CardioExchange Archive

November 14th, 2009

At the AHA:  Early Data on Trans-Catheter Aortic Valve Implantations

Larry Husten, PHD

At the Saturday afternoon Late-Breaking Interventional Clinical Science session, Dr. Helene Eltchaininoff presented early results on outcomes following trans-catheter aortic valve implantations peformed in 244 patients in the French Multicenter Registry.  Overall 30-day mortality was 12.7% and incidence of vascular access related complications was 6.5%.  The outcomes results are comparable to the recently reported experience of a Canadian group that performed […]

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November 14th, 2009

William Ganz, Pioneer of Catheterization, Dies  

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Dr. William Ganz, co-inventor of the Swan-Ganz Catheter, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 90. The New York Times offers has a detailed obituary. Here at CardioExchange, you can download his landmark article from the New England Journal of Medicine in 1970: Catheterization Of The Heart In Man With Use Of A […]

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November 13th, 2009

Genetic Testing in Unexplained Thrombosis – Part II

thomasmorgan and Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

An expert weighs in on a case of unexplained VTE in a patient under 50. (see Part I)   The rationale for genetic testing in unexplained thrombosis is to gain a better understanding of why VTE occurred and to document risk factors for recurrent events. However, genetic testing in this setting is somewhat controversial. Knowing […]

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November 13th, 2009

AHA, ACC expand two hospital-based CVD initiatives to outpatient care

Larry Husten, PHD

The AHA and the ACC are now collecting data from physicians’ regular office visits with patients as part of a new push to improve the quality of cardiovascular patient care, reports the Wall Street Journal. The new initiatives hope to expand on the successes of the AHA’s “Get With the Guidelines” hospital program and the […]

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November 12th, 2009

Renal Artery Stenting NOT Beneficial

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

In patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease, renal artery stenting carries no benefit when compared to medical therapy, but stenting does carry a substantial risk.  In a recently published study, 806 patients were randomly assigned to undergo revascularization (almost exclusively done with stenting) in addition to medications or to medications alone (i.e, statin, antiplatelet agents, and […]

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November 12th, 2009

No Clinical Benefits of Revascularization in Atherosclerotic Renal Arteries

Larry Husten, PHD

Revascularization for atherosclerotic renovascular disease, performed in over 15% of such patients in the U.S., shows “no evidence of a worthwhile clinical benefit,” according to a New England Journal of Medicine study. The ASTRAL investigators studied outcomes in some 800 patients, half of whom had been randomized to undergo revascularization in addition to receiving usual medical […]

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November 11th, 2009

CRT May Reverse Remodeling in Heart Failure with Mild Symptoms

Larry Husten, PHD

In the REVERSE trial, 610 patients with NYHA I/II heart failure were randomized to active versus no CRT.  At 12 months, active CRT was associated with reduced LV dimensions and increased EF in cases of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

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November 10th, 2009

Deciding Who Gets Prophylactic ICDs — We Need a Better Way

John Spertus, MD, MPH

The ACC/AHA guidelines endorse prophylactic ICDs for NYHA Class II/III patients with an LV ejection fraction ≤35%, but I’m reluctant to recommend this to my patients who are doing really well. Why put them through the hassle and risk? Will they really benefit, especially if I think they’re just as likely to get an inappropriate […]

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November 10th, 2009

Duty Hours – What are your thoughts?

Andrew M. Kates, MD

Fellows: Do you feel like you spend too much — or not enough — time in the hospital? Over the last several years, there have been dramatic changes to the number of hours that residents and fellows are permitted to spend in the hospital during a given period of time, during both the day and […]

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November 6th, 2009

Darbepoetin–Trick or Treat? Part II

philipmarsden and Andrew M. Kates, MD

(SEE PART 1 OF SERIES) I was amazed by three things when the results from Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events with Aranesp Therapy (TREAT) were presented Friday October 30th, 2009 at the American Society of Nephrology Annual Meeting in San Diego: Thousands of atttendees came to hear TREAT presented by Dr M. Pfeffer–The room was […]

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