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New blood test for quick heart attack diagnosis

The U.S. National Institute for Health Research is investigating a new blood test that might help diagnose, or rule out, heart attacks. Acute chest pain is a common symptom of heart attack, but it is also a symptom of many problems that are less serious. Since current tests aren't able to detect heart attacks quickly, doctors must treat any sign of acute chest pain as an emergency. "Acute chest pain is one of the most common reasons for people to have to go to hospital as an emergency, and it is important that doctors are able to make a diagnosis quickly, allowing early treatment for people with a heart attack and avoiding unnecessary hospital admission for those without," said Steve Goodacre, professor at the University of Sheffield. "We hope that the results of our study will provide the NHS with important evidence to help inform the care of patients with acute chest pain."

A report published in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Health suggests that omega-3 fatty acids should be a part of a heart healthy diet because they reduce the risk of heart rhythm problems in certain groups of people, thus reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death. The researchers also found that omega-3s may help reduce triglycerides, lower blood pressure slightly and reduce blood clotting. Higher amounts of two particular omega-3s, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), can also have an anti-inflammatory effect for people with rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, a study is underway to find whether DHA could slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

A review published in the August 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology cast doubt on the standard use of beta blockers in patients with uncomplicated hypertension. The authors of the review looked at decades of accumulated data and concluded that there is no credible evidence to prove that beta blockers, when used as single-drug therapy for uncomplicated hypertension, reduces heart attack risks, stroke, or improves clinical outcomes.

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Report discovers root of cardiac fibrosis

A report published in Nature Medicine by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) helps explain the roots of cardiac fibrosis. The research further showed that the bone morphogenic molecule known as rhBMP7 might prove to be a therapy for cardiac fibrosis. The study used mice, in which endothelial cells had been marked genetically, to confirm the conversion of cells into fibroblasts during cardiac fibrosis. These cells were responsible for slowing down the proper function and electrical conduction of the heart. In the second part of the study, the investigators analyzed the rhBMP7 protein to determine its function in reducing the development of fibroblasts. “These findings provide compelling proof that the process of fibrosis can be reversed in the heart and offers the possibility of new therapies for patients who have developed cardiac fibrosis as the result of myocardial infarction, hypertension, valvular diseases or heart transplantation,” said senior author of the study, Dr. Raghu Kalluri.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that heart disease might lead to a decline in cognitive function. The four-year study evaluated 452 elderly individuals who were suffering from at least one type of cardiovascular disease. The results showed that individuals who had suffered from multiple strokes during the trial period experienced a decline in verbal memory performance. But, researchers also found that atherosclerosis reduces the flow of blood required to feed the brain and hence gradually degrades the cognitive function of individuals. “Anything that leads to better cardiovascular health – more favorable levels of cardiovascular risk factors, blood pressure, cholesterol, not to smoke – these are all likely to impact the brain, the blood flow to the brain, arterial function, and eventually cognitive function,” said lead researcher, Dr. Snorri Bjorn Rafnsson.

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Sign of hope for individuals suffering from fatal heart condition

Researchers at the University of Leeds have come up with a mechanism to prevent a fatal heart condition that strikes without forewarning. The condition can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias and sudden death. Adults with cardiac hypertrophy have abnormally high levels of two proteins, ANP and BNP, which causes the fatal heart condition. Dr Lezanne Ooi, postdoctoral researcher, faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds, found that an increase in a third protein in the body known as REST could prevent an abnormal rise of the proteins causing cardiac hypertrophy. “This is a significant discovery because whilst the symptoms can be managed, the cause of heart hypertrophy cannot yet be treated. This research provides a first step in the search for a possible treatment,” said Dr Ooi.

A study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta showed an alarming trend that may reverse the current drop in cardiac deaths. In the United States, the death rate from heart disease decreased by half from 1980 to 2000. A sharp reduction in cardiac risk factors attributed to a 50% decline in cardiovascular disease. However, rising obesity and diabetes rates may offset those gains. “We’ve made great progress, but we’re not done yet. Heart disease is still the number one killer in the U.S. Modifying lifestyle with exercise will have a big impact. People need to realize they can't eat Big Macs and fries and then take cholesterol medicine and not expect to have a heart attack,” said Dr Shukri David, chief of cardiology at Providence Hospital/St. John’s Health System in Southfield, Mich.

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Molecular imaging may improve diagnosis of heart disease

Researchers at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta created technically advanced molecular imaging to provide a 3-D way to improve the diagnosis of heart disease. The study involved CT to view the coronary arteries, nuclear imaging positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography imaging processes to view the blood flow to the heart. Finally, an innovative computer technique combined and displayed these two types of information. “Using innovative new computer techniques, we took images of the coronary arteries from one study, called a computed tomography (CT) angiography, and superimposed them on top of images of heart muscle. The heart muscle was color-coded to the blood flow brought in by the coronaries into the muscle. That blood flow information was obtained from a nuclear imaging scan,” said Cesar A. Santana, assistant professor of radiology at the Emory School of Medicine.

A study published in the journal Heart revealed that men with autoantibody rheumatic factor – an indicator of inflammation linked with rheumatoid arthritis – in their blood have a high incidence of heart disease. The study involved blood tests of 567 men and 589 women. The evaluation was based on a background of ischemic heart disease, rheumatoid factor and other risk factors associated with heart disease. The results affirmed the fact that inflammation contributes to atherosclerosis and implies that autoantibody rheumatic factor catalyzes the inflammation.

Researchers from Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School revealed that eating whole-grain cereals seven times a week could lower the risk of heart failure. The study involved 10,500 participants: 79% of participants ate only whole-grain cereals and 35% ate refined cereals seven or more times a week. Results from the 10 years survey showed that participants who ate whole grain cereals seven times a week or more had a 28% lower risk of developing heart failure than someone who never ate this type of cereal.

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Less salt, less heart disease

A study published in the Brigham and Women's Hospital Journal revealed that slashing salt consumption reduces the risk of heart disease. Experimentation including reduction of salt intake among people vulnerable to a cardiac arrest resulted in reduction of the risk by 25 percent. The lead researcher Nancy Cook from Brigham and Women's Hospital said, “Dietary intake of sodium among Americans is excessively high. Our study suggests that reducing the level of salt in the diet would lead to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.” Since sodium increases the fluid in body and makes the heart work harder, it is better to consume low-sodium foods.

Chocolates, green tea and berries are often cited to be the best antioxidants, but the latest issue of American Journal of Clinical nutrition published an expanded research, including apple, bran and pears to be one of the best sources of flavonols for heart health. The study compared the flavonoid intake of more than 34,000 women and concluded that only a certain group of flavonoids, consumed in significant amounts was instrumental in reducing the risk of heart diseases by 22 percent. The study suggested combining flavonoids in the diet to make antioxidants effective for reducing the incidence of heart diseases.

Cochrane Systematic Review has identified wholegrain oats as the new cereal that reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), by significantly lowering cholesterol levels. The comparative study, including 914 adults who had at least one major risk factor for CHD, conducted ten trials with wholegrain oats and concluded that healthcare professionals can recommend whole grain oats as part of cholesterol reduction programmes. Wholegrain oats reduced total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and hence considered best for those at a higher risk to CHD.

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Studies concerning the heart

A global study has linked a genetic defect to heart disease and metabolic syndrome. The researchers observed members of an Iranian family, who had a history of early coronary artery disease (CAD). Almost half of those observed had been diagnosed early for CAD and had died young, while those who did not suffer from CAD lived relatively longer. After close examination of the chromosome segments in the bloodline, the scientists found that a defect in the LRP6 gene altered an amino acid in the protein. Acting in the Wnt signaling pathway, LRP6 is located on a short segment of chromosome 12. Further knowledge about the Wnt pathway could lead to better therapies against these disorders.

Meanwhile, scientists from Duke University Medical Center found an association between depression, diabetes and heart disease. They observed 933 CAD patients and found that patients with both type 2 diabetes and high levels of depression had a higher risk of death as compared to depressed patients who did not have diabetes. Moreover, the risk of death increased with a rise in the levels of depression. Further investigations will determine the cause for this link. For now, physicians must keep a closer check on patients with all three diseases.

In USA, researchers found a connection between a parent's life span and heart disease in the offspring. They analyzed 1,697 people over the age of 30, whose parents were part of the Framingham Heart Study, over a period of 12 years. The participants, whose parents survived past the age of 85, had lower chances of having high blood pressure and cholesterol, in relation to the participants who had lost one or both of their parents. The study aimed at understanding the role of genes in cardiovascular diseases, which could help lower risks of heart diseases.

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Research brings hope against heart disease

In a thought-provoking study, researchers from the US have found that Viagra protects the heart. The researchers from Virginia University found that erectile dysfunction drugs can assist in the healing of the heart after a heart attack. The researchers arrived at this conclusion after studying the effects of Viagra and another erectile dysfunction drug Levitra against the drug nitroglycerin in animal models. When these drugs were given after a heart attack, the researchers observed that Viagra and Levitra had a positive effect on the heart while nitroglycerin did not help. The February issue of the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology carries the findings of this study.

Meanwhile, the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention saw the presentation of the results of a study which claim that whole-grain breakfast cereals can bring down heart failure risk when eaten daily. The study results were arrived at on the basis of questionnaires to physicians regarding major heart events and the consumption of breakfast cereal. The analysis revealed that eating whole-grain breakfast cereal once or more everyday reduced once chances of developing heart failure by a significant 28 per cent when compared to those who did not eat this kind of cereal. Eating whole-grain breakfast cereal two to six times per week brought down the risk by 22 per cent while a 14 per cent risk reduction was observed in those who ate the cereal one day every week. The study authors are hopeful that further studies will confirm these results and will lead to a new way to reduce heart failure risk.

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Matters of the heart

American researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, have developed a heart disease predictor called Reynolds Risk Score that can tell a woman’s likelihood of developing heart disease. Researchers formulated it after studying 35 risk factors in almost 25,000 healthy women with neither heart disease nor diabetes. The Reynolds Risk Score takes into consideration factors like age, systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol levels, total cholesterol levels, whether the person smokes or not, levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein and whether there is a family history of heart disease. The tool is being hailed as a huge advancement in the field of preventive medicine.

In another study, researchers from the University of Nottingham, UK, have concluded that passive smoking is injurious to the heart too. They evaluated secondhand smoke exposure in 7,599 men and women who had always been non-smokers by measuring the levels of cotinine in the blood. They also measured the levels of C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, fibrinogen and homocysteine as they are markers of heart disease. Those with low and high levels of cotinine had increased levels of fibrinogen and homocysteine, indicating greater chances of heart disease. However, no link between passive smoking and the other two markers could be found.

Meanwhile, those in the habit of taking short afternoon naps can take heart. A study conducted on 23,681 healthy Greeks has found that siestas can keep heart disease away. The participants were followed for an average period of 6.3 years. The research team found that a nap of a minimum of 30 minutes taken thrice a week reduced one’s likelihood of dying from heart disease by 37 per cent when compared to those who did not sleep in the afternoons. However, the researchers admit that while the finding is indeed significant, more studies need to be conducted.

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Research on heart attacks intensifies in India, Germany and NZ

In a study, researchers at the Government Medical College in Nagpur, India, have determined why South Asians suffer heart attacks at a younger age compared to the Western population. They analyzed the records of heart-attack patients and healthy people from five South Asian countries against those from Western countries. While the average age for suffering the first heart attack was 58.8 years in the Western countries, it was 53 years in the South Asian countries. The researchers claim that this is because the chances of performing activities that prevent heart attack were less for South Asians. Also, they had an increasing proportion of factors, like stress, that cause heart attack. The researchers believe that their findings add weight to the theory that changes in lifestyle habits, if implemented early enough in life, could reduce the chances of heart attacks.

In a debatable study, German researchers from the Center for Clinical Studies at GWI-TU found that taking a combination of the diabetes drug pioglitazone and the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin, brings down C-reactive protein, a marker of heart attack. They arrived at this after conducting a 12-week trial on 125 non-diabetic participants with heart disease. However, the clinical significance of the findings is under criticism from other scientists.

Meanwhile, researchers from Otago University’s Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, New Zealand, have found a connection between a protein and decreased ability of a heart to recover after an attack. The protein resistin comes from fatty tissue around the body. The study found that when the levels of resistin in the blood are high during a heart attack, the heart is able to recover only 68 per cent of its ability instead of the normal 90 per cent. The researchers are hopeful that the negative effects of resistin can be overcome with the development of drugs that will block it.

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Novel innovations to counter heart diseases

Patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have finally found a ray of hope. Canadian researchers have found the first therapy of its kind for PAH in which they have formulated a new experimental and cell therapy gene showing tremendous potential. Researchers from St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, developed a technique to introduce genetically engineered, stem-like cells called endothelial progenitor cells (or EPCs) into the lungs. The researchers then added the gene eNOS with a view to stimulate the growth and repair of blood vessels. Buoyed by the success of studies conducted on animals, doctors hope to analyze the effectiveness of the therapy on more humans.

In another study at Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand, researchers formed an innovative type of dissolvable heart "stent". The stent, made of polymer, unblocks affected arteries and then dissolves into lactic acid. This new BVS stent is the first drug-releasing stem to achieve such a high level of medical progress and has been inserted into 30 patients across Europe and New Zealand with no side effects. Depending on the results of a six–month study, the researchers hope to conduct more trials to test its benefits.

Researchers in the UK have established that men who lose three centimeters or more in height as they age are more susceptible to heart attack and death by at least 42 per cent. Though it is yet uncertain why loss of height is responsible for heart attacks, this study acts as a stepping-stone towards further research to aid in identifying those at greater risk of heart disease.

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