Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be a reasonable alternative to bypass surgery in patients with blockages in the left main coronary artery, according to a study that found no significant difference in rates of survival when stents and bypass surgery were used to restore blood flow through this critically important artery.

An angioplasty balloon coated with a drug that reduces renarrowing of the coronary arteries appears to be more effective than a drug-eluting stent in treating an unwanted build-up of tissue inside a bare-metal coronary stent.

The gene for the HDL-associated protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) appears to be associated with coronary artery disease and with the risk of developing adverse cardiac events, and variations in both the PON1 gene and its related enzyme activity may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease events, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

Autopsies of individuals in one Minnesota County suggest that the decades-long decline in the rate of coronary artery disease may have ended and possibly reversed after 2000, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A set of 15 proteins found in urine can distinguish healthy individuals from those who have coronary artery disease (CAD), a new study has found.

Matters of the mind can affect matters of the heart. A new study by McGill University and Université de Montréal researchers has found that major anxiety and/or depression, can double a coronary artery disease patient’s chances of repeated heart ailments.

Environmental and genetic factors influence a person’s blood fat, or lipid levels, important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). While there is some understanding of the environmental contribution, the role of genetics has been less defined.

About 5 percent of women considered low-risk for heart disease by current classification standards have evidence of advanced coronary artery calcium and may be at increased risk for cardiovascular events, according to a report in the December 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Computed tomography (CT) angiography is as accurate as an invasive angiogram in detecting coronary artery disease, according to the findings of the first two prospective multicenter 64-slice scanner trials presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

A new systematic review of trials of the comparative effectiveness of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients in whom both procedures are feasible found that survival to 10 years was similar.

An intravenous “blood thinner” widely used in patients with acute coronary syndromes and during coronary artery stent placement appears to be safe in patients with sickle cell disease and may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects, a small study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has found.

German researchers have found that heart disease of the left main coronary artery is often an inherited condition that clusters in families. Moreover, they discovered that initially healthy siblings of a person with the condition were 2.5 times more likely to go on to develop some form of heart disease than were siblings of a patient with heart disease that did not relate to the left main coronary artery.