Most of us assume if we needed a transfer to a larger hospital for heart attack treatment that it would happen quickly and efficiently. At times the transfers to open blocked arteries happen rapidly.

Every year tens of thousands of patients seek treatment for cardiac arrest at U.S. hospitals. That number may also be climbing. A study indicates that many of those cases may be preventable.

Millions suffer some from some type of heart disease; from high cholesterol to more complicated heart issues. For many patients treatment is as easy as a simple daily medication.

Sometimes the closest hospital doesn't offer the procedures needed to save a heart attack patient. Quick transfers to another hospital for treatment is often needed within a half an hour. Most heart attack transfers are not happening fast enough.

Star power has long been used to hock an untold number of products. Now the American Heart Association hopes to take advantage with the appearance of a well-known actor in promoting its Hands-Only CPR campaign.

Advances in early detection of breast cancer and new treatments mean that more women are now beating the disease. In fact, their chances of survival have increased dramatically.

Often, physicians might only see cardiac patients when they are concerned about something, or are in pain. New measures aimed at controlling blood pressure and preventing heart disease before it begins might help keep them in the doctor's office a bit longer.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials recently warned smokers with a history of heart disease that taking smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) could could put them at added risk for a heart attack or peripheral vascular disease.

Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered new elements of the blood clot formation process, a finding that could lead to new methods for preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Hoping to spark action, the European Society of Cardiology Working Group of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology has published a position paper to bring fatty plaques into the forefront, as well as the need for more therapies to reduce that accumulation.