and education of patients and their healthcare providers."
Study: Sudden cardiac arrest may not be so sudden
Call 911 when symptoms first appear...
Study: Sudden cardiac arrest may not be so sudden
Dec. 22, 2015 - More than half of patients in the study had symptoms of cardiac arrest between 24 hours and four weeks before having a heart attack.
Sudden cardiac arrest may not be so sudden -- apparent warning signs are often ignored by more than half of patients for as long as a month, according to a new study. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Oregon Health and Science University found in a long-term study that many sudden cardiac arrest patients have symptoms indicative of a heart attack for weeks but don't report them to their doctors.
About 326,000 people had a heart attack outside the hospital in 2011, of whom just 10.6 percent survived, according to an American Heart Association report. "These new findings give good reason not to ignore unusual sensations, as vague as they may be," said Dr. Eduardo Marbán, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, in a press release. "Better to seek medical attention early than to risk dying suddenly."
Researchers in the study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data on 839 patients in the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death survey who had sudden cardiac arrest. In the four weeks before having a heart attack, 50 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the study had warning symptoms, including chest pain and difficult or labored breathing. In 93 percent of those patients, the symptoms recurred within a day before the heart attack.
Calling 911 when symptoms of could be felt increased the chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest by four times.
Of patients with symptoms, just 19 percent called 911 to report their symptoms and most had a history of heart disease or continuous chest pain. Calling 911 improved chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest -- 32 percent of patients with symptoms who picked up the phone survived the heart attack, as opposed to just 6 percent who did not call. "Sudden cardiac arrest in middle age hits society hard since most who are affected are their families' primary breadwinners," said Dr. Sumeet Chugh, MD, medical director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. "Now that we realize that sudden death may not be so sudden, there is also potential for new shorter-term approaches by increasing awareness and education of patients and their healthcare providers."
Study: Sudden cardiac arrest may not be so sudden