CardioExchange Archive

March 26th, 2010

Hospital Volume and Outcomes: Size Matters, but Only to a Point

Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS

This week we welcome CardioExchange Contributor Joseph Ross, MD, to answer questions about his study in NEJM, Hospital Volume and 30 Day Mortality for Three Common Medical Conditions (co-authored with CardioExchange Editor, Harlan Krumholz, MD). CardioExchange Editors: What does this research add to our current knowledge about volume and outcomes? The relationship between greater volume […]

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March 25th, 2010

Study Finds Long-Term Problems with Alcohol Septal Ablation

Larry Husten, PHD

Although alcohol septal ablation (ASA) for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is now gaining increasing acceptance in many parts of the world, a new study finds that it may cause more problems than traditional surgical myectomy. Investigators from the Netherlands, led by Patrick Serruys, studied 91 consecutive ASA patients and compared them to 40 consecutive […]

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March 24th, 2010

• Hospital Volume and Mortality
• Coronary Artery Fistula Closure

Larry Husten, PHD

Hospital Volume and Mortality: Using Medicare data, Ross et al. investigated the association between hospital volume and the 30-day death rate for patients admitted for acute MI, heart failure, and pneumonia. In their report in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that increased volume was associated with reduced rates of death for […]

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March 24th, 2010

ACCORD: Bigger Issues for Our Patients

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

We are now at a point where it is increasingly difficult to demonstrate the incremental value of any preventive therapy, as we are successful in reducing CV risk to lower and lower levels. What is my take on the ACCORD BP study? It’s that we should focus on ensuring that all patients achieve at least the […]

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March 24th, 2010

Freezing in AF Ablation—Not So Fast, You All

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

CardioExchange welcomes this guest post reprinted with permission from Dr. John M, a blog by private-practice electrophysiologist and CardioExchange member, Dr. John Mandrola. Freezing the heart is in the news. The STOP-AF trial was presented at ACC, and it sure has generated much excitement about atrial fibrillation ablation. This is a good thing. However, as […]

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March 23rd, 2010

• High Blood Pressure in ICU Linked to Better Outcome
• Nissen and JAMA Editors Weigh In on Avandia
• Improving Informed Consent; Beta-Blocker Inventor Dies

Larry Husten, PHD

High Blood Pressure in ICU Linked to Better Outcome: Using data from nearly 120,000 patients admitted to the ICU for chest pain, Swedish investigators found, somewhat unexpectedly, that high systolic blood pressure at the time of admission was associated with improved outcome. The association remained evident even when patients with CHF or who went on to […]

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March 22nd, 2010

• AHA Scientific Statement on Medication Errors in Acute CV Medicine
• BNP-Guided HF Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

AHA Scientific Statement on Medication Errors in Acute CV Medicine: “Cardiovascular medications are the most common drug class associated with medication errors, and cardiovascular patients remain at high risk in the acute hospital phase, even with the current safety strategies,” said Andrew Michaels, chair of the writing committee for a new AHA scientific statement published […]

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March 19th, 2010

Friday March 19: FDA in the News: Warning About High Dose Simvastatin; Advisory Panel Supports Expanded Indication for CRT-Ds; Watchman Approval Delayed

Larry Husten, PHD

FDA Warns About High Dose Simvastatin– The FDA issued a drug safety communication today about an ongoing review of high dose simvastatin and increased risk of myopathy based on data from the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH) trial.FDA Panel Supports Expanded Indication for CRT-Ds– The FDA’s Circulatory System Devices Panel voted unanimously to support a […]

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March 19th, 2010

“Doc, I’m so confused. Do I stop or continue the clopidogrel?”

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

A recent study suggested that clopidogrel can be discontinued 12 months after drug-eluting stent placement. What do I tell my patient who had a drug eluting stent placed a year ago?  He’s not the only one who’s confused. I’m concerned that the study was underpowered and the duration of follow-up too short to provide a firm conclusion about the appropriate […]

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March 17th, 2010

March Madness—In the Wake of ACC, Name the Head-to-Head Match-Ups You’d Like to See

Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS

If you work for the NIH, you’re not allowed to bet on your favorite NCAA basketball team. But here at CardioExchange, you can channel your enthusiasm into a different set of brackets. The elegant simplicity of March Madness, despite the chaos, is that we get our questions answered: “Who’s better? Syracuse or Georgetown? UCLA or […]

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