CardioExchange Archive

September 19th, 2011

“Doc, I Got My Whole Genome Scanned – Now What?”

David Martin, M.D.

What do you do if your patient shows you a commercially produced report of a personal whole genome scan?

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September 14th, 2011

Study Sheds Light on Consequences of Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Larry Husten, PHD

Although bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most frequently occurring congenital heart defect, little is known about the long-term prognosis of people with BAV. Now a study published in JAMA shows that although affected people have a low overall rate of aortic complications, their risk is nevertheless about 8 times greater than the risk of those without BAV. […]

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September 13th, 2011

Is Most Research Done Today a Waste?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

Richard Smith (@Richard56), the former editor of BMJ, sent out a tweet earlier today that is worth some reflection. Here it is: 85% of clinical research is waste because the question is unimportant, the design is not right, nothing is published, or the paper is biased What do you think? Is most research done today […]

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September 13th, 2011

Follow the Fellows: A Series from the Front Lines

William Kent Cornwell, MD, Aaron C. Earles, DO, Kathryn Jesseca Lindley, MD and Erica Sarah Spatz, MD, MHS

Fellowship is such a unique experience that we at CardioExchange have wished for it to be documented from the front lines. And so we are introducing a new series, “Follow the Fellows.” We have invited fellows from various fellowship programs around the U.S. to document their course through their training over the next three years. […]

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September 12th, 2011

Global Monitor: Early Signs of Possible Problems with ICD Leads, Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

Reports from Ireland and New Zealand may herald new concerns about Riata defibrillator leads (St. Jude Medical) and dabigatran (Pradaxa). A poster presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting last month by researchers at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast found that 15% of 212 patients who received Riata leads had an insulation breach on screening. The researchers reported […]

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September 5th, 2011

Base-Rate Neglect: A Common Clinical Fallacy

John E Brush, MD

Estimating probabilities subjectively can lead to indiscriminate testing.

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September 4th, 2011

Montreal Heart Institute Researcher Fired After Investigation of Retracted Papers

Larry Husten, PHD

Zhiguo Wang, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), has been fired less than a month after wide publicity over the retraction of two papers that he had coauthored, Retraction Watch reports. MHI director Jean-Claude Tardif said at a press conference that a hospital investigation had resulted in a recommendation that three more of Wang’s articles […]

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August 31st, 2011

New Resuscitation Strategies Fail to Improve Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

Larry Husten, PHD

Two trials from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) investigators were unable to demonstrate meaningful improvements to resuscitation strategies after cardiac arrest. The two trials, one testing an impedance threshold device and the other examining a strategy of early versus late rhythm analysis, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the first trial, 8718 patients were randomized […]

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August 31st, 2011

TAVI—When Will It Come to an Operating Theater Near Me?

Stephen Fleet, MD

At the ESC meeting in Paris, Gerhard Schuler from Leipzig reviewed the current indications for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). TAVI is considered appropriate for: Inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis with a baseline 1-year mortality risk of 50%.  Patients with severe aortic stenosis and a surgical risk of greater than 15%. Valve-in-valve implantation for […]

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August 30th, 2011

Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation (IABP) Burned to a CRISP

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) is a bust in AMI patients without cardiogenic shock, according to the Counterpulsation to Reduce Infarct Size Pre-PCI Acute Myocardial Infarction (CRISP AMI) trial. This open-label, 30-center, randomized, controlled trial was performed to determine if a routine strategy of IABP before primary PCI (and continued for at least 12 hours afterward) […]

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