CardioExchange Archive

October 30th, 2014

Engineering Student Invents Flying Ambulance Drone to Deliver AED to SCA Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Drones have been used to kill people in war zones and to spy on people. Now a sharp young engineering graduate student in the Netherlands has come up with an innovative new use for drones that might one day shorten the time to defibrillation for people with sudden cardiac arrest. Alec Momont, an engineering grad student […]

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August 26th, 2013

New Subcutaneous ICD Said to Pose ‘Existential Crisis’ for Older ICDs

Larry Husten, PHD

Last year the FDA approved Boston Scientific’s subcutaneous ICD (S-ICD), the first ICD that doesn’t use transvenous leads. Those leads are the source of many sophisticated pacing features in today’s ICDs, but they are also the main source of ICD-related complications. FDA approval of the S-ICD was based on a pivotal trial designed to assess the […]

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January 14th, 2013

Atrial Fibrillation Linked to Increased Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death

Larry Husten, PHD

Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is well known to be associated with an increase in the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease, a similar association with sudden cardiac death (SCD) has been suspected but not demonstrated in the past. Now, a new study examining data from two large population studies offers evidence that AF is […]

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December 11th, 2012

No Surprise: Smoking and Sudden Cardiac Death Closely Tied

Larry Husten, PHD

Compared with women who never smoked, the risk of sudden cardiac death was significantly elevated in current smokers (relative risk 2.44) and former smokers (1.40). Quitting helps: by 20 years the risk for ex-smokers was similar to women who had never smoked.

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May 2nd, 2012

Half the News That’s Fit To Print: NY Times on ECG Screening for Student Athletes

Larry Husten, PHD

A “dizzy” New York Times article exploring whether to screen young athletes for heart risk leaves out relevant research and exaggerates some pretty important numbers.

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July 6th, 2011

Lower Sudden Cardiac Death Rates Observed in Women with Healthy Lifestyles

Larry Husten, PHD

It probably won’t come as a big surprise, but a new study finds that women who live a healthy lifestyle have a lower risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). In a paper published in JAMA, Stephanie Chiuve and colleagues analyzed data from 81,722 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study. They used 4 factors to […]

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