Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are frequently used as over-the-counter and prescription medications. Although prior studies have raised concern about the cardiovascular safety of these medications, detailed information on the risk of these medications in patients after myocardial infarction (MI) is lacking. In this study, retrospective Danish National Patient Registry data was evaluated for all patients […]
Tag: myocardial infarction
Erythropoietin fails to reduce myocardial damage in STEMI
Patients who survive STEMI often go on to develop infarct expansion and myocardial thinning which can lead to heart failure and, ultimately, death. In an attempt to limit this phenomenon, several agents have been proposed, amongst them erythropoietin. In addition to its effects on red blood cell production, erythropoietin also stimulates angiogenesis and apoptosis, and […]
Does physical activity trigger cardiac events?
Physical activity conveys many health benefits including a reduction in the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. However, it has also been suggested that physical activity, as well as others acute exposures such as sexual activity and psychological stress, can actually trigger acute cardiac events. […]
Prioritising the triggers of myocardial infarction
A number of factors have been associated with the onset of myocardial infarction, including physical exertion, drug abuse, heavy meals, stress, or increases in air pollution. Which of these triggers is the most important or relevant has not previously been investigated either at the population or the individual level. […]
New genetic loci for MI and atherosclerosis found
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several novel loci associated with coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, however these represent only a small proportion of the inherited component of these disorders. Furthermore, it is not clear whether these loci contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, or whether they may influence the stability of atherosclerotic […]
p53, microRNAs, and myocardial infarction
MicroRNAs (miRNA) are short nucleotide chains that act as inhibitors of gene expression. Specifically, miR-499 is a cardiac-abundant microRNA that can prevent cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting calcineurin-mediated activation of Drp1, an enzyme that normally results in fission of mitochondrial tubules into fragments. miR-499 may therefore have a key role to play following myocardial infarction, as […]
Normalisation of blood glucose levels following myocardial infarction predicts favourable in hospital outcome.
Despite a strong association between elevated blood glucose levels and increased rates of mortality among patients hospitalised with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the benefit of acutely lowering levels of blood glucose remains controversial. Several questions remain unanswered: […]
New MI diagnosis criteria, same old risk
The traditional diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) used the World Health Organization definition and required the concentration of a cardiac biomarker to be above twice the upper limit of normal. However, more recent guidelines have defined a troponin level above the 99th percentile of normal as being diagnostic of MI. […]
Metabolic assays of ischaemia show early promise
Metabolic technologies allow the profiling of low-molecular weight biochemicals such as amino acids, sugars, and lipids that are substrates and products in important biological processes, such as ischaemia. To examine whether this techology could be used to allow earlier detection of myocardial ischaemia and infarction, Lewis et al. applied mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling to 36 […]