CardioExchange Archive

August 19th, 2010

Responding to the Nay-Saying Patient

Andrew M. Kates, MD

We (both faculty and fellows) have all had patients request that fellows or residents not be involved in their care, as Dr. Wes Fisher so nicely describes in his recent post. But how can we respond to the patient’s request? And, how far do we take it? Should the patient have the prerogative to insist on this — but […]

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August 17th, 2010

Going Beyond Door-to-Balloon by Starting Earlier

Larry Husten, PHD

Efforts to speed delivery of PCI to STEMI patients have focused on shortening the door-to-balloon time. Now a group of Danish researchers propose that efforts to improve care must include assessment of treatment from the time of the patient’s first contact with the emergency medical system. Analyzing historical data from 6209 MI patients who received […]

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August 16th, 2010

Antagonistic People and Carotid Narrowing

Larry Husten, PHD

Researchers from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging studied 5,614 people in four Italian villages and found that those who scored high on a test of antagonism — particularly those who were manipulative and aggressive — were more likely than their more agreeable counterparts to have carotid thickening, as measured by carotid-artery intima media thickness, […]

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August 13th, 2010

Al Fine

Westby G Fisher, MD

CardioExchange welcomes this guest post reprinted with permission from Dr. Westby Fisher, an electrophysiologist practicing at NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. This piece originally appeared on his blog, Dr. Wes. “The family wants the pacemaker turned off.” “We don’t typically turn them off.” “They […]

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August 12th, 2010

CRESCENDO: The Fat Lady Sings for Rimonabant

Larry Husten, PHD

The CRESCENDO (Comprehensive Rimonabant Evaluation Study of Cardiovascular Endpoints and Outcomes) trial, which tested the effects of the endocannabinoid receptor blocker rimonabant for the prevention of cardiovascular events, was terminated early at the request of regulatory agencies in several countries following growing concern that people taking rimonabant were more likely to commit suicide. At the […]

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August 11th, 2010

Colder Outdoor Temperatures Linked to Increase in MIs

Larry Husten, PHD

Researchers in the U.K. used data from 84,000 MI hospitalizations to assess the relationship between the risk for MI and ambient temperature. In their report in the British Medical Journal, Krishnan Bhaskaran and colleagues found no change in risk associated with higher temperatures, but observed a significant 2% increase in the risk for MI associated […]

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August 11th, 2010

What Do Cardiologists Need to Know About 9p21?

Jeffrey Lance Anderson, MD

CardioExchange welcomes Jeffrey Anderson to discuss his recent editorial in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on  the 9p21 locus and CHD. Dr. Anderson and co-author Benjamin Horne carefully evaluated the relationship of 9p21 to CHD  and conclude that 9p21 appears to be an initiator of and may be a promoter of CHD, […]

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August 9th, 2010

Prior Medication Use Shifts Balance of MIs

Larry Husten, PHD

Patients who present with MI and are taking aspirin, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, or statins are more likely to have a non-STEMI than a STEMI, according to findings from a large Swedish registry published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Lena Björck and colleagues analyzed data from over 100,000 consecutive admissions for MI. Some 61% of STEMI […]

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August 9th, 2010

FDA Issues Warning About Inferior Vena Cava Filters

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has issued an initial communication informing health professionals that it is evaluating reports of adverse events with the long-term use of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters. The FDA “recommends that implanting physicians and clinicians responsible for the ongoing care of patients with retrievable IVC filters consider removing the filter as soon as protection […]

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August 6th, 2010

Three Questions about Ticagrelor: Part 4 — Bob Harrington

Sanjay Kaul, MD

PLATO is one of the most impressive trials in recent years, demonstrating substantial benefits for ticagrelor over clopidogrel in a wide population of ACS patients. However, patients enrolled in the US showed no benefit from ticagrelor, and experts have been unable to agree on a cause. Possible factors could include much higher doses of aspirin used in the […]

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