CardioExchange Archive

March 10th, 2014

Azithromycin, Levofloxacin Linked to Increased Risks for Arrhythmia and Mortality Compared with Amoxicillin

Nicholas Downing, MD

Azithromycin and levofloxacin carry higher arrhythmia and mortality risks than amoxicillin, according to an observational study in the Annals of Family Medicine. The FDA issued a cardiac warning on azithromycin in March 2013. Researchers studied nearly 1.8 million U.S. veterans (mean age, 57) who received outpatient prescriptions for one of the three antibiotics from 1999 to […]

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January 7th, 2014

Is It Time to Sunset the Holter Monitor?

Paddy Barrett, MB BCh BAO MRCPI MCTI

Paddy M. Barrett discusses his research group’s study comparing 24-hour Holter monitoring with the Zio Patch 14-day single-lead ECG device.

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June 13th, 2013

Too Much, Too Fast? Cross-Country Skiing and Heart Arrhythmias

Larry Husten, PHD

When it comes to exercise, it may be true that you can do too much or go too fast. It might seem counterintuitive, but a new study finds that among cross-country skiers, the risk for having a cardiac arrhythmia is highest in those who race the fastest or most often. Although lack of exercise is almost […]

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May 9th, 2013

Blogging from HRS 2013: VT/VF Summit, and Bill Clinton Too!

Luis Garcia, MD

A fellow experiences one exceptional presentation after another at the first day of HRS 2013.

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March 12th, 2013

Azithromycin: FDA Issues Cardiac Warning

The antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax and Zmax) can cause QT interval prolongation and torsades de pointes, the FDA warned on Tuesday. The agency says that healthcare providers should consider risk for fatal heart rhythms when treating patients already at high cardiovascular risk, including people with known prolongation of the QT interval, torsades de pointes, congenital long QT […]

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January 23rd, 2012

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Weekly Review: Week of January 23rd

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include bridging antiplatelet therapy in patients undergoing CABG, cognitive and neurologic outcomes after CABG, using IV beta-adrenergic agonists
during acute respiratory distress syndrome, and pulmonary embolism risk in those admitted to the hospital for an auto-immune disorder.

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October 24th, 2011

Does This Child Have More Than an Arrhythmia?

Thierry Legendre, MD and James Fang, MD

An 11-year-old boy presents with palpitations. He has no family history of heart disease and is asymptomatic while playing competitive sports. His cardiac physical examination is normal, but his ECG (shown below) shows a Wolff-Parkinson-White pattern with a short PR interval and delta waves. A systematic echocardiogram reveals normal LV function, normal atrioventricular valves, and […]

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