A systematic review finds that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are safe and significantly reduce death for adults with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (Review, p. 251).

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have jointly released revised Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina (UA)/Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI).

The fall in deaths from heart disease among younger Britons is slowing down, pointing to a “disquieting” trend, indicates research published ahead of print in the journal Heart.

Hispanic women with hypertension and coronary artery disease respond better to drug regimens aimed at controlling high blood pressure than non-Hispanic white women, University of Florida researchers report.

Current PET-CT scanners with standard commercial software designed to provide images of the heart are falsely indicating coronary artery disease in as many as 40 percent of patients, according to a study published on the cover page of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine (03 July).

New results from a substudy of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen-Alone Trial show that younger postmenopausal women who take estrogen-alone hormone therapy have significantly less buildup of calcium plaque in their arteries compared to their peers who did not take hormone therapy. Coronary artery calcium is considered a marker for future risk of coronary artery disease.

More women than men appear to be having a stroke in middle age, according to a study published June 20, 2007, in the online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers say heart disease and increased waist size may be contributing to this apparent mid-life stroke surge among women.

Registry Analysis Published in "Heart" Journal Finds Taxus Stent, Implantation of Multiple Stents and Small Vessel Size to be Independent Predictors of Need for Another Procedure

Mayo Clinic researchers discovered it is safe - and much more convenient and less costly -- for many patients to undergo coronary angiography and elective valve surgery on the same day, it is reported in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Coronary artery bypass surgery has been the preferred treatment for patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery, the conduit that supplies blood to about two-thirds of the heart. However, in recent years this has been challenged by stent placement in this critical artery.

In the treatment of heart attack, the 90-minute goal for inflation of an angioplasty balloon in a blocked coronary artery to restore normal blood flow is so revered it's been codified in clinical guidelines, accreditation standards, and pay-for-performance programs. But is the 90-minute deadline really critical" Two experts will debate that question at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9-12, 2007, in Orlando, FL.

Patients who used the American Heart Association's online heart disease education program were more aware of treatment options than other patients, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.