New Test Helps Detect Silent Heart Disease

New Test Helps Detect Silent Heart Disease

Promising Results of Recent Clinical Studies to be Presented during the 2008 American Heart Association Conference in New Orleans

New Orleans (PRWEB) November 7, 2008 -- Results from the latest clinical study evaluating the predictive value of VENDYS®, the new FDA-approved cardiovascular test, will be presented to cardiovascular opinion leaders and luminaries during the 2008 annual conference of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. The study shows that a simple, inexpensive test that measures temperature changes at the fingertips can help detect hidden coronary artery disease.

"We now have hundreds of patients studied at our center with VENDYS, and the results have consistently shown strong correlation between low fingertip temperature rebound and high burden of coronary plaques. The lower the temperature rebound, the more plaque buildup and blockage," said Dr. Mathew Budoff, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiac CT Laboratory at Harbor UCLA. "This is truly amazing! VENDYS is the only non-invasive, non-imaging, office-based test that I am aware of with such a high predictive value for detection of high risk coronary patients. We are seeing similar results in CT angiography, as well as nuclear, studies."

We now have hundreds of patients studied at our center with VENDYS, and the results have consistently shown strong correlation between low fingertip temperature rebound and high burden of coronary plaques. The lower the temperature rebound, the more plaque buildup and blockage

This is truly amazing! VENDYS is the only non-invasive, non-imaging, office-based test that I am aware of with such a high predictive value for detection of high risk coronary patients. We are seeing similar results in CT angiography, as well as nuclear, studies.

I acknowledge that it doesn't seem logical that measuring the temperature of your finger can predict your likelihood of having a heart attack

Many of us were skeptical too, but the physiology for evaluating vascular reactivity is well established, and the preliminary data clearly show the potential of the method.

We came up with this simple idea at the Texas Heart Institute while working on vulnerable plaque detection

Despite exciting developments in intracoronary plaque characterization, it became obvious to me that we needed a non-invasive and inexpensive way to screen and monitor at risk patients, simply because you can't cath asymptomatic people, nor can you put stable patients into CT or MRI machine every 3 months to evaluate their progress.

I am amazed by the predictive power that VENDYS has shown in these studies
Researchers hope that VENDYS, by measuring a dynamic marker of vascular disease, can fill the gap in existing cardiovascular risk assessment and complement traditional risk factor measurements as well as advanced, structural imaging tests, such as CAT scan and MRI.

"I acknowledge that it doesn't seem logical that measuring the temperature of your finger can predict your likelihood of having a heart attack," said Dr. Craig Hartley, a Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. "Many of us were skeptical too, but the physiology for evaluating vascular reactivity is well established, and the preliminary data clearly show the potential of the method."

Researchers at Harbor UCLA Medical Center examined patients with the VENDYS® test before they underwent coronary CT angiography and a thallium nuclear scan. The study showed that those with coronary blockage and abnormal scan results often had low fingertip temperature reactivity. Dr. Budoff and colleagues also studied apparently healthy individuals with a family history of heart disease or with other cardiovascular risk factors. They discovered that the lower the fingertip thermal reactivity, the higher the chance of having a coronary blockage or calcium score >100 -both of which would place these individuals at a high risk of a future heart attack."We came up with this simple idea at the Texas Heart Institute while working on vulnerable plaque detection," said Dr. Morteza Naghavi, inventor of the VENDYS® technology.

"Despite exciting developments in intracoronary plaque characterization, it became obvious to me that we needed a non-invasive and inexpensive way to screen and monitor at risk patients, simply because you can't cath asymptomatic people, nor can you put stable patients into CT or MRI machine every 3 months to evaluate their progress." He added, "Frankly, at the time, I didn't expect it to be so surprising in terms of its predictive value compared to risk factors. But now, looking at the data, it makes sense, because it does not measure an individual risk factor, like cholesterol; instead, it reflects vascular function which is affected by numerous risk and protective factors, much like blood pressure. Furthermore, unlike coronary calcium or carotid IMT, it is a dynamic marker and changes quickly with the progression and regression of the disease."

Every year, over 1.4 million heart attacks occur in the United States and many more worldwide. About half of these heart attacks happen in healthy-looking individuals who had no previous symptoms of heart disease. Had these individuals been tested by existing, cardiovascular risk factor-based screening tests on the day before their heart attack, the majority (over 70%) of them would not have been classified as high risk. This clearly illustrates the shortcomings of the status quo (Problem 1). The other half of heart attacks happens in patients with known heart disease, who were believed to be on adequate treatments. This illustrates the inadequacy of existing methods of monitoring patients' response to treatments (Problem 2).

Current methods for screening and early detection of CVD include blood tests for measurement of traditional risk factors (such as high cholesterol) or advanced, non-invasive imaging techniques such as CAT scan and MRI. While traditional risk factors are good for long-term prediction of future CVD, they do not assess the state of an individual's vascular health. Moreover, advanced imaging modalities are costly (e.g., MRI) or pose hazardous radiation (e.g., CT scan); therefore, they cannot be used frequently (weekly or monthly).

"I am amazed by the predictive power that VENDYS has shown in these studies," said Dr. Harvey Hecht, Chairman of Endothelix Scientific Advisory Board and Director of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute. "In terms of sensitivity and specificity for the detection of high risk patients, its area under the ROC curve is well above all traditional risk factors put together. If these findings are corroborated by others, it will be the first non-imaging test that has exhibited a predictive value close to that of imaging tests, which obviously are far more expensive and less suitable for mass screening. I am so impressed that I have personally incorporated VENDYS into my office practice, and I believe it can improve risk assessment in patients with low to intermediate Framingham risk."About EndothelixEndothelix is based in Houston, Texas. The company is positioned as the first to incorporate non-invasive, non-imaging vascular and neurovascular function monitoring technologies into the existing risk factor based assessment of cardiovascular risk. Endothelix aims to help physicians address the two major problems that exist in cardiovascular care today, namely 1) inaccurate individualized assessment of cardiovascular risk and 2) inadequate monitoring of vascular response to treatments.
###

DES / BMS for Acute MI.

Drug-Eluting or Bare-Metal Stents for Acute Myocardial Infarction.

ABSTRACT

Background Studies comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting and bare-metal coronary stents in acute myocardial infarction have been limited in size and duration.

Methods

We identified all adults undergoing PCI with stenting for acute myocardial infarction between April 1, 2003, and September 30, 2004, at any acute care, nonfederal hospital in Massachusetts with the use of a state-mandated database of PCI procedures. We performed propensity-score matching on three groups of patients: all patients with acute myocardial infarction, all those with acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation, and all those with acute myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation. Propensity-score analyses were based on clinical, procedural, hospital, and insurance information collected at the time of the index procedure. Differences in the risk of death between patients receiving drug-eluting stents and those receiving bare-metal stents were determined from vital-statistics records.

Results

A total of 7217 patients were treated for acute myocardial infarction (4016 with drug-eluting stents and 3201 with bare-metal stents). According to analysis of matched pairs, the 2-year, risk-adjusted mortality rates were lower for drug-eluting stents than for bare-metal stents among all patients with myocardial infarction (10.7% vs. 12.8%, P=0.02), among patients with myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation (8.5% vs. 11.6%, P=0.008), and among patients with myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation (12.8% vs. 15.6%, P=0.04). The 2-year, risk-adjusted rates of recurrent myocardial infarction were reduced in patients with myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation who were treated with drug-eluting stents, and repeat revascularization rates were significantly reduced with the use of drug-eluting stents as compared with bare-metal stents in all groups. Conclusions In patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction, treatment with drug-eluting stents is associated with decreased 2-year mortality rates and a reduction in the need for repeat revascularization procedures as compared with treatment with bare-metal stents.

MiraFlex High Flow Microcatheter

Cook Medical Receives CE Mark Approval For MiraFlex™ High Flow Microcatheter.

Cook Medical, the world sales leader in the embolisation market, has received CE Mark approval for its MiraFlex™ High Flow Microcatheter. Specially engineered to complement the existing offering of Cook embolisation products and coils, MiraFlex High Flow embodies the latest innovation in microcatheter technology designed to enhance traceability necessary for accessing the most distal vasculature. The catheter is indicated for use in small vessel or superselective anatomy for diagnostic and interventional procedures.

"We are extremely pleased to introduce MiraFlex High Flow to the European market, and look forward to bringing this device to clinicians for use in neurological, peripheral or coronary vasculature practices," said Rob Lyles, global leader of Cook's peripheral intervention division. "At Cook, we focus continually on delivering new and innovative products to improve patient outcomes."

With a generous .025 inch inner diameter, MiraFlex High Flow enables optimal coil delivery and can be used in combination with a wide variety of embolisation materials, including the top-selling MicroNester® and Tornado® Microcoils™ from Cook. A kink-resistant braided construction along the entire length of the catheter shaft to the radiopaque band provides improved torque response and traceability for quicker vessel selection, while maintaining optimal catheter visualisation. The braided design also contributes to the flexibility and durability of the catheter, which carries a rated burst pressure of 1000 psi and achieves the higher flow rates clinicians depend upon.

Each MiraFlex High Flow microcatheter has a hydrophilic coating designed to greatly reduce surface friction, and is engineered with five durometer zones ranging from a stout proximal portion that delivers improved pushability and control, to a soft, flexible distal tip that reduces the risk of vessel trauma.

The standard MiraFlex catheter received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in 2006.

Invitation

Dear Technologist friends, I request all of you to join me in uniting our Community and enhance our knowledge and fluorish our Profession.

Importance of Technologist

Cardiovascular Technologist plays very vital role in Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in diagnosing the patient and gives his valuable suggestions to the Junior Cardiologista and some cases senior cardiologists too.