heart attack

Lenny Leedy
December 12, 2023

Speed, collaboration key in saving patient in midst of a heart attack

Lenny Leedy was attending a law enforcement conference in Nashville when he started experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. Today, Leedy is thankful the friend who offered to drive him to the hospital said, “We’re going to Vanderbilt.”

By Matt Batcheldor
January 19, 2023

LifeFlight personnel train on advanced cardiac devices

Vanderbilt LifeFlight personnel recently received training on using advanced cardiac devices in transport settings, devices that were historically found only at hospitals like VUMC.

By Matt Batcheldor
June 2, 2022

Sex & race & door-to-ECG time

More than a third of patients presenting at the emergency department with a suspected heart attack have a “delayed” ECG measure of heart function, with Black patients, females and non-English speakers more likely to experience delays.

By Paul Govern
January 24, 2022

Donna Atherton and Karen Pinkard are nurses who have worked together for years. The day Karen’s heart stopped at work, Donna was there to save her life.

A lot of people worked to save her life and help her recover. Thanks to them, Karen Pinkard is back at work.

By Tom Wilemon
December 14, 2020

Polymer protection for heart muscle

Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate that the polymer P188 has promise as a therapy to prevent reperfusion injury — the cellular damage that occurs when blood flow returns after an ischemic event like a heart attack.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 24, 2019

Article examines need for genotyping after stenting

Genotyping can improve outcomes in patients who require anti-platelet therapy following stent placement to open narrowed or blocked coronary arteries and prevent a heart attack.

By Bill Snyder
October 17, 2019

Less inflammation = better healing

Immune cells that produce an anti-inflammatory factor are enriched in fat tissue around the heart and may be good targets to improve heart attack outcomes.
By Bill Snyder
October 11, 2018

Novel genetic study sheds new light on risk of heart attack

Loss of a protein that regulates mitochondrial function can greatly increase the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), Vanderbilt scientists reported Oct. 3 in the journal eLife.
By Bill Snyder
May 3, 2018

Gene study spots clues to heart risk for statin patients

A Vanderbilt-led research team has discovered genetic variations that increase the risk of heart attack even when patients are receiving a statin drug like Lipitor or Crestor to lower their blood cholesterol.
By Bill Snyder
April 5, 2018

Report calls for greater awareness of rare cardiac disease

A national effort seeks to raise awareness about an uncommon cause of heart attacks in otherwise healthy, young and middle-aged women.
By Jessica Pasley
March 12, 2018

Cancer immunotherapy drugs linked with more serious heart effects

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a growing number of serious and sometimes fatal cases of heart problems among cancer patients treated with some forms of immunotherapy.
By VUMC News and Communications
February 23, 2017

New clinic focuses on treating complex arterial disorders

When Jessica Biggs first met Esther Kim, M.D., associate professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, the 33-year-old burst into tears.
By Jessica Pasley
September 8, 2016

Going after the ‘heart attack gremlin’

A protein called Gremlin 2 controls the extent of inflammation after heart attack and may be a good therapeutic target.
By Sanjay Mishra
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