Heart attack

New research has discovered a distinct circadian mechanism within heart cells that influences how cardiac activity shifts across 24-hour periods. The findings offer clues to why shift workers are at higher risk of heart problems.

Researchers have deployed drones carrying defibrillators to the sites of real-world cardiac arrests for the first time. On average, the unmanned aircraft arrived well ahead of ambulance crews, with the medical devices safely in tow.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, but numbers could be reduced with better early warning systems. A new study has outlined just such a system, using nanoparticles that make atherosclerotic plaques emit ultrasound waves.

It goes without saying that the earlier someone can be warned of an impending heart attack or stroke, the better. A new skin patch could provide such warnings, by sending ultrasound pulses into the wearer's body.

New research has demonstrated how a drug candidate built off a molecule in funnel web spider venom can stop the "death signal" that results from a heart attack, potentially providing first responders with a powerful new way to intervene.

Scientists at Oxford have uncovered a mechanism behind why people with diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. High blood sugar levels seem to “reprogram” stem cells so that the immune cells they produce become more inflammatory.

After someone has suffered a heart attack, non-beating scar tissue grows back in place of the damaged cardiac tissue, leaving the heart permanently weakened. A newly developed spray-on medication, however, may someday help change that.

The heart has a limited capacity to heal itself, so heart attack survivors often have further episodes. Now, scientists have grown heart cells from stem cells, embedded them onto microspheres and injected them into damaged hearts to help repair them.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified an enzyme that may naturally protect the brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation. This could be a potential drug target to prevent issues arising from strokes or heart attacks.

Heart attacks occur when plaque deposits break off of blood vessel walls, subsequently blocking arteries that carry oxygen to the heart. A new imaging process could identify those unstable deposits, allowing them to be treated before they rupture.

Heart failure often requires a transplant of the whole organ. Now scientists at EPFL have developed an artificial aorta that can help pump blood, taking some of the pressure off the heart to reduce or even eliminate the need for a transplant.

Minute differences in the blood pressure between each arm aren’t cause for concern, but there is a point at which variances could represent cardiovascular trouble, and an expansive international study has shone new light on where that point lies.