Mental Stress May Predict 2nd Heart Attack or Dying from Heart Disease

For some people who survive a heart attack, mental stress may be a stronger predictor of a repeat heart attack or dying from heart disease than physical stress, according to new research. Click here for PsychCentral article

Mental health and your heart

Looking after yourself can be tough when you’re living with a mental health problem. By taking small steps towards a healthier lifestyle you can improve your overall health and feel better.  Click here to read British Heart Foundation article

NHS England outlines future of congenital heart disease services

NHS England has set out plans to implement exacting new standards that will ensure patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) receive the best possible care.

Hospitals that do not currently fulfil these standards, which have been developed by specialists and patients, must either show that they have a programme to do so and meet strict milestones, or stop providing treatment.

NIHR Signal Being overweight or obese is linked with heart disease even without other metabolic risk factors

People with certain metabolic risk factors who are obese are two and a half times as likely to develop heart disease as healthy people of normal weight. But those who are obese without these other risk factors still have a 28% increased risk of heart disease compared with healthy people of normal weight.

This suggests excess weight should be seen as an independent risk factor, challenging the idea that people can be “fat but fit”.

From the NIHR Dissemination Centre

Eight reasons why we need to think differently about cardiovascular disease in England

Despite significant success in reducing premature mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), it remains a major cause of death and disability in England.The British Heart Foundation looks at eight reasons why tackling undiagnosed medical risk factors, improving quality of care and reducing variation can change millions of lives.

Statins cut heart deaths in men by 28% finds study

"Statins cut the risk of dying from heart disease by 28% among men, according to the longest study of its kind," The Guardian reports.

Current UK guidelines recommend that people with a 1 in 10 chance of developing CVD at some point in the next 10 years should be offered statins.

The results of this new analysis led the researchers to conclude that more people with high cholesterol should be offered statins.

The study provides evidence to back current recommendations that people at risk of heart disease benefit from taking statins.

But it doesn't provide evidence that younger people should take them (as some papers reported) as everyone in the study was over the age of 45.

Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold system for coronary artery disease

Updated medtech innovation briefing from NICE on using the Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold system for coronary artery disease.

The innovative aspect is that over time it is resorbed in the artery, unlike metal stents.

The intended place in therapy would be for use in place of a metallic drug-eluting stent in people with coronary artery disease who are having angioplasty.

New generation cardiac CT scanners (Aquilion ONE, Brilliance iCT, Discovery CT750 HD and Somatom Definition Flash) for cardiac imaging in people with suspected or known coronary artery disease in whom imaging is difficult with earlier generation CT scanners

Updated diagnostics guidance on using new generation cardiac CT scanners.

New generation cardiac CT scanners (Aquilion ONE, Brilliance iCT, Discovery CT750 HD and Somatom Definition Flash) are recommended as an option for first-line imaging of the coronary arteries in people with suspected stable coronary artery disease (with an estimated likelihood of coronary artery disease of 10–29%) in whom imaging with earlier generation CT scanners is difficult.

New generation cardiac CT scanners are recommended as an option for first-line evaluation of disease progression, to establish the need for revascularisation, in people with known coronary artery disease in whom imaging with earlier generation CT scanners is difficult. CT scanning might not be necessary in situations in which immediate revascularisation is being considered.

Aquilion PRIME CT scanner for imaging coronary artery disease in adults in whom imaging is difficult

Updated Medtech innovation briefing on using the Aquilion PRIME CT scanner for imaging coronary artery disease in adults in whom imaging is difficult.

The Aquilion PRIME is a CT scanner that can be used for computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), to diagnose or evaluate coronary artery disease non‑invasively in people with conditions that make it difficult to obtain good‑quality CTCA images. The Aquilion PRIME has technical features that are recognised to address clinical challenges in patients who have coronary artery disease that is difficult to image, but there is no published evidence on the safety or effectiveness for this indication. It can also be used for other clinical imaging applications in adults and children. The Aquilion PRIME typically costs between £350,000 and £500,000, excluding VAT, depending on the configuration.

Somatom Definition Edge CT scanner for imaging coronary artery disease in adults in whom imaging is difficult

Updated NICE medtech innovation briefing on using the Somatom Definition Edge CT scanner for imaging coronary artery disease in adults in whom imaging is difficult.

The Somatom Definition Edge is a CT scanner that can be used for computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), to diagnose or evaluate coronary artery disease non-invasively in people with conditions that make it difficult to obtain good-quality CTCA images. The Somatom Definition Edge has technical features that are recognised to address clinical challenges in patients who have coronary artery disease that is difficult to image, but there is no published evidence on the safety or effectiveness for this indication. It can also be used for other clinical imaging applications in adults and children.

More Intense Mental Distress Tied to Greater Risk of Death in Heart Patients

Patients with coronary heart disease who experience persistent moderate to severe mental distress face a much higher risk of death, according to a new study published online in the journal Heart. But no such link was found for those experiencing persistent mild or occasional distress over the long term.

Although prior research has suggested a link between anxiety/depression and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, most of these studies were conducted soon after the event, and were based on a single assessment, say the researchers. And the definitions of chronic/persistent stress in other longer term studies have varied widely.

Modeling anthropometric indices in relation to 10-year (2002-2012) incidence of cardiovascular disease, among apparently healthy individuals: the ATTICA study

Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews Received 26 May 2017, Accepted 31 May 2017, Available online 3 June 2017

Body fat accumulation is implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our objective was to explore potential associations between anthropometric indices and the 10-year CVD incidence in Greek adults without previous CVD.

Our results indicate that even simple anthropometric indices exhibit independent associations with CVD risk in a representative sample of the Greek general population without previous CVD.

UHCW Research: Ioannis Kyrou

Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour report 2017

British Heart Foundation - 
This report finds that more than 20 million adults in the UK are physically inactive and estimates that this increase risk of heart disease may cost the NHS £1.2 billion annually. The report provides an overview of the levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in adults across the UK.

• Report

Heart disease and depression combination

New research has discovered that depression is the strongest predictor of death in the first decade following a diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

Investigators at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City will present their results at the American College of Cardiology’s 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C.

They found people with coronary heart disease who are diagnosed with depression are about twice as likely to die compared with those who are not diagnosed with depression.

Consultation launched to ensure excellent care for patients with congenital heart disease

NHS England has today launched a public consultation on how it will put in place new standards for hospitals providing congenital heart disease services in England.

Depression as hard on the heart as obesity and cholesterol

Depression poses a risk for cardiovascular diseases in men that is just as great as that posed by high cholesterol levels and obesity. This is according to a report recently published in the Atherosclerosis journal by researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, together with colleagues from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the German Center for Cardiovascular Disease (DZHK).

Stress may increase risk of heart disease and stroke

Heightened activity in the amygdala -- a region of the brain involved in stress -- is associated with a greater risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a study published in The Lancet that provides new insights into the possible mechanism by which stress can lead to cardiovascular disease in humans.