CardioExchange Archive

November 12th, 2010

Time Out!

Brahmajee Kartik Nallamothu, MD, MPH

This week, JAMA published a commentary that Harlan Krumholz and I wrote about the growing use of ad hoc PCI and its implications for decision making about coronary revascularization. To cut to the chase, we believe that ad hoc PCI — the performance of a diagnostic cath and PCI in the same setting — makes […]

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November 10th, 2010

Alzheimer’s Disease and Cholesterol: A Tricky Relationship

Larry Husten, PHD

A recent study in Neurology found that cholesterol levels in mid-life were not linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease in older age. In fact, the study by Michelle Mielke and colleagues found that large drops in cholesterol levels in old age were a harbinger of Alzheimer’s. CardioExchange asked Cynthia Carlsson, Assistant Professor and Alzheimer’s researcher […]

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November 9th, 2010

Statement from AHA, ACC, and ACG Reaffirms Use of PPIs with Antiplatelet Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite recent warnings by the FDA, an expert consensus document released jointly by the AHA, the ACC, and the American College of Gastroenterology states that it is acceptable to use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) with thienopyridines like clopidogrel in patients at high risk for upper GI bleeds. The statement does not recommend routine use of […]

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November 8th, 2010

Non-STEMI Patients Delay Seeking Help Just As Long as STEMI Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Non-STEMI patients delayed going to the hospital for as long in 2006 as they did in 2001, according to a report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Henry Ting and colleagues analyzed data from 104,622 non-STEMI patients enrolled in the CRUSADE (Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes With Early Implementation of […]

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November 8th, 2010

AHA 2010 Coverage Headquarters

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

CardioExchange has been dedicated to bringing you the latest from AHA 2010, and even though the meeting has ended, the buzz has just begun! Check out our coverage below ─ and the great debates these posts have sparked ─ then tell us what you think! Previews: AHA Preview: What Is Clyde Yancy Looking Forward to […]

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November 7th, 2010

RE-LY Substudy Finds Dabigatran Effective in Secondary Stroke Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

A substudy of the RE-LY (Randomized Evaluation of Long-Term Anticoagulation Therapy) trial demonstrates that dabigatran is as effective in AF patients for secondary stroke prevention as it is for overall stroke prevention. In their paper in the Lancet Neurology, Hans-Christoph Diener and the RE-LY study group report the results of the trial in the predefined […]

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November 5th, 2010

Independent doctors?

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. In response to my story on how physician consolidation and hospital ownership of doctors is affecting patient referral patterns, I received an email with this attached PDF file.  (Smudges mine) It […]

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November 4th, 2010

CardioExchange and the Ethos of Community

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

We recently posted a blog that described the experience of a Fellow whose assessment of a patient and the need for a test was not seemingly given the fullest attention by the attending physician. Many of us remember such experiences in our training and the sense that there were issues beyond the patient that were […]

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November 3rd, 2010

Paricalcitol Reduces Albuminuria in Diabetic Nephropathy

Larry Husten, PHD

Selective vitamin D receptor activation with paricalcitol may help prevent progression of renal failure in patients with diabetic nephropathy who are already taking renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors, according to a new study published online in the Lancet. In the VITAL study, U.S. and European investigators randomized 281 patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuria who were […]

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November 3rd, 2010

Do Your Patients Wait to Fill Their Plavix and Effient Prescriptions After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation?

Chris Smith, RN

I recently read an article in the journal Circulation that contained an alarming finding about patients who receive drug-eluting stents. Apparently, 1 in 6 did not fill their clopidogrel prescriptions immediately after discharge from a hospital in one of three large integrated health care systems. The median delay was 3 days. Furthermore, during a median […]

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