New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine identifies the presence of cardiovascular risk factors as an indicator of how likely it is that elderly, hospitalized patients who receive intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment will have a stroke or heart attack.

Five short reports published simultaneously by the journal Nature Genetics have for the first time identified clusters of genetic markers associated with heart attack and coronary heart disease.

A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines.

Men with type 2 diabetes and men with previous heart attack or stroke had a 3 to 4 fold risk of cardiovascular death compared to men without either disease in the years following the first acute event.

As the holidays arrive, a group of researchers has identified the precise mechanisms by which binge drinking contributes to clogs in arteries that lead to heart attack and stroke, according to a study published today in the journal Atherosclerosis. The works adds to a growing body of evidence that drinking patterns matter as much, if not more, to risk for cardiovascular disease than the total amount consumed.

Did you read about the revolutionary study of the statin drug, Crestor? A story in the LA Times (reprinted in the Star Tribune) was almost breathless in its praise:

Identifying a single, common variation in a person's genetic information improves prediction of his or her risk of a heart attack or other heart disease events and thus, choice of the best treatment accordingly, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

By adding the results of an imaging technique to the traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease, doctors at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found they were able to improve prediction of heart attacks in people previously considered low risk.

(Sunday Morning Program, Presentation #183, Room #283-285, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)

The risk of sudden cardiac death following a heart attack has declined significantly in the past 30 years, although patients appear to be at elevated risk for sudden cardiac death for the first month after having a heart attack, after which time their risk decreases unless they develop heart failure, according to a study in the November 5 issue of JAMA.

For those of us trained to read nutrition labels, conventional wisdom tells us that fat isn’t good for the heart. But a team of University of Houston researchers has set out to use fat cells to beef up heart muscles damaged by heart attack – and it's using an out-of-this-world device to do it.

Following a heart attack, people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer greater heart-related complications, including an increased risk for dying, when compared to other heart attack patients, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco.