CardioExchange Archive

ECGs and Young Athletes: In recent years, opinion has divided over the role of ECG screening in young athletes. Two studies and an editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine shed new light on the topic. Baggish et al. found that ECGs increased the sensitivity of preparticipation cardiovascular screening, but at the cost of a higher rate of false-positive results. Taking a different perspective, Wheeler et al. found that adding an ECG test to preparticipation screening may be cost-effective. Finally, an accompanying editorial by Barry Maron acknowledges that the addition of ECG screening is attractive but recommends “prudent restraint.”

Diet and Atherosclerosis: People at high risk for atherosclerosis who participated in a two-year weight loss program had a significant 5% regression in average carotid artery wall volume, according to a new report appearing in Circulation. Different diets — low-carbohydrate, low-fat, or Mediterranean — were equally effective in reversing atherosclerosis in the 140 Israeli subjects. A drop in blood pressure caused by weight loss was closely tied to the carotid ultrasound findings.


Reducing Sodium: Smith-Spangler et al. estimate that national strategies to reduce sodium intake in the U.S. could substantially reduce the rate of stroke and MI and save billions of dollars in medical expenses. The study appears in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Vitamin D Supplements: Two meta-analyses in Annals of Internal Medicine (Pittas et al. and Wang et al.) suggest that vitamin D supplements may reduce the risk for heart disease, but an accompanying editorial by Guallar et al. warns that the data “are very limited” and that “trials of antioxidant vitamins have taught us that we cannot anticipate small risks of presumed safe interventions.”