May 9th, 2013
Bruise Control: Continued Warfarin Beats Heparin Bridging During Device Implantation
Larry Husten, PHD
Many patients receiving an ICD or a pacemaker are already receiving oral anticoagulants. Current guidelines recommend replacement of the oral anticoagulant with the temporary use of heparin as a bridging strategy. Now a new study, BRUISE CONTROL (Bridge or Continue Coumadin for Device Surgery Randomized Controlled Trial), offers convincing evidence that this strategy is not […]
May 7th, 2013
Longer Detection Time Helps Prevent Unnecessary ICD Shocks
Larry Husten, PHD
Increasing the detection intervals in ICD programming can reduce the number of unnecessary or inappropriate shocks, according to results of the ADVANCE III study published in JAMA. A group of Italian investigators randomized 1,902 patients receiving an ICD to programming with either long- or standard-detection intervals. After 12 months of followup, patients in the long-detection group […]
March 1st, 2013
ACC and HRS Release Appropriate Use Criteria for ICDs and CRTs
Larry Husten, PHD
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) today published appropriate use criteria for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The document offers an expert consensus on the appropriateness of 369 separate real-life clinical scenarios in six areas: ICDs for secondary prevention, ICDs for primary prevention, comorbidities, CRT devices, generator replacement, […]
November 6th, 2012
A New Era in ICD Therapy — Get with the Programming!
Arthur J. Moss, MD
The principal investigator of the MADIT-RIT trial comments on the clinical implications of his study group’s research.
September 28th, 2012
Subcutaneous ICD Gains FDA Approval
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA today approved the Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) System from Cameron Health. The device is the first ICD that does not require a lead that connects directly to the heart and therefore does not need to be guided by X-ray fluoroscopy. Instead, the S-ICD lead is implanted along the bottom of the rib cage […]
September 26th, 2012
Treading Water During the Post-MI Waiting Period
Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM and James Fang, MD
Does your institution use the LifeVest strategy routinely during the waiting period after an MI?
September 25th, 2012
AHA Urges More Education and Support for ICD Patients
Larry Husten, PHD
Despite, and perhaps sometimes because of, their life-saving benefits, ICDs are associated with a host of complex psychosocial problems, but clinicians and caregivers receive little training to deal with these problems. In response to these concerns, the American Heart Association (AHA) has published a scientific statement in Circulation to provide a “comprehensive review of what is and is not […]
August 30th, 2012
ICD Investigation: DOJ Sends Resolution Model to Hospitals
Larry Husten, PHD
Hospitals across the country received emails from the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday containing a proposed “Resolution Model” that will allow the hospitals to begin to settle the long-standing and much-feared DOJ investigation into improper Medicare billing for ICDs. The action appears to confirm an article, published earlier in August in Report on Medicare Compliance, that summarized the […]
August 21st, 2012
New Questions About Latest-Generation ICD Leads from St. Jude
Edward J. Schloss, MD
A highly anticipated study analyzing failures of St. Jude Durata and Riata ST Optim ICD leads has been published online in Europace by prominent electrophysiologist and ICD critic Dr. Robert Hauser along with associates from the Minneapolis Heart Institute. Over the past year St. Jude Medical has been beset with bad news about its ICD leads. Until […]
August 8th, 2012
Feds Turn Corner in ICD Investigation, Hospital Liability Divided into Categories
wpengine
The DOJ has a blueprint for determining liability in its false Medicare false claims investigation involving defibrillator procedures, according to the Report on Medicare Compliance.
NEJM Journal Watch — Recent Cardiology Articles- Strategies and Criteria for the Diagnosis and Management of Myocarditis
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- Can a Novel Stent Design Improve Long-Term Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention?