AHA Reveals Top 10 Heart Disease Research Advances
MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The American Heart Association (AHA) has released its annual top 10 list of advances in research into heart disease and stroke, with a study on the impact of smoke-free legislation on hospitalizations for acute coronary syndrome topping the list.
Other research that made it into the top 10 include studies on how acute care for heart attack and stroke can be improved, the legacy of intensive treatment for type 2 diabetes, tackling the childhood obesity epidemic and the optimal treatment of stable coronary disease. Two aging-related studies made the list, including one on treating valvular heart disease as patients age and another on when hypertension patients become too old to treat.
In addition to the treatment of heart disease, prevention was included in the list, with a study on the selection of patients for treatment with rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events. Studies on the building blocks of new hearts and the challenge of engineering a bioartificial heart were also selected.
"This year we included not only novel work in fundamental or basic science, but also important clinical studies that we believe will influence medical care in the future," Timothy Gardner, M.D., president of the American Heart Association, explained in a statement. "In addition, we have chosen a number of studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of science applied in the real world, from hospitals to schools to whole communities."
