In 2006, the American Heart Association, or AHA, declared that coronary heart disease was the leading cause of death in the United States. More than 425,000 people died of heart attacks during 2006. Estimates from the AHA state that over 10 million people suffer with angina or chest pain related to coronary heart disease. However, researchers are constantly finding new ways to treat this serious health condition.
Genomics
In 2009, scientists were able to grow a piece of spontaneously beating heart muscle derived from mouse embryo stem cells. The AHA notes that this is a major advancement towards one day being able to repair hearts that have been destroyed by heart attacks. Other studies identified specific genes associated with high blood pressure; this may someday allow specific therapies to be developed targeting those genes and thereby treating or preventing hypertension. Another study using induced pluripotent stem cells was able to produce functional cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells. Pluripotent stem cells are stem cells that have been derived from tissue other than embryonic tissue.
Medications
In 2009, two new blood-thinning medications underwent trials which were reported by the AHA as significant advancements in the treatment of heart disease. As of 2010, clopidogrel is the only drug approved for use in patients with stents or previous heart attacks. Ticagrelor was examined in clinical trials, and according to the American Heart Association, proved to be superior over clopidogrel in preventing heart attacks and strokes. Another medication, dabigatran, worked as well as Coumadin in patients with atrial fibrillation, but had fewer significant bleeding episodes when compared to Coumadin.
Smoking Bans
A study focused on providing evidence that strong smoke-free legislation leads to declines in heart attacks found that these bans did, in fact, lower the rates of heart attacks. The AHA reports that when communities in North America and Europe enacted smoke-free legislation, a year later there were 17 percent fewer heart attacks compared to communities that had not enacted similar legislation. The Surgeon General, in a 2006 report, called smoking "the single greatest avoidable cause of death and disease."
