CardioExchange Archive

May 9th, 2011

Higher Periprocedural Risk for Stroke Found in Women Undergoing Carotid Stenting

Larry Husten, PHD

The periprocedural risk for stroke is higher among women undergoing carotid artery stenting than among those undergoing carotid endarterectomy, according to new results from the Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial (CREST) published online in the Lancet Neurology. The same pattern was not found in men. Last year, the main results from CREST showed no […]

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May 9th, 2011

Words, ICDs, and Patient-Centered Medicine…

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

John Mandrola is a cardiac electrophysiologist and blogger on matters medical and general. Here is a recent post from his blog, Dr John M. Guess what made the heart rhythm newswire yesterday? It wasn’t a new medicine, or a new stent, not even a new ablation catheter, and it surely wasn’t a revolution in motivating […]

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May 6th, 2011

News Reports Scrutinize Heart Rhythm Society’s Ties To Industry

Larry Husten, PHD

A series of investigative reports published on ProPublica analyzes the financial relationships between medical societies and drug and device companies. The Heart Rhythm Society, whose annual meeting is now taking place in San Francisco, comes in for especially close scrutiny. The series begins: “From the time they arrived to the moment they laid their heads […]

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May 5th, 2011

5 Patients Infected With Hepatitis C While Undergoing MPI

Larry Husten, PHD

Five patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) at a single outpatient clinic in North Carolina were infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) during the procedure, according to a paper published online in the American Journal of Cardoliology. Public health officials from North Carolina and the CDC report that their investigation began in May 2008 […]

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May 2nd, 2011

FDA Approves New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA announced today that it has approved linagliptin, a new drug for type 2 diabetes. The DPP-4 inhibitor was developed by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim and will be sold under the brand name of Tradjenta. Linagliptin was studied in 3,800 patients with type 2 diabetes, the FDA said, and was better than placebo […]

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April 28th, 2011

U.S. Cardiologists Report $325,000 Median Compensation in Survey

Larry Husten, PHD

Cardiologists were the third-highest-paid physician specialists in 2010, according to a survey of more than 15,000 physicians conducted by Medscape, including a detailed report on the approximately 475 cardiologists in the survey. The cardiologists reported a median compensation of $325,000. Only orthopedic surgeons and radiologists, at a median of $350,000, topped the cardiologists. One-fifth of […]

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April 27th, 2011

Large Meta-Analysis Finds No Link Between ARBs and MI Risk

Larry Husten, PHD

Angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) don’t increase the risk for MI, according to a large new meta-analysis published in BMJ. Concerns about ARBs and MI have lingered since the VALUE trial in 2004 found a 19% increase in the risk for MI, though subsequent trials have not reinforced the finding. Sripal Bangalore and colleagues combined data from […]

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April 27th, 2011

Scrubs and Sandwiches- A Deadly Combination?

David Martin, M.D.

I was enjoying lunch at a popular midtown Sacramento restaurant recently, when two patrons walked in wearing green scrubs.  Both were wearing official badges from a large, local hospital, revealing one to be a physician, the other a registered nurse.  Concerned that these scrubs may have been exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, I politely asked that […]

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April 25th, 2011

ACC and AHA Publish Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly

Larry Husten, PHD

Although 64% of elderly men and 78% of elderly women have hypertension, this was not considered a significant clinical problem until 2008, when the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET) trial demonstrated the substantial benefits of reducing blood pressure in these patients. Largely in response to HYVET, the ACC and the AHA have published […]

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April 22nd, 2011

Diet and Cardiovascular Health: What’s the Bottom Line?

Eric Rimm, ScD

CardioExchange welcomes Dr. Eric Rimm, Sc.D., the director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health and a member of the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Dr. Rimm answers Associate Editor Susan Cheng’s questions about the DGAC’s 2010 report. We welcome you to offer your own questions and opinions. Background: The 2010 […]

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