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Atherosclerosis Blog
Includes: Arteriosclerosis, Carotid Atherosclerosis, Hardening of the arteries, Plaque buildup, arteries
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Many Young Adults Unaware They're Developing Heart Disease
Posted 27 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 27 – A new study warns that many young adults have undetected thickening of the arteries – or atherosclerosis – which can lead to heart disease, stroke and death. Researchers examined 84 young men and 84 young women, aged 18 to 35, with no known cardiovascular disease or risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or family history of premature heart disease. Even though the participants had none of these traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis, many had other signs of the condition such as greater waist circumference and dangerous visceral fat covering the internal organs within the abdomen and chest, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada study. The findings, presented Oct. 25 at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Vancouver, verify earlier research that found that as many as 80 percent of young ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke, Atherosclerosis
Environmental Toxins Linked to Hardening of Arteries
Posted 11 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 11 – Environmental pollutants such as dioxins, PCBs and pesticides are associated with hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), according to a new study. Atherosclerosis is the major underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases, which are the most common cause of death in industrialized countries, said the researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden. They measured levels of persistent (long-lived and hard to degrade) organic environmental toxins in the blood of about 1,000 Swedes and also used ultrasound to assess atherosclerosis in the participants' neck arteries. The researchers said they found a clear connection between increasing levels of organic environmental toxins and atherosclerosis, even after taking into account other risk factors. The study appears Oct. 11 online, ahead of print in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. "These findings indicate that ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
New Drug Boosts 'Good' Cholesterol in Study Patients
Posted 13 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 – A treatment currently being studied may prevent progression of atherosclerosis, a condition caused by the build-up of plaque in artery walls that can lead to heart attack, according to new research. In conducting the study, published in the Sept. 12 issue of The Lancet, researchers followed 130 patients with atherosclerosis who were randomly assigned to be treated with either the experimental heart drug dalcetrapib, or an inactive placebo over the course of two years. In the double-blind study, neither the researchers nor the patients knew who was taking the heart drug and who was taking the placebo. While statin drugs are commonly used to lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, dalcetrapib raises HDL or "good" cholesterol in order to reduce the risk, the researchers explained. To determine the efficacy of dalcetrapib, the ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Attack, Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Atherosclerosis
Low-Carb, High-Fat Diets May Not Pose Risk to Arteries
Posted 2 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, June 2 – New research suggests that low-carbohydrate diets, with regular exercise as part of the plan, don't appear to harm the arteries, as some experts have feared. "It's pretty clear low-carb is effective for weight loss," said study author Kerry J. Stewart, director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute. "The concern has been that because you are eating more fat this is going to put stress on your blood vessels." So, Stewart and his team evaluated the short-term effects of a low-carb, higher-fat diet after a single meal. The researchers also compared a low-carb diet with a low-fat diet in dieters. In each case, they found no ill effects on blood vessel health. Stewart is due to present his findings Friday at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in Denver. However, one ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Bone Drug Plus Statin Better at Fighting Plaque in Aorta: Study
Posted 1 May 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 28 – Taking both Lipitor and the bone-strengthening drug Didronel reduces plaque buildup in the aorta better than Lipitor alone, a small Canadian study suggests. While Lipitor is a statin that lowers cholesterol, Didronel (etidronate) belongs to a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, which are typically taken by people with osteoporosis. "Calcified plaques in the abdominal aorta have been reported to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," said lead researcher Dr. Tetsuya Kawahara, from the University of Calgary in Alberta. "Bisphosphonate plus statin combination therapy can be considered as the more effective therapeutic agents for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease than statin monotherapy in the near future," Kawahara said. The results of the study were scheduled to be presented Thursday at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis ... Read more
Related support groups: Lipitor, Atherosclerosis, Didronel
Artery Plaque Forms in Short Time Span, Scientists Say
Posted 13 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 13 – In most people, plaque formation in arteries occurs during a relatively short period of time later in life, according to a new study. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analyzed plaque samples from people who had surgery to remove plaque buildup in arteries in their neck. "We suspected that the plaque would be substantially younger than the patients, who were on average 68 years old at surgery, but we were surprised when we found that the average age of these plaques was less than 10 years," study leader Johan Bjorkegren said in a news release from the institute. He and his team also found that variation in the plaque was low, suggesting that plaque formation in most of the people occurred in a three- to five-year span. In addition, the age of plaques was associated with the level of insulin in people's blood, and plaques that were formed more ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Study Hints at Link Between Antidepressants and Heart Trouble
Posted 3 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
SATURDAY, April 2 – Men taking antidepressants may be at risk for atherosclerosis, which can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, a small, preliminary study suggests. Antidepressants were associated with about a 5 percent increase in the thickness of the large artery in the neck called the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain, the researchers from Emory University found. Yet experts not involved with the study noted that it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between antidepressant use and heart trouble, and added that depression itself can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems. "Antidepressant medications may decrease cardiovascular risk by treating depression," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since the new findings are very preliminary, Fonarow said, "Patients should not be ... Read more
Related support groups: Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Sertraline, Paroxetine, Luvox, Escitalopram, Paxil CR, Fluvoxamine, Sarafem, Luvox CR
Many Heart Patients Place False Hope in Angioplasty
Posted 8 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 8 – Many heart patients harbor the misguided notion that angioplasty, a common procedure to open clogged arteries, will also cut their risk of heart attacks and death, a new study shows. In fact, the evidence suggests that angioplasty only reduces angina (cardiac-linked chest pain) in stable heart patients – people whose condition has not changed recently and who are not experiencing a heart attack. The procedure does not reduce the risk of heart attack or death for these patients. However, the new study found that 88 percent of stable patients who underwent angioplasty at a hospital in Massachusetts thought the procedure would reduce their risk of heart attack. And two-thirds of the patients didn't even suffer the kind of pain that angioplasty would likely remedy, the study authors noted. Furthermore, most patients stuck to their beliefs even after spending time with ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Stroke Prevention Treatment Varies Widely Across U.S.
Posted 26 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, July 26 – Doctors across the United States differ greatly in how they choose to open up clogged neck arteries to help prevent stroke, a new study shows. Carotid artery disease occurs when plaque fills up major arteries supplying blood to the brain, greatly raising stroke risk. There are three common treatments for the condition: an artery-scraping surgery called endarterectomy; the placement of a stent to keep the artery open; or the use of cholesterol and antihypertensive medications to help lower stroke risk. The new report finds that patients can expect to be offered different treatments depending on where in the United States they live – a sign that there's no consensus on the best way to treat the condition, according to Duke University researchers. There's a "clinical uncertainty about the best course of treatment," said lead researcher Lesley H. Curtis, an associate ... Read more
Related support groups: Ischemic Stroke -- Prophylaxis, Atherosclerosis
Procedure Rejuvenates Aging Arteries in Pigs
Posted 21 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 21 – A two-step procedure that uses nanoparticles to first scrub plaque out of arteries and then inserts stem cells to promote healing of those arteries may one day help individuals with atherosclerosis, new research suggests. "One of the problems of removing plaque [with current methods such as angioplasty] is that there is damage to the underlying wall," explained Dr. Edward A. Fisher, director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City, who was not involved with the research. "The rate of restenosis [when the vessel closes over again] is very high." This new technique, performed only in pigs so far, would circumvent that problem with this "somewhat provocative ability to heal the vessel wall by administering stem cells after you injure the vessels," Fisher said. "If this were true in people, it could be ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Dual Therapy Best for Preventing Bleeding After Heart Procedures
Posted 1 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, June 1 – The risk of bleeding in patients undergoing procedures such as balloon angioplasty and stent implants to open blocked arteries can be lowered best through the combined use of vessel-closing devices and a blood thinner, researchers say. Bleeding is a common complication and can lead to death, but the patients at greatest risk of bleeding are also the least likely to be treated with the lifesaving strategies, the study authors found. Stent implants and balloon angioplasty – known as percutaneous coronary interventions – are performed an estimated one million times each year in the United States. In the study, researchers from Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., examined how often patients bled after the artery-opening procedures and how those rates were affected by the closing devices and the blood thinner. After Dr. Steven P. Marso of Saint ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis, Angiomax
Popular Diet Plans Can Unclog Arteries
Posted 1 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 1 – Any one of three heart-healthy diets – low-fat, low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean – can reverse the thickening of artery walls that can lead to heart attack and stroke, an Israeli study indicates. "Once one adheres to a sensible diet, even though you experience only a moderate weight loss, if you stick to it long enough you can cause regression of atherosclerosis," explained Iris Shai, a nutritional epidemiologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and lead author of a report to be published in the March 16 print issue of the journal Circulation. Atherosclerosis involves a thickening and narrowing of blood vessels. When narrowing leads to a full blockage of blood flow, heart attacks or strokes are the result. Shai and her colleagues assigned 140 middle-aged, overweight men and women to one of three low-calorie diets: low-fat; low-carbohydrate; or the Mediterranean ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
The Mummies' Curse: Heart Disease
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Nov. 17 – Hardening of the arteries may have more of a family history – the human family tree – than was once thought. Modern-day imaging techniques have unearthed hardening of the arteries – or atherosclerosis, which causes heart attacks and stroke – in mummies up to 3,500 years old. Experts have long believed that atherosclerosis is a scourge of modern society, caused by meals snatched at fast-food restaurants and eaten in front of high-definition TVs. "Perhaps atherosclerosis has been around a lot longer than we think. It might have been a malady affecting man long-term," said Dr. Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association. "It doesn't necessarily change anything we know or do now, but perhaps some of the accoutrements of civilization are not only unhealthy now, they were also unhealthy then." The unusual findings were presented Tuesday at the American ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Drug Fails to Slow Progression of Atherosclerosis
Posted 17 Mar 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 17 – A drug that blocks an enzyme involved in the accumulation of cholesterol does not reduce the progression of atherosclerosis, thickening and stiffening of the arteries, but increases the risk of major cardiovascular events, according to an international study. Researchers assessed the safety and efficacy of the drug pactimibe, which inhibits an enzyme known as ACAT, in 892 people with a family history of high cholesterol, which is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. The participants, from 40 clinics in the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa and Israel, were randomly selected to take either 100 milligrams a day of pactimibe or a placebo, in addition to standard lipid-lowering therapy. The researchers assessed the participants' atherosclerosis at the start of the study and 12, 18 and 24 months later using ultrasound to measure carotid ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
Experimental Drug May Prevent Plaque Buildup
Posted 20 Feb 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 20 – An experimental drug called A-002 appears effective in preventing atherosclerosis, according to a phase II study that included American and Ukrainian participants. In atherosclerosis, arteries become blocked and inflamed by a buildup of white blood cells and fatty material, or lipids. Two potentially bioactive fats that can be involved in atherosclerosis are produced when enzymes known as sPLA2 break down particular molecules in the blood and artery walls. The drug A-002 targets three groups of these enzymes that are present in high levels in atherosclerotic lesions. The 393 people in the study were randomly selected to receive one of four doses of the drug (50, 100, 250 or 500 milligrams) or a placebo twice a day for eight weeks. Among people taking any dose of A-002, average enzyme levels decreased by 87 percent, compared with a 5 percent drop in the placebo group. ... Read more
Related support groups: Atherosclerosis
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