CardioExchange Archive

January 10th, 2011

Have the COURAGE to Critique a Substudy

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

In this journal club, I compare the published data from an original trial with the authors’ conclusions in a substudy from that trial. Often, a substudy provides valuable insights that complement the initial trial findings. Sometimes, however, you need to look closely to identify the additional insight. Case in point: COURAGE. The Original COURAGE Trial […]

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January 10th, 2011

World’s First Drug Eluting Bioresorbable Stent Gains CE Mark Approval

Larry Husten, PHD

Abbott announced today that it had received CE Mark approval for Absorb, its bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) device. The device props a narrowed coronary artery open but then dissolves within 2 years, leaving the patient without a permanent implant. One hope for the device is that it will allow stent patients to safely discontinue dual […]

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January 6th, 2011

The Shame of Removing Reimbursement for End-of-Life Discussions from Health Care Reform

Barry M. Massie, BA (Harvard), MD (Columbia P&S)

My recent postings have been about heart failure mortality statistics. Dry stuff! It’s not that I am fixated on death, but yesterday, I learned that CMS (Medicare) has decided not to pay for discussions with patients about prognosis and planning end of life care. Reimbursement for such discussions was a key aspect of the health […]

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January 5th, 2011

Do Sleep-Deprived Invasive Cardiologists Cause Complications?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

In an NEJM perspective, the former president of the Sleep Research Society reports an 83% increase in the risk of surgical complications in patients undergoing elective daytime surgery performed by attending surgeons who had a <6-hour opportunity for sleep between procedures during a previous on-call night.  He argues that physicians who have been awake for […]

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December 28th, 2010

Looking Forward to 2011

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

CardioExchange invited a wide range of members−researchers, teachers, private practice clinicians, and fellows−to offer predictions for 2011. We summarize their lists here and offer a running scorecard. Click the authors’ names to read the full posts. The same CardioExchange members give us their impressions of the most important developments in cardiology in 2010, and you […]

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December 24th, 2010

A Look Back at 2010

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

CardioExchange invited a wide range of members−researchers, teachers, private practice clinicians, and fellows−to give us their impressions of the most important developments in cardiology in 2010. We summarize their lists here and offer a running scorecard. Click the authors’ names to read the full posts.  The same CardioExchange members offered predictions for 2011, and you […]

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December 23rd, 2010

Thad Waites: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011

Thad F Waites, MD, FACC

To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: 1. Dabigatran, which has been released, and the other oral thrombin inhibitors, which will be released: Imagine, we finally have  a replacement for warfarin, […]

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December 23rd, 2010

James De Lemos: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011

James De Lemos, MD

To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: ACGME releases new work hour rules. Although these new guidelines are not specifically focused on cardiology training, they promise to impact all […]

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December 23rd, 2010

Barry Massie: Looking Back at the Year in Heart Failure

Barry M. Massie, BA (Harvard), MD (Columbia P&S)

To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the most important cardiology-related events of the past year. Barry Massie has focused on heart failure, providing us with his choice of the four most important stories of 2010. 1. Aldosterone antagonists continue their winning streak: Following the convincing reductions in mortality and morbidity […]

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December 23rd, 2010

John Brush: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011

John E Brush, MD

To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: 1. The PARTNER Trial demonstrated the efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve implantation for patients deemed too high risk for conventional cardiac surgery.  […]

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