CardioExchange Archive

January 24th, 2012

Whistleblower Lawsuit Filed Against 5 Cardiologists in Pennsylvania

Larry Husten, PHD

The U.S. government has joined a cardiologist in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hamot Medical Center  in western Pennsylvania  and a group of cardiologists with whom he once practiced, Ed Palattella reports in the Erie Times-News. Cardiologist Tullio Emanuele, who now practices in Kentucky, has accused five former colleagues — members of Medicor Associates Inc. and its affiliate, Flagship Cardiac, […]

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January 24th, 2012

Black Tea Found to Lower Blood Pressure

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine provides the best evidence yet that drinking black tea can lower blood pressure. Jonathan M. Hodgson and colleagues randomized 95 regular tea drinkers to 3 cups per day of either black tea (containing 429 mg of polyphenols and 96 mg of caffeine) or placebo. At 3 and 6 […]

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January 23rd, 2012

Rita Redberg and Roger Blumenthal Clash Over Statins for Primary Prevention in the Wall Street Journal

Larry Husten, PHD

The debate over whether statins should be used for primary prevention moved to the Wall Street Journal with opposing perspectives from cardiologists Roger Blumenthal and Rita Redberg. Blumenthal argues that “there is a mountain of high-quality scientific evidence” to support the use of statins in people without known heart disease but “demonstrated to be at high risk for […]

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January 19th, 2012

CT Angiography Found Less Helpful in Patients With High Calcium Scores

Larry Husten, PHD

Computed tomography angiography (CTA) has been proposed as a less invasive method to exclude obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), but no consensus has been achieved about its clinical role in different patient subsets. Now a new report published in JACC from the CORE-64 (Coronary Artery Evaluation Using 64-Row Multidetector Computed Tomography Angiography) study shows that CTA may not be […]

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January 18th, 2012

New Enrollment in FAME II Halted After Interim Analysis Shows Benefits of FFR

Larry Husten, PHD

Following a positive interim analysis showing that fractional flow reserve-guided PCI was superior to optimal medical treatment, an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) has recommended that patient enrollment in the ongoing FAME II trial be stopped. The news was announced by the trial sponsor, St. Jude Medical. FAME II (Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Plus Optimal Medical […]

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January 17th, 2012

Cangrelor Proposed as Bridge to Surgery

Larry Husten, PHD

As a potent and reversible platelet inhibitor, cangrelor has been proposed for use in a bridging strategy for patients scheduled for surgery who are currently taking clopidogrel or another thienopyridine. To test this strategy, the BRIDGE investigators randomized 210 ACS or stent patients awaiting CABG and taking a thienopyridine to receive either cangrelor or placebo for at […]

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January 12th, 2012

The Safety of the Long Distance Runner

Larry Husten, PHD

Long distance runners may be lonely but they are not at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The RACER (Race Associated Cardiac Arrest Event Registry) investigators analyzed data from 10.9 million registered participants in marathons and half-marathons that took place in the U.S. during the first decade of this century. […]

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January 11th, 2012

ASSERT Sheds Light on the Role of Subclinical AF in Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine sheds some much-needed light on the precise role of subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) in the prognosis and development of ischemic stroke. ASSERT (Asymptomatic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Evaluation in Pacemaker Patients and the Atrial Fibrillation Reduction Atrial Pacing Trial) followed 2580 patients with a newly implanted pacemaker or ICD […]

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January 11th, 2012

Director of UConn CV Research Center Accused of Scientific Misconduct

Larry Husten, PHD

Following an extensive investigation, Dipak Das, a professor in the Department of Surgery and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center, has been accused of serious scientific misconduct. UConn has informed 11 scientific journals about the investigation. Das had numerous publications on resveratrol and other nutrition-related cardiovascular subjects. According to an […]

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January 10th, 2012

Researchers Find Lower Sweet Spot for Potassium Levels in MI

Larry Husten, PHD

Current guidelines for the treatment of acute MI recommend that serum potassium be maintained between 4.0 and 5.0 mEq/L, and some believe that the upper limit could be raised to 5.5, but evidence is based on small, outdated studies. Now a study published in JAMA suggests that the ideal potassium range should be adjusted downward. Abhinav Goyal and […]

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