CardioExchange Archive

January 13th, 2015

40-Year Effort in One Rural County to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease Found Successful

Larry Husten, PHD

A 40-year program in one poor rural county to combat cardiovascular disease appears to have been successful, resulting in reduced rates of hospitalization and death compared with other counties in the same state over the same period. The new findings are described in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Beginning in 1970, Franklin County, […]

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December 8th, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: December 8th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the surgical treatment of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation, the Mediterranean diet and telomere length, and more.

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October 13th, 2014

Medicare Reimbursement for Lung Cancer Screening Provokes Debate

Larry Husten, PHD

Although 160,000 people in the U.S. die each year from lung cancer, accounting for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths, screening for lung cancer remains controversial. Based on results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) in 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a B recommendation in favor of low-dose […]

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September 15th, 2014

No Endorsement for Routine ECG Screening of Young People

Larry Husten, PHD

In a new scientific statement the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology do not recommend the routine initial use of ECGs to screen young people for underlying congenital or genetic heart disease. More aggressive screening for heart disease in young people is often advocated in response to pressure resulting from the rare but […]

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July 28th, 2014

Death by Running: It’s the Heat and Not the Heart

Larry Husten, PHD

The growing popularity of marathons and other extreme sports has sparked worries about the potential dangers of these activities. The press and medical research have both focused on the risk for arrhythmias. But that concern may be misdirected. A new study from Israel published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that a much more […]

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June 23rd, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: June 23rd

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include thrombolysis for pulmonary embolism, the effect of screening and lifestyle counseling on the incidence of ischemic heart disease in the general population, and more.

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June 23rd, 2014

Mobile Cardiovascular Screening Programs Come Under Fire

Larry Husten, PHD

The consumer group Public Citizen has urged 20 hospitals to sever their involvement in a mobile cardiovascular screening program. The HealthFair Cardiovascular Screening Packages are unethical, mislead consumers, and do more harm than good, according to Public Citizen. In a statement, the president of the American College of Cardiology, Patrick O’Gara, said that “the questions raised […]

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January 27th, 2014

USPSTF Issues Draft Recommendations on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening

Nicholas Downing, MD

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now says that the evidence is insufficient to weigh the benefits and harms of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in women aged 65 to 75 who’ve ever smoked. In its previous 2005 guideline the USPFSTF clearly advised against screening for all women. An updated review by the Task Force […]

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October 22nd, 2013

No Support for Broad Screening of Chronic Kidney Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

Although taught in  medical school and widely used in clinical practice, broad screening of otherwise healthy people for chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unwarranted, according to new recommendations from the American College of Physicians published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. People with early kidney disease, who are classified as having stages 1 to 3 CKD, usually […]

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September 30th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: September 30th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the RE-ALIGN trial of dabigatran vs. warfarin in patients with mechanical heart valves, general population echo screening and long-term survival, and antihypertensives and breast cancer risk among middle aged women.

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