Severe eczema in adults linked to increased risk of cardiovascular problems

BMJ: Severe eczema in adults is associated with a moderately increased risk of cardiovascular problems (conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels) including heart attacks, stroke, and irregular heart rate, finds a UK study published by The BMJ today. This is the largest study to date to assess the association between atopic eczema and major cardiovascular events, and the researchers say their findings support the consideration of targeted screening and focus on prevention strategies among these patients.

Marathon Risk for Non-Runners

Harvard: People who suffer heart attacks or cardiac arrests in the vicinity of an ongoing major marathon are more likely to die within a month due to delays in transportation to nearby hospitals, according to newly published research from Harvard Medical School. The delays, the researchers say, likely stem from widespread street closures during major races that can hamper transportation in an emergency. Writing in the April 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the study authors call for citywide strategies that ensure unhampered access for medical crews in a certain radius of major races and other large public gatherings, such as sporting events or parades.

Noninvasive Imaging Helps Predict Heart Attacks

RSNA: Noninvasive CT angiography and stress tests can help predict which patients are likely to suffer a heart attack or other adverse cardiovascular event, according to a new study appearing online in the journal Radiology. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. Bypass surgery or stent placement is often recommended in people with certain degrees of coronary arterial narrowing, or stenosis, but recent studies have shown that many of these patients do just as well with medical therapy. A key factor in treatment decisions is the hemodynamic significance of the lesion, meaning the degree to which the lesion is blocking blood from getting to areas of the heart.

A simple one-off vaccination could protect against heart attack and stroke

Melbourne: Melburnians are taking part in a world first trial led by Monash University that could see a simple one-off vaccination protect against heart attack and stroke. The trial, which started late last year, aims to determine whether the pneumococcal vaccine can reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke by up to 20 per cent. Observational studies indicate the injection can lead to a 17 per cent protection against cardiovascular disease, but this is the first large scale study to be conducted.

Arthritis drug cuts heart attack risk

Leeds: A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can reduce the risk of heart attacks in such patients by nearly 40%, a new study has found. Those with rheumatoid arthritis have a much higher risk of heart attacks, which is thought to be due to inflammation in the body caused by the disease. Now doctors have discovered that a biologic drug used to treat inflammation in joints – called a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) – appears to have a protective effect on the heart.

CPR Training Less Common among Older Adults, Who May be at Highest Risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Pennsylvania: More than 350,000 Americans suffer from out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) each year. It strikes at work, in the grocery store, on the soccer field, and even at home, where it’s critical for bystanders to take quick action by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). But only 32 percent of cardiac arrest victims nationwide receive the lifesaving intervention. New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sheds light on training gaps that could pave the way to boosting the number of people who are prepared to jump into action.

Genes responsible for risk of heart attack, stroke, and related cardiometabolic diseases identified

Karolinska Institute: Thousands of genes and their interactions across tissues mediating cardiometabolic diseases have been identified. The research, published in Science , is a result of a joint collaboration between the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tartu University Hospital in Estonia, Karolinska Institutet and Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Sweden, and AstraZeneca.The identified level of complexity and interaction among these genes also includes processes that lead to heart attack and stroke.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Raises Odds of Heart Attack and Stroke in Women

Columbia: Women with elevated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder consistent with the clinical threshold for the disorder had 60-percent higher rates of having a heart attack or stroke compared with women who never experienced trauma, according to scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Results appear in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.

Some heartburn drugs may boost risk of heart attack, study finds

Stanford: A data-mining study has found an association between the use of proton-pump inhibitors, which account for 100 million prescriptions per year in the United States alone, and the likelihood of incurring a heart attack down the road. Stanford researchers found an association between a commonly used drug for treating heartburn and the likelihood of incurring a heart attack down the road.

Interpretation of Study on ProtonPumpInhibitors (drugs reducing the stomach acid) Heart Attack Risk

American Gastroenterological Association: A large-scale data-mining study, published June 10 in PLoS ONE (open access), reports that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are associated with an elevated risk of heart attack in the general population. While the study has generated headlines, it shouldn’t spur changes in practice. As we await further study of this issue, you can remind patients that there are risks and benefits to all treatments. PPIs, like any other drugs, should be given for clear indications and in the lowest effective dose.

Cloaking of collagen frees up the flow

Munich: Blood clots often form when lipid-rich plaques on the inner surface of arteries rupture and platelets aggregate at the site of injury. LMU cardiologists have now compared the effects of two new platelet aggregation inhibitors. Blood clots that form in arteries – so-called arterial thrombosis –are among the most common causes of heart attack and stroke. They are particularly prone to develop when ‘atherosclerotic plaques’, fatty deposits that build up within the inner lining of major arteries, fracture and break.

Stem cells could provide a treatment for a broken heart

NHS: "Scientists believe they may have discovered how to mend broken hearts," reports the Daily Mirror.
While it may sound like the subject of a decidedly odd country and western song, the headline actually refers to damage to the heart muscle. A heart attack occurs when the muscle of the heart becomes starved of oxygen causing it to be damaged. If there is significant damage the heart can become weakened and unable to effectively pump blood around the body. This is known as heart failure and can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue. The heart contains "dormant" stem cells, and researchers want to learn more about them to work out ways to get them to help repair damaged heart tissue.

How Oxidizing a Heart ‘Brake’ Causes Heart Damage

Johns Hopkins: Oxidative stress has been long known to fuel disease, but how exactly it damages various organs has been challenging to sort out. Now scientists from Johns Hopkins say research in mice reveals why oxidation comes to be so corrosive to heart muscle. A report on the results, published online May 4 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that oxidation inside the cardiac cells precipitates heart failure by disrupting the work of a heart-shielding protein called PKG, known to act as a natural “brake” against biological stressors like chronically elevated blood pressure, inflammation and pressure overload. The team’s experiments show that oxidation alters a key part in PKG’s structure, interfering with this natural braking system and diminishing its ability to blunt stress on the heart muscle.

Supreme Court to get tough on UK air pollution

British Heart Foundation: Supreme Court judges must force the UK Government to speed up drastically its plans to improve UK air quality in order to protect the nation’s hearts from the adverse effects of air pollution according to our Director of Policy.

The UK Government was found guilty of breaching EU nitrogen dioxide limits in 16 different cities and regions, sparking a four-year battle in UK and EU courts to bring standards into line.

People with heart conditions are vulnerable to air pollution as it can make existing conditions worse and increase the risk of a heart attack. Recent BHF-funded research from the University of Edinburgh, published last month, has also shown exposure to air pollution increases the risk of hospitalisation or death from stroke.

Estimates show the Government’s current plans to cut nitrogen dioxide emissions would not meet legal limits in some areas until after 2030 – 20 years after the original 2010 targets were supposed to be met.

Last year, the European Court of Justice decreed the UK must comply with EU regulations in the shortest time possible. 

In a final hearing today, Supreme Court judges were asked to echo that ruling and order the UK Government to publish an action plan to improve air quality in these regions.

The Supreme Court will make its final judgment in the next few months. 

Mike Hobday, our Director of Policy, said: “For four years vulnerable heart patients have been exposed to illegally high levels of air pollution because the UK Government has failed to clean up the nation’s dirty air.

“It’s vital the Supreme Court finally holds the Government to account and orders them to act swiftly to ensure that the air we breathe is safe and does not do any further undue harm to our hearts.”

Scans may cut heart attack risk

Edinburgh: Routine heart scans for patients referred to cardiac clinics with chest pain could reduce heart attack rates, research suggests. The scans would help doctors to make better treatment decisions which could ultimately save lives, researchers say.

Being optimistic after heart attack may help with recovery

NHS: "It's true! Optimists do live longer," is the slightly misleading headline from the Mail Online.
The study it reports on actually looked at the effects of optimism on physical and emotional health in 369 people recovering from a heart attack or unstable angina (angina that does not respond to medication), rather than overall lifespan.

Gene testing could find those who would benefit most from statins

NHS. UK: "Patients with the highest genetic risk of suffering a heart attack benefit the most from cholesterol-lowering statin drugs," The Guardian reports. Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol and can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) developing – the leading cause of death both in the UK and worldwide.

A coffee a day keeps the heart attacks away

Scimex: People who drink a moderate amount of coffee daily are less likely to develop clogged arteries that could lead to heart attacks, say South Korean researchers. The authors found that people consuming three to five cups a day had the least risk of coronary calcium in their arteries.

Heart attack risk raised by blocking natural immune response

British Heart Foundation: One of the body's natural responses to infection or injury is called inflammation and research we helped to fund has shown that blocking it could increase a person's heart attack risk.

Anger possibly linked with non-fatal heart attacks

NHS. UK: "'Plate-throwing rage' raises heart attack risk nearly 10 fold," The Daily Telegraph reports, slightly inaccurately. This headline reports on a study that found that just seven out of 313 people had felt "very angry" in the two hours before a heart attack compared to their normal levels of anger. Despite the headline, none of the participants had felt furious or angry to the point of throwing plates or any other objects.