July 13th, 2011
Maryland Revokes Medical License of Mark Midei: Doctor Accused of Implanting Unnecessary Stents
Larry Husten, PHD
The Maryland Board of Physicians has revoked the medical license of Mark Midei–the interventional cardiologist accused of implanting hundreds of unnecessary stents at St. Joseph Medical Center in the community of Towson. In its Final Decision and Order the Maryland Board found that Midei was guilty of unprofessional conduct, willfully making a false report, gross overutilization of health […]
December 6th, 2010
Senate Report Exposes Abbott’s Ties to Mark Midei
Larry Husten, PHD
A U.S. Senate report exposes new information about the relationship between Abbott Laboratories and Mark Midei, the interventional cardiologist who has been accused of implanting hundreds of unnecessary stents at St. Joseph Medical Center in Maryland. News stories on the report appear in today’s Baltimore Sun, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. While still working at St. […]
October 21st, 2010
News Briefs: Recurrent Stroke Prevention Guidelines, Vernakalant Trial Suspended, GSK Investigated, Generic Enoxaparin Takes Off, Kaul Speaks, Midei Sues
Larry Husten, PHD
The American Heart Association published revised recurrent stroke prevention guidelines. The new guidelines state that recurrent stroke may be prevented by carotid angioplasty or by treating metabolic syndrome. The FDA warned about arrhythmias tied to HIV therapy. The FDA today updated the label for Invirase (saquinavir), noting that when used in combination with Norvir (ritonavir) it […]
January 24th, 2012
Whistleblower Lawsuit Filed Against 5 Cardiologists in Pennsylvania
Larry Husten, PHD
The U.S. government has joined a cardiologist in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hamot Medical Center in western Pennsylvania and a group of cardiologists with whom he once practiced, Ed Palattella reports in the Erie Times-News. Cardiologist Tullio Emanuele, who now practices in Kentucky, has accused five former colleagues — members of Medicor Associates Inc. and its affiliate, Flagship Cardiac, […]
September 20th, 2011
Significant Declines Observed in Cardiovascular Procedures Performed in Hospitals
Larry Husten, PHD
More evidence is starting to emerge that the overall volume of cardiovascular procedures in U.S. hospitals is in decline. The trend should come as no surprise to those who have been following news about cardiovascular medicine in recent years, as the field has been repeatedly struck by debate, scandal, and controversy related to the potential […]
July 29th, 2011
Less May Be More, But Stents Are Neither Good Nor Bad
Larry Husten, PHD
A few days ago, the distinguished healthcare writer Shannon Brownlee wrote a provocative blog post about the overuse of stents. A key piece of evidence that she used was a paper co-authored by Grace Lin and Rita Redberg, in which focus groups of cardiologists cheerfully admitted that they would give stents to hypothetical patients who were, according to the current guidelines, not […]
March 3rd, 2011
Pennsylvania Hospital: 141 Patients Received Unnecessary Stents
Larry Husten, PHD
A hospital in western Pennsylvania says that at least 141 heart patients received coronary stents that weren’t needed, according to an article by Luis Fabregas in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, PA has informed the patients, and the two interventional cardiologists who performed the procedures have resigned. The hospital says that it will cooperate with […]
December 24th, 2010
A Look Back at 2010
CardioExchange Editors, Staff
CardioExchange invited a wide range of members−researchers, teachers, private practice clinicians, and fellows−to give us their impressions of the most important developments in cardiology in 2010. We summarize their lists here and offer a running scorecard. Click the authors’ names to read the full posts. The same CardioExchange members offered predictions for 2011, and you […]
December 23rd, 2010
Thad Waites: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011
Thad F Waites, MD, FACC
To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: 1. Dabigatran, which has been released, and the other oral thrombin inhibitors, which will be released: Imagine, we finally have a replacement for warfarin, in the […]
December 23rd, 2010
John Mandrola: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011
John Mandrola, MD, FACC
To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: 1. By far, the number one heart story of 2010 was the release of the novel blood-thinning drug, dabigatran (Pradaxa), for the prevention of stroke […]
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