Traditional test poor predictor of heart disease.Contrary to conventional thinking, a new study suggests that emergency room patients who are relieved of chest pain after taking a nitroglycerine ni·tro·glyc·er·in also ni·tro·glyc·er·inen. A thick, pale yellow liquid, C3H5N3O9, that is explosive on concussion or exposure to sudden heat. pill are no more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease than those who are not. The research team--comprised of emergency physicians and cardiologists from the University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. Medical Center in Sacramento--tested 664 patients, almost evenly split between men (48 percent) and women (52 percent), who arrived at an emergency department complaining of chest pain. Using an 11-point pain intensity scale, researchers measured patients' perceptions of chest pain after they were given nitroglycerin nitroglycerin (nī'trōglĭs`ərĭn), C3H5N3O9, colorless, oily, highly explosive liquid. It is the nitric acid triester of glycerol and is more correctly called glycerol trinitrate. and compared this to their diagnosis of heart disease. No relationship was found. Nitroglycerin works to relieve chest pain caused by coronary artery disease coronary artery disease, condition that results when the coronary arteries are narrowed or occluded, most commonly by atherosclerotic deposits of fibrous and fatty tissue. by relaxing the blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. to the heart, thus increasing blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart. For patients without heart disease whose chest pain was reduced by nitroglycerin, researchers suspect the drug may have relieved muscle spasms in the esophagus. |
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