heart attack tagged posts

Guided by computer simulations, an international team of researchers has developed an adhesive patch that can provide support for damaged heart tissue, potentially reducing the stretching of heart muscle that’s common after a heart attack.

The patch, made from a water-based hydrogel material, was developed using computer simulations of heart function in order to fine tune the material’s mechanical properties...

Myocardial Infarction Produces Sustained Proinflammatory Endothelial Activation in Remote Arteries

Cells and platelets stick inside arteries, increase risk after initial attack. Doctors have long known that in the months after a heart attack or stroke, patients are more likely to have another attack or stroke. Now, a paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology explains what happens inside blood vessels to increase risk – and suggests a new way to treat it.

Heart attacks in mice caused inflammatory cells and platelets to more easily stick to the inner lining of arteries throughout the body – and particularly where there was already plaque, according to the paper...

Clusters of B (red) and T (green) lymphocytes in pericardial adipose tissue. Fat-laden cells and connective tissue are stained blue. (Mariaelvy Bianchini; Michael Horckmans/LMU)

The damage caused by a heart attack triggers an inflammatory reaction which degrades the affected tissue. This response is orchestrated by immune cells that reside in the nearby pericardial adipose tissue, as a study by a team of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich shows. Following a heart attack, the innate immune system must kick in fast in order to limit the damage and stimulate tissue repair...

Left: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart of a patient after a heart attack. Right: key. 1: left ventricle, 2: left atrium, 3: right ventricle. The major heart muscle surrounds the left ventricle, and healthy muscle appears black on MRI. After an infarction, the necrotic portion of the heart appears white on MRI after injectino of a contrast agent. Credit: CNIC

Scientists at CNIC have discovered a new mechanism of action of metoprolol, a drug that can reduce the damage produced during a heart attack if administered early. Rapid administration of metoprolol during a heart attack directly inhibits the inflammatory action of neutrophils. The reduced inflammation translates into a smaller area of damaged tissue in the post-infarcted heart...