April 13th, 2010
Are You Really a Cardiovascular Prevention Specialist?
Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS
I call myself a “preventive cardiologist,” but what makes me different from other cardiologists? Many academic centers categorize cardiovascular prevention as a distinct field within cardiology that merits its own label, sub-department, and leadership. Outside the university, however, the distinction may seem, well, academic. But not to me. Although I’ve been in practice for only […]
April 12th, 2010
• Long-Term Outcome After Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
• ICDs and CRTs in Older Patients
Larry Husten, PHD
Long-term outcome after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is no better than open repair or no repair (in patients deemed unsuitable for open repair), according to results of the EVAR 1 and EVAR 2 trials published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Previous trials had found short-term benefits for endovascular repair, but the […]
April 8th, 2010
Building a Better Vessel with Stem Cells
Larry Husten, PHD
Building a Better Vessel with Stem Cells: It’s still a long way from reaching clinical practice, but tissue engineers are making serious advances in their efforts to grow bypass grafts using stem cells. At the AHA’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference now underway in San Francisco, Stephen McIlhenny reported on the successful in […]
April 7th, 2010
• CIMT in Risk Assessment
• Survival After CABG — It’s Not Race or Sex, It’s Being Poor
Larry Husten, PHD
CIMT in Risk Assessment: When added to traditional risk factors, CIMT (carotid intima-media thickness) and the presence or absence of plaque improve risk prediction, according to a paper from the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Vijay Nambi and colleagues report that they were able to […]
April 7th, 2010
Elevated Glucose Levels and IV Contrast Deliver a Double Hit to Renal Function
mikhailkosiborod
Hyperglycemia before coronary angiography raises the risk for contrast-induced, acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). My colleagues and I reached this conclusion in an investigation of the relationship between pre-procedural glucose levels and CI-AKI in 6,358 patients who underwent coronary angiography during hospitalization for MI. We found found a high risk for CI-AKI among those patients who had pre-procedural hyperglycemia but […]
April 6th, 2010
• Dronedarone Data Duel
Larry Husten, PHD
Dronedarone Data Duel: Two separate papers in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology offer starkly contrasting views on the role of dronedarone in clinical practice. In a viewpoint and commentary, David Singh and colleagues review the dronedarone data and conclude that although dronedarone “has the ability to control both rhythm and rate” in AF patients, […]
April 6th, 2010
It’s springtime….that must mean it’s time for that speed dating game we call the fellowship match
James De Lemos, MD
Every year around this time I spend hours thinking about what qualities go into making a good fellow and, equally important, how to figure out if an applicant has these qualities. When we review applications, we have only a few pieces of objective information such as academic pedigree, board scores, and publications; the rest is highly subjective half-truths from the personal […]
April 5th, 2010
• Update on IMPROVE-IT
• Olympic Hearts
Larry Husten, PHD
Update on IMPROVE-IT: IMPROVE-IT is the much anticipated and highly controversial ongoing study evaluating ezetimibe. In response to the controversy over the drug (see, for example, here and here), and to address the questions that “have been raised about whether the trial will be completed,” the trial investigators have written an editorial that has now been published online […]
April 1st, 2010
Alcohol or the Knife?
L. David Hillis, MD
Your patient with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is faced with a choice and asks, “If it were you, would you have alcohol ablation or myectomy?” Recent U.S. studies show that alcohol ablation is safe and effective (i.e., low complication rate, durable hemodynamic effects, and good long-term survival), whereas European studies suggest it is not (due […]
April 1st, 2010
• Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia Linked
• Predicting Mortality after PCI
Larry Husten, PHD
Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia Linked: The aging of the population will be accompanied by inevitable increases in the incidence of diseases like dementia and atrial fibrillation (AF). Now an epidemiologic study of more than 37,000 consecutive patients from the Intermountain Heart Collaborative Study has found that AF is independently associated with all types of dementia. […]