CardioExchange Archive

CardioExchange has been dedicated to bringing you the latest from AHA 2010, and even though the meeting has ended, the buzz has just begun! Check out our coverage below ─ and the great debates these posts have sparked ─ then tell us what you think!

Previews:

• AHA Preview: What Is Clyde Yancy Looking Forward to Seeing? Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute and chief of Cardiothoracic Transplantation at Baylor University Medical Center, lists the trials in his field that he’s most looking forward to at AHA 2010.

• Cardiology in the Big Tent: Helping our Fellows Make the Most of a National Meeting This blog from James de Lemos was so valuable last year that we ran it again as a primer for our Fellows on how to get the most from AHA.

• ROCKET AF: Is Rivaroxaban Ready for Blast Off? In anticipation of the ROCKET AF presentation at the AHA meeting, Harlan Krumholz presented a series of key questions about the drug.

News:

• Study Explores Role of Familial AF in Risk of Developing New AF
• ICD-CRT Found Beneficial in RAFT
• Emphatic Support for Eplerenone in NYHA Class II Heart Failure
• ASCEND-HF: Nesiritide Is Safe But Not Effective
• New LVAD Shows Promise as Bridge-to-Transplant
• ROCKET AF Hits Chicago
• Omega-3s Fail to Show Benefits in Atrial Fibrillation
• GRAVITAS: No Benefit for Clopidogrel Dosing Based on Platelet Function Test
• Anacetrapib: “Knock-Your-Socks-Off Effect on LDL and a Jaw-Dropping Effect on HDL”

Analysis:

• Let’s Bring CLOSURE to This Debate About PFO Treatment Regarding the CLOSURE I trial, Interventional Cardiology Co-Moderator Rick Lange says  the study brings closure to the controversy surrounding PFO treatment.

• What Does BASKET PROVE Have to Prove? In the BASKET PROVE trial, drug-eluting stents were just as good as bare-metal stents for treating lesions in large coronary arteries. Interventional Cardiology Co-Moderators David Hillis and Rick Lange discuss the relevant issues.

• Putting the EMPHASIS on Eplerenone for HF We welcome Paul Armstrong to answer our questions about the EMPHASIS-HF study, in which eplerenone reduced the rate of cardiovascular death and heart-failure hospitalization in patients with functional NHYA class II HF. (Paul’s editorial on the study appears in the NEJM).

• “Phone It In” Heart-Failure Monitoring Offers No Advantage Over Usual Care Sarwat Chaudhry answers our questions about her group’s Tele-HF trial, in which telemonitoring was no more beneficial than usual care in HF patients.

• How Should We DEFINE Anacetrapib’s Success? Philip Barter and Christopher P. Cannon answer our questions about their DEFINE study, in which anacetrapib had a “knock-your-socks-off effect on HDL and a jaw-dropping effect on LDL.”

• A Clinical Conversation with Harlan Krumholz: CardioExchange and AHA In a Journal Watch Clinical Conversations podcast, Editor Harlan Krumholz discusses CardioExchange and what he thinks of the top research presented at AHA 2010. We also showcase Harlan’s posts at Forbes on remote patient monitoring (including his own Tele-HF study) and on the DEFINE study.

• ASCENDing Into the Depths of the Nesiritide Controversy: Questions for Eugene Braunwald Eugene Braunwald shares his thoughts on the nesiritide controversy in light of the recent ASCEND-HF trial, in which the drug proved safe but ineffective in patients with acute, decompensated heart failure.

Follow with the Fellows:

• Sweet Home Chicago: An AHA Meal Planner John Ryan, who has been living in the Windy City during his fellowship, shares a list of his favorite local restaurants.

• AHA: A Global View Reflecting on her first day at AHA, Madhavi Reddy writes about the surprising amount of advertising from one manufacturer, a sobering talk about the state of clinical research in the U.S., and an uplifting session that provided practical advice on incorporating global research into clinical practice.

• Blast off to AHA: A Call for Solutions to the Obesity Epidemic in America Amit Shah’s flight was delayed to AHA because his plane was too heavy for takeoff due to the collective weight of the passengers. Thinking about the obesity problem we have in the U.S., Amit writes, “I was grateful for the conference ahead; only by putting our minds together can we start to understand and address one of the most challenging and weighted issues in America.”

• Networking at AHA John Ryan shares that if you take advantage of certain sessions and dinners at the AHA, there are great opportunities to network with leaders in cardiology.

• An Exceptional Late-Breaking Session After confessing that she normally avoids late-breaking sessions “like the plague”, Susan Cheng focuses on one such session with both important science and important lessons about presenting.

• AHA Science and Technology Hall After working up a sweat on an AHA-endorsed Wii skateboard in the exhibit hall, John Ryan wonders how quickly attendees take what they learn in the sessions and incorporate it into their clinical practice.

• First-Time Presenter John Ryan recounts the trials and tribulations of giving his first talk at AHA.

• Is There A Statistician In the Room? Feeling a bit stumped by some of the statistical concepts she encountered at some AHA sessions, Susan Cheng wonders, “Could there be a way to help the average conference attendee make better sense of methods in order to better make sense of the results?”

• Early Career Day: Review from the Epi Breakout Session Amit Shah shares some “keys to success” in applying for training grants that he learned during Early Career Day.

• Negative Trials, Positive Impact John Ryan muses on the potential implications of the many negative studies presented at the meeting.

We’re curious: What trials presented at AHA had the biggest impact on you? Let us know.