CardioExchange Archive

February 21st, 2012

Part 4: Clashing Views of Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI

Steve Marso, MD, J Aaron Grantham, MD, FACC, Paul S. Chan, MD, MS and John Spertus, MD, MPH

In a recent Viewpoint in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, Marso and colleagues expressed grave reservations about the application of appropriate use criteria for PCI in a controversial study published last year in JAMA by Chan and colleagues, which found that only half of PCIs performed for nonacute indications were classified as appropriate. Interventional cardiology editors Rick Lange and David Hillis asked CardioExchange members for their […]

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February 17th, 2012

Part 3: Clashing Views of Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI

John Spertus, MD, MPH, Steve Marso, MD, J Aaron Grantham, MD, FACC and Paul S. Chan, MD, MS

In a recent Viewpoint in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, Marso and colleagues expressed grave reservations about the application of appropriate use criteria for PCI in a controversial study published last year in JAMA by Chan and colleagues, which found that only half of PCIs performed for nonacute indications were classified as appropriate. Interventional cardiology editors Rick Lange and David Hillis asked CardioExchange members for their […]

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February 16th, 2012

Japanese Researcher with Harvard Connections Retracts 3 Articles in AHA Journals

Larry Husten, PHD

Akio Kawakami, a well-published lipid researcher at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, has retracted three papers from AHA journals, including one article in the AHA’s flagship journal Circulation. The two other retractions were for articles in Circulation Research and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. News of the retractions was first reported on Retraction Watch. Two of Kawakami’s co-authors are well known researchers affiliated […]

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February 16th, 2012

Part 2: Clashing Views of Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI

J Aaron Grantham, MD, FACC, John Spertus, MD, MPH, Steve Marso, MD and Paul S. Chan, MD, MS

In a recent Viewpoint in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, Marso and colleagues expressed grave reservations about the application of appropriate use criteria for PCI in a controversial study published last year in JAMA by Chan and colleagues, which found that only half of PCIs performed for nonacute indications were classified as appropriate. Interventional cardiology editors Rick Lange and David Hillis asked CardioExchange members for their […]

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February 15th, 2012

AHA Scientific Statement Spotlights Peripheral Artery Disease in Women

Larry Husten, PHD

Although peripheral artery disease (PAD) raises the risk for heart disease and stroke, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated, especially in women, according to a scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association and published in Circulation. Here are a few highlights of the statement: Although women develop PAD later than men, the total number of women […]

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February 15th, 2012

Part 1: Clashing Views of Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI

Paul S. Chan, MD, MS, J Aaron Grantham, MD, FACC, Steve Marso, MD and John Spertus, MD, MPH

In a recent Viewpoint in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, Marso and colleagues expressed grave reservations about the application of appropriate use criteria for PCI in a controversial study published last year in JAMA by Chan and colleagues, which found that only half of PCIs performed for nonacute indications were classified as appropriate. Interventional cardiology editors Rick Lange and David Hillis asked CardioExchange […]

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February 15th, 2012

Mortality-Risk Calculators for AMI and Heart Failure Patients

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

Two mortality-risk calculators ­– one for patients with acute MI and another for those with heart failure – are now available for free at www.mortalityscore.org. The calculators are based on risk models produced by our research group at Yale for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The models are derived from Medicare administrative-claims […]

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February 14th, 2012

Meta-Analysis: Air Pollutants Raise Short-Term Risk for MI

Larry Husten, PHD

Air pollution significantly raises the short-term, 7-day risk for MI, according to a new meta-analysis published in JAMA. Hazrije Mustafic and colleagues analyzed data from 34 studies and found a significant increase in the relative risk (RR) for MI with all the main air pollutants except ozone: carbon monoxide: RR 1.048, CI 1.026-1.070 nitrogen dioxide: 1.011, […]

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February 13th, 2012

Heart and Stroke Foundation’s “Make Death Wait” Campaign: Advocacy or Scare Tactics?

Marilyn Mann, J.D.

A member wants to know what our readers think of two Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSF) ads. Are they a legitimate way to “wake up” people to the threat of cardiovascular disease? Or unnecessary and counterproductive scare tactics?

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February 13th, 2012

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Weekly Review: Week of February 13th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include communicating with patients about screening and treatment and the association between blood-pressure-lowering drugs and gout.

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