CardioExchange Archive

April 26th, 2012

Frailty Evaluation and High-Risk Interventions

John A. Dodson, MD

When taking care of older patients, we often have an intuitive sense of which ones will do well after an intervention and which ones won’t. This has been termed the “foot of the bed” test, or alternately something which separates a “young 80-year old” from an “old 80-year old.”  Frailty is a syndrome defined as […]

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April 26th, 2012

FDA Advisory Panel Gives Green Light to HeartWare Ventricular Assist System

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA’s Circulatory System Devices panel voted 9-2 on Wednesday to recommend approval of the HeartWare Ventricular Assist System as a bridge to heart transplantation for patients with end-stage heart failure. The panel agreed unanimously (11-0) that the new device is effective. The panel was more divided about safety but ultimately voted  8-3 that the device […]

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April 19th, 2012

Arizona Cardiac Surgeons Pay $100,000 to Settle HIPAA Violations

Larry Husten, PHD

An Arizona cardiac surgery group has agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve an investigation into potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In the agreement, the surgical group did not offer an admission of liability but did agree to implement a corrective action plan in addition to the payment. According […]

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April 19th, 2012

A Fellow at ISHLT: First-Day Impressions

Kathryn Jesseca Lindley, MD

Kate Lindley discovers the unique global focus and interdisciplinary breadth of ISHLT.

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April 18th, 2012

Preoperative Statins Found to Reduce AF and Length of Stay but Not Mortality

Larry Husten, PHD

In a systematic review published in the Cochrane Library, investigators at the University of Cologne in Germany analyzed data from 11 trials that tested the effects of preoperative statins in 984 patients undergoing heart surgery. Preoperative administration of statins reduced the risk for developing atrial fibrillation (AF) and shortened the length of stay in the ICU and in […]

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April 12th, 2012

Ascertaining ASCERT: How Well Do Registry Data Measure Up to the ‘Bedside Test’?

Øystein Horgmo, BSc

In the ASCERT observational study, stable patients (age 65 or older) with double- or triple-vessel CAD, but not left-main disease, were found to have better long-term survival after CABG than after PCI. ASCERT was a laudable achievement in terms of its scope and the level of collaboration it represents. The ASCERT investigators used inverse probability weighting (propensity […]

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March 27th, 2012

ASCERT Observational Study Finds Long-Term Advantage for CABG over PCI in High-Risk Cases

Larry Husten, PHD

A very large observational study finds that long-term mortality in high-risk patients is lower after bypass surgery than after PCI. The results, which were first revealed in January at the annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), were presented in final form at the American College of Cardiology by William Weintraub and published simultaneously in the New England […]

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March 26th, 2012

PARTNER: TAVR Results Appear Durable at 2 Years

Larry Husten, PHD

Two-year results of the influential PARTNER trial provide continued support for the growing acceptance of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in clinical practice. Previously, results of PARTNER at 1 year had demonstrated similar mortality in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis who underwent TAVR or surgery. Now, the 2-year results have been presented at the American College of Cardiology […]

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March 25th, 2012

Study Supports PCI Without On-Site Surgical Backup

Larry Husten, PHD

Here’s a great example of genuine medical progress: 10% of the first 50 patients who received balloon angioplasty from the procedure’s developer, Andreas Grüntzig, required emergency bypass surgery. By 2002 only 0.15% of PCI patients required emergency surgery, leading many to believe that surgical backup was no longer necessary. Now a large new study provides strong […]

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March 2nd, 2012

Four Cardiovascular Societies Release Criteria for TAVR Programs and Operators

Larry Husten, PHD

A newly released statement contains detailed recommendations about the requirements necessary for hospitals and physicians to participate in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)  programs. The expert consensus document was released jointly by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and the Society for Thoracic […]

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