CardioExchange Archive

August 13th, 2012

Troponin Test May Allow Rapid MI Rule-Out in the Emergency Department

Larry Husten, PHD

More than three-quarters of people with chest pain can be triaged within an hour of arrival at the emergency department with a novel strategy utilizing high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTnT), according to a study from Switzerland published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The strategy is promising, according to an accompanying editorial, but much work remains before […]

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August 13th, 2012

Industry PR Efforts Influence Debate On Cholesterol Screening Guidelines For Children

Larry Husten, PHD

Should a public relations agency that represents a company with a product that would be affected by a guideline offer journalists a chance to interview an expert who has views that might benefit the company?

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August 9th, 2012

Reports from JUPITER and Taiwan: Benefits of Statins Outweigh Risk for Diabetes

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new papers provide further evidence that statin use is associated with an increased risk for diabetes, but both studies also find that the benefits of statins still outweigh the risks. In one report, published in the Lancet, Paul Ridker and colleagues analyze data from the JUPITER trial, which compared rosuvastatin to placebo in a primary-prevention population. Among the 17,603 […]

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August 8th, 2012

Risks and Benefits of Pediatric VAD Explored

Larry Husten, PHD

Few options besides extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have been available for children with systolic heart failure awaiting transplantation. Now, a report by Charles Fraser, Jr., and colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine provides important new information about a ventricular assist device (VAD) designed for children. Trial investigators implanted 48 patients with the Excor Pediatric VAD […]

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August 7th, 2012

Survey Finds Significant Drop in Cholesterol Levels in Youths

Larry Husten, PHD

New data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), published in JAMA, show significant and perhaps surprising  improvements over the last 20 years in the lipid profile of youths aged 6-19 years. Among the key lipid parameters measured by the survey from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010: Total cholesterol decreased from 165 mg/dL to 160 mg/dL (p<0.001) Prevalence of […]

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August 7th, 2012

NY Times: HCA Concealed Significant Problems at Lucrative Cardiac Centers

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite numerous internal reviews that turned up a widespread pattern of unnecessary cardiology procedures being performed at many of its hospitals, the giant HCA corporation did little to rein in the problem or to inform regulators, payers, or patients about it, according to an investigative report in the New York Times by Reed Abelson and Julie Creswell. […]

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August 6th, 2012

Hydrochlorothiazide and Nifedipine Linked to Increased Risk for Lip Cancer

Larry Husten, PHD

The antihypertensive drugs hydrochlorothiazide and nifedipine have been linked to a significantly increased risk for lip cancer in a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The link is plausible, write the authors, since the drugs are known to be photosensitizing. Using a large cohort from the Kaiser Permanente system, researchers at Kaiser Permanente […]

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August 6th, 2012

DOJ Investigating Interventional Cardiology Services at HCA

Larry Husten, PHD

The hospital giant HCA has disclosed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami is investigating the company and has “requested information on reviews assessing the medical necessity of interventional cardiology services provided at any Company facility (other than peer reviews).” Following its own preliminary investigation, the company said it was aware of such reviews in about 10 […]

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August 1st, 2012

RIFLE-STEACS: Radial Access Improves Outcomes in Early Invasive Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

For early invasive therapy for ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (STEACS), the use of radial access instead of femoral access reduces bleeding complications and improves outcomes, according to the first large, randomized trial testing the two approaches in this population. The results of the Radial Versus Femoral Randomized Investigation in ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (RIFLE-STEACS) […]

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July 31st, 2012

TAVI: Belgian Researchers Slam Evidence Base and Overuse in Europe

Larry Husten, PHD

The growing and enthusiastic adoption of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Europe has no justification, according to three researchers who performed a health technology assessment for the Belgian government. In a paper published in BMJ, the authors from the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre conclude that TAVI should only be used in patients “who are deemed inoperable […]

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