December 1st, 2014
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: December 1st
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include atenolol vs. losartan in children and young adults with Marfan’s syndrome, the Japanese Primary Prevention Project, and more.
November 26th, 2014
Resolving the Questions About Door-to-Balloon Times
Brahmajee Kartik Nallamothu, MD, MPH
Brahmajee K. Nallamothu discusses his research group’s retrospective study of changes, over time, in the relation between door-to-balloon times and mortality after primary PCI.
September 16th, 2013
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: September 16th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include the AMPLIFY trial, D2B time and mortality among those undergoing primary PCI, and more.
September 5th, 2013
Should We Be Looking Beyond Door-to-Balloon Time?
Daniel Menees, MD, Hitinder Gurm, MBBS and Brahmajee Kartik Nallamothu, MD, MPH
Daniel Menees and Hitinder Gurm answer questions about their recent New England Journal of Medicine study that calls into question the emphasis on door-to-balloon time for acute MI patients undergoing PCI.
September 4th, 2013
Too Much Emphasis on Door-to-Balloon Time?
Larry Husten, PHD
One of the great medical advances in recent years has been the improved treatment of acute myocardial infarction. As the enormous benefits of earlier reperfusion became evident, medical systems in many parts of the world aimed to treat increasing numbers of patients in a shorter time frame. The door-to-balloon (D2B) time as a performance measure […]
June 6th, 2012
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: June 6th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include cIMT and clinical outcome, CVD risk scores, door- vs. onset-to-balloon times, and dark chocolate consumption in people with high CVD risk.
May 7th, 2012
All Dressed Up and No Place to Go: False-Positive Activation of the Cath Lab for Primary PCI
Larry Husten, PHD
Primary PCI is widely recognized as the best early option for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, efforts to deliver primary PCI to the broadest possible population inevitably result in an increased number of false-positive activations of the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Now, a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that […]
December 8th, 2011
How Randomness Affects Quality of Care
John E Brush, MD
Each month I meet with administrators at my hospital to review the quality of our cardiology program. My administrators don’t want excuses. They aim for perfection. But a discussion at our last meeting about door-to-balloon times for STEMI patients changed their minds.
August 23rd, 2011
Door-to-Balloon Time Closes In On 1 Hour
Larry Husten, PHD
The door-to-balloon (D2B) time has fallen substantially since the launch of the D2B Alliance campaign in 2006, according to a new report in Circulation. Harlan Krumholz (editor-in-chief of CardioExchange) and colleagues analyzed data reported to CMS from the beginning of 2005 through September 2010. D2B dropped from 96 minutes in 2005 to 64 minutes in the first 9 months of […]
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