News Tips for Wednesday, Nov. 11
From the American Heart Association's 71st Scientific Sessions Nov. 8-11, 1998, Dallas County Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
To complement our news releases, here are additional news tips reported by News Media Relations from more than 4,000 abstracts. Note: Stories are embargoed until papers are presented or poster sessions begin. For more information, Nov. 8-11, call Cathy Yarbrough, Carole Bullock, Brian Henry, Bruce Lewis, (broadcast), Darcy Spitz and Berna Creel in Room A215-217 of the Dallas County Convention Center: (214) 853-8056. Before or after those dates, call News Media Relations in Dallas: (214) 706-1279 or 706-1135.
8:30 a.m. -- #3250 -- Abnormal artery "hookup" leads to athletes' sudden death. An uncommon abnormality in which a blood vessel to the heart branches off from the wrong side of the large trunk artery, the aorta, was the hidden cause of death among 28 young competitive athletes in the U.S. and Italy, a new study finds. In these abnormalities a coronary artery branches from the wrong aortic sinus. The blood still courses to the proper place, but must flow through a sharp kink in the vessel to get there. While surgically correctable, these malformations are difficult to detect in routine heart tests including electrocardiograms. Nevertheless, the researchers found, telltale symptoms such as fainting (syncope) or chest pain occurred commonly during exertion in the stricken athletes, mostly basketball or soccer players. The experts say their findings emphasize a critical need for awareness among athletes and physicians that these artery misconnections, though rare, may cause ! sudden death. Barry Maron, Minneapolis Heart Institute: phone (612) 863-3996; fax (612) 863-3875; e-mail: [email protected]
8:45 a.m. -- #3316 -- Survival curve continues after clot-buster drug use. Benefits from prompt use of the clot-busting drug streptokinase to treat clots that block blood vessels were still evident a dozen years after treatment, a new study shows. Researchers compared survival rates of 107 individuals who were treated with streptokinase within four hours of symptom onset (chest pain) with the survival rates of 112 others who received a placebo (inert substance). Survival rates after five years were 84 percent for streptokinase-treated individuals versus 70 percent for placebo recipients, and after 12 years the rates were 66 percent for the drug-treated group compared to 51 percent for the placebo group. John K. French, Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand: phone 64-9-630-9902; fax 64-9-630-9978; e-mail: [email protected]
9:00 a.m. -- #3726 (poster) -- Sensitive "seismograph" helps detect heart artery disease. Low-frequency sound waves that may be a clue to the presence of disease-narrowed coronary arteries can be detected by a sensitive "accelerometer" placed on the chest wall, according to Virginia scientists. The researchers developed a computerized system to analyze the low-frequency waves as the device, called a seismocardiograph (SCG), picks them up. SCG recordings accurately detected atherosclerosis in 41 of 52 patients and correctly showed no disease in 19 of 25 patients. Results were confirmed by comparison to coronary angiography -- an X-ray of the blood vessels. Thus, researchers say, computer-assisted SCG "appears to be a potentially useful method for rapid, noninvasive detection of atherosclerosis." George W. Vetrovec, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond: phone (804) 828-8885; fax (804) 828-8321.
9:15 a.m. -- #3455 -- Bone-density loss and blood pressure in women: a clear link. In a study of 3,767 white women, 66 to 91 years old, those with higher systolic blood pressures (the "top" number) had larger losses of bone mineral density during an average 3.5-year follow-up. The link between high blood pressure and bone loss may reflect greater calcium losses with high blood pressure and may contribute to the risk of hip fractures in women in this age group. Francesco P. Cappuccio, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London: phone 44-181-725 3329; fax 44-181-725-2959; e-mail: [email protected]
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