Aortic

Statins Not Effective In Treating Calcific Aortic Stenosis

Statins are known to successfully treat atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries however researchers wanted to // determine whether the drugs could also treat a similar condition called calcific aortic stenosis, the narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart. According to a latest study done by researchers it was found that high doses of cholesterol-lowering drugs actually fai...

Mutations in NOTCH1 cause an early developmental defect in the aortic valve

Dr. Srivastava and his colleagues of UT Southwestern Medical Center of Dallas// discovered that the mutation in a gene NOTCH1 is responsible for aortic valve disease. Aortic valve disease is a common heart birth defect which causes adult heart disease. The study was done in five generations of a Dallas family; the researchers studied the DNA mutations in all the 11 members of the family...

Percutaneous aortic valve replacement- a revolution in Cardiac Surgery

The aortic valve in the heart is the valve that governs the flow of blood into a large blood vessel namely the aorta, which supplies blood to various organs of the body. // It prevents the blood from flowing back inside the heart from the rest of the body. The effective functioning of the heart depends on the proper functioning of the aortic valve. The aortic valve can be defective in...

New Way To Combat Spinal Cord Injury during Aortic Surgery

According the study done by Roseborough et al., mitochondrial K-ATP channel opener, diazoxide, prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rabbit spinal cord. //Spinal injuries are the common problems that occur during aortic surgery but surgery done to repair aortic aneurysms often results in neurological deficits. But the works of Roseborough et al has given new hopes to treat spinal cord injur...

Aortic Dissection - A Deadly Condition

Actor John Ritter died of a lethal condition called aortic dissection (a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body) around three years ago//. His death brought the focus on this deadly disease, which is associated with high blood pressure and genetic disorders. Now, researchers have published some rare good news about aortic dissection, showing that 90 percent of patients who surviv...

Enzyme Critical for Early Growth of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Surgery is the only treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weak spot in the body's main artery that dilates dangerously// over time. If the vessel ruptures suddenly before surgery to repair it, a quick death is virtually certain. Now, scientists say they have identified a key enzyme that triggers chronic inflammation in the aorta and promotes the growth of aneurysms. Their finding raises h...

Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Saves Men's Lives

Regular ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms can sharply reduce the likelihood of dying from a ruptured aneurysm among men age 65// and older, according to a new review of recent studies. Screening helped cut the odds of death nearly in half for men ages 65 to 79 but did not reduce deaths among women. However, men who received screening were also twice as li...