December 13th, 2010
False-Positive CT Angiogram Leads to Heart Transplant
Larry Husten, PHD
A 52-year old woman with atypical chest pain ended up with a heart transplant after a CT angiogram to “reassure” her sparked a devastating sequence of events. Following a false-positive CT angiogram, the patient underwent coronary angiography and suffered a dissection of the left main coronary artery, followed by emergency CABG, subsequent graft failure, and […]
December 13th, 2010
Preconceptions
Westby G Fisher, MD
CardioExchange welcomes this guest post, reprinted with permission, from Dr. Westby Fisher, an electrophysiologist practicing at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. This piece originally appeared on his blog, Dr. Wes. One more to see after cases were completed. It had been a long […]
December 10th, 2010
Heart Failure Death Statistics: Don’t Believe What You Read on the Internet
Mary Knudson, Health Journalist
Well-known science journalist Mary Knudson is the author of HeartSense, a blog about heart failure, from which the following post is taken. In this post, she takes issue with the grim and outdated prognosis data presented to the public by a prominent heart failure website. In its website section on heart failure facts, the Heart Failure Society of […]
December 9th, 2010
CDC Demotes Stroke to Fourth Leading Cause of Death
Larry Husten, PHD
Chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD) has replaced stroke as the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to preliminary 2008 statistics published by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. In 2008, there were 133,750 deaths from stroke compared to 141,075 deaths from CLRD. Although the stroke rate has been declining for […]
December 9th, 2010
Meta-Analysis Finds Aromatase Inhibitors Increase Risk for Heart Disease
Larry Husten, PHD
A new meta-analysis has found that postmenopausal women taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) instead of tamoxifen to treat breast cancer appear to be at increased risk for cardiovascular complications. The results were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Previous studies suggested that women taking AIs were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, while women […]
December 9th, 2010
The Language of Medicine: Getting to the Heart of Physician-Patient Communication
CardioExchange Editors, Staff
CardioExchange welcomes this guest post, reprinted with permission, from an anonymous medical resident. The post originally appeared on her blog, A Medical Resident’s Journey. An article in the Wall Street Journal, Taking Medical Jargon Out of Doctor Visits, emphasizes that the use of medical jargon leads to poor communication between physicians and patients, and consequently leads […]
December 8th, 2010
ROCKET-AF: Stroke Prevention and Beyond!
Manesh R. Patel, MD
The ROCKET-AF trial, which was recently presented at AHA, showed that the experimental factor Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban was as effective as warfarin in preventing stroke in 14,264 AF patients and did not increase their risk of bleeding. CardioExchange welcomes one of the trial’s investigators, Manesh Patel of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, to answer our […]
December 8th, 2010
The Spin on the Impella Device: PROTECTing Whom?
L. David Hillis, MD and Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA
The PROTECT II study — a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled comparison of the Impella cardiac assist device (produced by Abiomed) and the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients requiring hemodynamic support during nonemergent, high risk PCI — was stopped early based on a futility determination regarding the primary endpoint at the time of planned interim analysis. […]
December 8th, 2010
PROTECT II Study of Impella Stopped Early for Futility
Larry Husten, PHD
The PROTECT II study has been stopped early. The trial had been comparing the Impella circulatory support device to the intra-aortic balloon in high-risk PCI patients. The trial was terminated after an interim analysis by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, which reached a “futility determination… regarding the primary end-point,” according to a press release […]
December 8th, 2010
Third Time’s the Charm: FDA Panel Finally Backs an Obesity Pill
Larry Husten, PHD
Following rejections earlier this year of two previous anti-obesity drugs, the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs advisory committee has recommended approval for Contrave, the combination of sustained-release formulations of naltrexone and buproprion from Orexigen Therapeutics. The committee voted 13-7 in favor of the drug, saying that the benefits of Contrave outweighed its risks. The committee […]