New data reported at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9-12, 2007, in Orlando, FL, will offer clues to the fate of a new-generation drug-eluting stent that is vying for a place in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

A new study shows that aspirin therapy for coronary artery disease is four times more likely to be ineffective in women compared to men with the same medical history.

A new immunosuppression regimen for heart transplant patients can improve kidney function and prevent transplant coronary artery disease, according to two new Mayo Clinic studies. Mayo researchers will report their findings on April 26 at The International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation Annual Meeting and Scientific Session in San Francisco.

Drug-eluting stent therapy and bypass surgery for coronary artery disease have about the same risk for a major cardiac event within 30 days after the procedures, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

For some patients with high cholesterol, even the most aggressive treatment with statin drugs fails to prevent coronary artery disease. Patients with hyperlipidemia - high LDL or "bad" cholesterol and trigylcerides, and low HDL or "good" cholesterol - and those with a family history of high cholesterol are at a high risk for atherosclerosis, or plaque build up in the coronary arteries, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Thousands of patients with heart disease may be denied the best chance of survival because of uncertainty over the most suitable treatment option, warns a cardiac surgeon in this week's BMJ.