Lighting up cardiovascular problems using nanoparticles

Heart disease and stroke are the world's two most deadly diseases, causing over 15 million deaths in 2016 according to the World Health Organization. A key underlying factor in both of these global health crises is the common ...

Take two robots and call me in the morning

In the 1966 film "Fantastic Voyage," medical personnel board a submarine that shrinks to microscopic size and enters the bloodstream of a wounded diplomat to save his life.

Zinc: The perfect material for bioabsorbable stents?

(Phys.org) —In 2012, more than 3 million people had stents inserted in their coronary arteries. These tiny mesh tubes prop open blood vessels healing from procedures like a balloon angioplasty, which widens arteries blocked ...

Chemists use sugar-based gelators to solidify vegetable oils

Researchers at The City College of New York have reported the successful transformation of vegetable oils to a semisolid form using low-calorie sugars as a structuring agent. The findings portend the development of alternatives ...

Oldest case of clogged arteries in Egypt mummy: study

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first known case of clogged arteries, or atherosclerosis, has been found in the mummy of an Egyptian princess, said a study presented Sunday at a major US cardiology conference.

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Coronary circulation

Coronary circulation is the circulation of blood in the blood vessels of the heart muscle. Although blood fills the chambers of the heart, the muscle tissue of the heart (the myocardium) is so thick that it requires coronary blood vessels to deliver blood deep into it. The vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium are known as coronary arteries. The vessels that remove the deoxygenated blood from the heart muscle are known as coronary veins.

The coronary arteries that run on the surface of the heart are called epicardial coronary arteries. These arteries, when healthy, are capable of autoregulation to maintain coronary blood flow at levels appropriate to the needs of the heart muscle. These relatively narrow vessels are commonly affected by atherosclerosis and can become blocked, causing angina or a heart attack. (See also: circulatory system.) The coronary arteries that run deep within the myocardium are referred to as subendocardial.

The coronary arteries are classified as "end circulation", since they represent the only source of blood supply to the myocardium: there is very little redundant blood supply, which is why blockage of these vessels can be so critical.

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