Heart attack

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.

A phase 2 clinical trial of a cholesterol-reducing drug called evinacumab has reported promising results. In patients with extremely high cholesterol, the drug was able to reduce levels by about half, compared to a placebo.

Heart attack patients often need replacements for damaged arteries. In a new proof-of-concept study, scientists knitted a prototype graft out of hybrid synthetic and biological yarn, helping the patients own cells grow and repair the artery.

New research is suggesting a simple saliva test can detect the presence of a protein biomarker known to signal the occurrence of a heart attack in just 10 minutes, potentially accelerating the speed at which patients can be diagnosed and treated.