CardioExchange Archive

April 6th, 2015

Cardiac Arrest During Exercise in Middle-Aged People

Larry Husten, PHD

Dropping dead while exercising is a common fear, especially among middle-aged men. Unfortunately there have been limited data on the precise rate of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in middle-aged people and little understanding about the medical history of the victims of SCA. Now a new study fills in some important gaps in knowledge and shows that this […]

---

February 10th, 2015

Risk for Sudden Death in Spironolactone Users Who Take Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole

Tony Antoniou, PharmD, PhD

Tony Antoniou discusses his case-control study of elderly residents of Ontario who were users of spironolactone and died suddenly within 14 days after receiving an antibiotic prescription.

---

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 […]

---

October 20th, 2014

Are Women Who Live Near Roadways at Greater Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death?

Jaime E Hart, Sc.D and Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

Jaime E. Hart discusses her study of the relation between residential proximity to roadways and sudden cardiac death in women.

---

September 15th, 2014

No Endorsement for Routine ECG Screening of Young People

Larry Husten, PHD

In a new scientific statement the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology do not recommend the routine initial use of ECGs to screen young people for underlying congenital or genetic heart disease. More aggressive screening for heart disease in young people is often advocated in response to pressure resulting from the rare but […]

---

February 3rd, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 3rd

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include biomarkers for systemic sclerosis, the effectiveness of ICDs for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death, and more.

---

December 16th, 2013

Three Cases of Sudden Cardiac Death Linked to Lyme Carditis

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Three cases of sudden cardiac death associated with Lyme carditis were reported in 2012 and 2013 and are described in MMWR. Only four such deaths have previously been reported. The three patients, aged 26 to 38, lived in states with a high incidence of Lyme disease. None had rash; two had pre-existing heart conditions. Postmortem investigation […]

---

June 11th, 2013

People with Sleep Apnea at Increased Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death

Larry Husten, PHD

Although people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk for death and cardiovascular disease, the relationship between OSA and sudden cardiac death (SCD) has not been clear. Now a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provides evidence that OSA is in fact associated with an increase in the risk […]

---

May 21st, 2013

Athletes with ICDs Don’t Need to Quit Sports

Larry Husten, PHD

Although the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology now advise people with ICDs not to participate in vigorous sports, a new study offers strong support for people with ICDs who want to take part in sports. Now findings from the ICD Sports Safety Registry, published in Circulation, provide vital new information about this important topic. […]

---

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 […]

---