August 29th, 2010
Downshifting Heart Rate in HF Found Beneficial
Larry Husten, PHD
In the SHIFT trial, Karl Swedberg and colleagues tested the effects of ivabradine, a selective sinus-node inhibitor, in 6558 patients with heart failure who had a heart rate ≥70 bpm. After a median 23 months of follow-up, the rate of cardiovascular death or hospital admission for worsening heart failure was 24% in the ivabradine group […]
August 29th, 2010
Alpha Omega Trial Tests Omega-3 Fatty Acids in CV Disease
Larry Husten, PHD
To test the effect of omega-3 fatty acids in cardiovascular disease, Kromhaut and colleagues with the Alpha Omega Trial Group randomized 4837 patients with a history of MI to treatment with one of four margarine preparations: one containing EPA and DHA; one with ALA; one with EPA, DHA, and ALA; or placebo. After 40 months, […]
August 27th, 2010
High-Risk PCI: Is an IABP Necessary?
Larry Husten, PHD
Simon Redwood and Divaka Perera answer our questions about their randomized trial of IABP insertion during high-risk PCI in patients with severe LV dysfunction and extensive coronary disease. Check out our conversation and then ask them your own questions here.
August 27th, 2010
Compression-Only CPR: It May Help Bystanders Breathe Easier
Mark Steven Link, MD
A recent randomized, controlled study in the NEJM showed that patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who received compression-only CPR or traditional CPR had similar 30-day survival rates. CardioExchange asks Dr. Mark Link, a cardiac electrophysiologist and member of the American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support Committee, to answer our questions about compression-only vs. traditional […]
August 27th, 2010
Door-to-Balloon vs. Total Health System Delay: Which Clock Matters Most?
Larry Husten, PHD
Rick Lange brings the latest research on door-to-balloon times and moderates a free-flowing discussion with David Hillis, Harlan Krumholz, and Richard R. Schneider. Given regional variations, how do you think these patients should be treated? Tell us what you know here.
August 26th, 2010
Getting Ready for the ESC
Larry Husten, PHD
The annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology starts this weekend in Stockholm, and CardioExchange will be there. Associate Editor Anju Nohria will be blogging from the meeting, and I’ll be covering the most important news stories. Here are a few of the most-anticipated, late-breaking clinical trials.
August 25th, 2010
Studies Probe Cardiovascular Risks of Migraines
Larry Husten, PHD
Two new studies in BMJ provide important new details about the elusive relationship between migraines and cardiovascular disease. In the first study, researchers in Iceland analyzed data from 18,725 middle-aged men and women who were followed for a median of 25.9 years. Larus Gudmundsson and colleagues found that people with migraine with aura were at […]
August 25th, 2010
Is There a Generation Gap in Cardiology?
Larry Husten, PHD, Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM, L. David Hillis, MD and Andrew M. Kates, MD
A brief posting in the Wall Street Journal Health Blog on the clash of generations in the medical workplace recently caught our attention. The Blog summarizes a commentary by Sharon Phelan in Obstetrics & Gynecology, which posits that “different attitudes about work and life held by members of different generations can create tensions and clashes in the […]
August 24th, 2010
Questions About IABP During High-Risk PCI
Larry Husten, PHD
CardioExchange welcomes Simon Redwood and Divaka Perera to discuss their randomized trial of routine intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) insertion during high-risk PCI for the reduction of major adverse cardiac and cardiovascular events (MACCE) in patients with severe LV dysfunction and extensive coronary disease. Their study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, […]
August 24th, 2010
Study Suggests Prognostic Power of Dyspnea in Acute Heart Failure
Larry Husten, PHD
Results of a study with the hormone relaxin suggest that a lack of ongoing dyspnea relief may be an important predictor of outcome. Marco Metra and fellow investigators in the Pre-RELAX-AHF study randomized 232 patients with acute heart failure to placebo or one of 4 doses of relaxin. Only 25% of all patients in the […]