Jun 30

Reducing heart attack signs can be key to prolonging a healthy life. Here are some major health problems to address:

* Stop Smoking
* Lower High Blood Pressure
* Reduce High Blood Cholesterol
* Manage Diabetes
* Be physically active each day

Jun 15
Over 2 Million U.S. Adults at Risk of Heart Attacks from Vulnerable Plaque
 
    Potential U.S. Market for Vulnerable Plaque Screening and Treatment:
    $3.7 Billion

VANCOUVER, June 8 /PRNewswire/ - According to a new market research report by iData Research (www.idataresearch.net), an international medical device, dental and pharmaceutical market research firm, over two million U.S. adults are at risk of heart attacks from vulnerable plaque. In 2008, the potential market for vulnerable plaque screening and treatment was valued at $3.7 billion.

Vulnerable plaques are fatty deposits attached to arterial walls that can rupture without warning, potentially leading to strokes or sudden cardiac arrest. Vulnerable plaque is currently regarded as a key factor in explaining sudden cardiac arrests, and the condition could be responsible for over 70% of heart attacks. In 2008, nearly ten million Americans were estimated to suffer from angina and over 2.3 million of these would be good candidates for vulnerable plaque screening and possible treatment.

“The key to growth in the vulnerable plaque market is the development and regulatory approval of screening technologies,” says Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData, “Currently, IVUS, OCT and spectroscopy are vying to become the dominant method of screening used to diagnose vulnerable plaque.”

The report states that a number of treatments for vulnerable plaque are being investigated, including bare metal and drug-eluting stents, the markets for which are detailed in iData’s report. Commonly used pharmaceuticals include blood thinners and anti-cholesterol medications.

“By 2015, the forecasted market value for vulnerable screening and treatment will still represent less than 5% of the maximum potential market value,” says Zamanian, “As a result, there will be huge potential for future growth.”

This information was taken from iData’s recently published report series: “Global Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices (U.S., Europe, Japan).” More information can be found by registering free on their website athttp://www.idataresearch.net/idata/registration.php

About iData Research

iData Research Inc. (www.idataresearch.net) is an international market research and consulting group focused on providing market intelligence for the medical device, dental and pharmaceutical industries. iData covers research in categories such as: Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, CRM, Peripheral Vascular, Dental, Endoscopy, Laparoscopy, Ophthalmics, Orthopedics, PACS, Patient Monitoring, Urology, Gynecology and more.

To learn more about iData, view their 3-minute Movie: www.idataresearch.net/discoveridata.html
SOURCE iData Research Inc.
Jun 2

The status of development of novel methods to prevent sudden cardiac death due to rupture of cholesterol plaques

June 16, 2008

James E. Muller, MD
CEO, InfraReDx Inc.

The sudden death of Tim Russert of NBC news is a public reminder of the many tragic deaths caused by coronary artery disease. Each year in the United States approximately 300,000 individuals die suddenly of coronary disease — over 800 others died of this disease on the same day that the nation lost its brilliant commentator and journalist.

The cause of death, in retrospect, is not mysterious. Dr. Michael Newman, the physician of Mr. Russert, has stated that the death was due to a heart attack. The heart attack in turn, was caused by a thrombus in the left anterior descending coronary artery, identified by an autopsy, that blocked the flow of blood to the heart muscle. Dr. Newman stated it is likely that the thrombus resulted from rupture of a plaque that was rich in cholesterol.

While hindsight provides a clear view of heart attack signs, it was not possible with conventional medical tests to detect the problem in advance. Dr. Newman reported that Mr. Russert, who had a low HDL (good) cholesterol, and was known to have some degree of coronary atherosclerosis, passed a stress test in April, 2008. The successful performance on a stress test indicates that Mr. Russert did not have fixed blockages in his artery.

Unfortunately the stress test was not able to identify a dangerous plaque hidden in the wall of the artery. As reported by Dr. Newman it is highly likely that a cholesterol plaque not detectable by conventional tests was present in the artery. Even coronary angiography, in which blood flow through the vessels is directly visualized, would not have been able to find such a non-obstructive plaque. Conventional therapy, which Mr. Russert was receiving, was not able to stabilize this plaque and prevent his death.

There are extensive efforts underway to develop new tools for the detection of cholesterol plaques, and new preventive therapies.

The first need is for a non-invasive screening tool to identify individuals in the high risk population (such as Mr. Russert) who are in need of more extensive testing. There have been major advances in the development of non-invasive multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT). These devices, which require the use of a contrast agent and exposure to radiation, can now deliver excellent pictures of both the lumen and the wall of the coronary artery. MRI has also shown promise. It is likely that non-invasive devices will be able to identify vulnerable patients with a high probability of having a lipid-rich cholesterol plaque.

The second need is for a more precise technology that can confirm preliminary non-invasive findings that a cholesterol plaque is indeed present. Intracoronary catheters utilizing ultrasound, spectroscopic and optical measurement techniques have been developed for this purpose. Studies are in progress to determine if the signs of a cholesterol plaque detected by the non-invasive measures can be confirmed by these more precise invasive measures.

The third need is for more effective preventive therapy. While it is not reported what medications Mr. Russert was receiving, it is likely that this event occurred despite the use of statin therapy, aspirin, and anti-hypertensive medications. Research is being conducted on novel pharmacologic agents and the development of stents that might have a favorable risk-benefit ratio for stenting of cholesterol rich vulnerable plaques.

While three building blocks of a potentially more effective preventive strategy are already in clinical use –MSCT, intravascular diagnostic methods and stents – the approaches are not individually validated for primary prevention of sudden death. Nor is their use together in a screen, confirm and treat strategy tested.

The unfortunate loss of one of our leading national figures has occurred before a more effective preventive strategy could be developed, but an improved preventive therapy for our leading cause of death may not be far from realization. The loss of Tim Russert, plus the continuing deaths of so many others, supports the need for accelerated efforts to test these novel individual approaches and their combined use in a comprehensive strategy for prevention of sudden coronary death.

June 16 2008