April 30th, 2014
Thinking About Risk
John E Brush, MD
John E. Brush discusses new ways to help patients consider their cardiovascular risk.
April 29th, 2014
Dietary Fiber After MI Linked to Improved Survival
Larry Husten, PHD
Consuming more dietary fiber after myocardial infarction is associated with a reduced risk for death. In a report published in BMJ, researchers analyzed long-term data about diet and other risk factors from more than 4000 healthcare professionals who had an MI. Nine years after the MI, people who were in the highest quintile of fiber consumption had […]
April 29th, 2014
Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy: A House of Cards About to Fall?
Larry Husten, PHD
For more than a decade, cardiac stem cell therapy has attracted an enormous amount of attention, promise, and research dollars. Now an original and important new study published in BMJ finds that many of the most promising results in the field are illusory and that the potential benefits of stem cells to treat heart disease are probably […]
April 28th, 2014
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 28th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include BP targets during septic shock, reducing time-to-needle times in acute ischemic stroke, and an increase in fat and calorie consumption in U.S. statin users.
April 28th, 2014
Calorie, Fat Consumption Up Among Statin Users
Nicholas Downing, MD
Calorie and fat consumption increased significantly from 1999 to 2010 among statin users — but not among nonusers — according to a JAMA Internal Medicine study. The researchers conclude that “the importance of dietary composition may need to be reemphasized for statin users.” The researchers evaluated 24-hour dietary recall data from nearly 28,000 adults participating […]
April 28th, 2014
Patient-Centered Imaging: How Best to Communicate the Benefits and Risks of Testing
Andrew Einstein, MD, PhD and John Ryan, MD
Andrew Einstein discusses his JACC paper on shared-decision making for cardiac imaging procedures that expose the patient to radiation.
April 24th, 2014
Study Details Cardiovascular Events in Cannabis Users
Nicholas Downing, MD
One quarter of cardiovascular events among young cannabis users might be fatal, according to a small study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers examined 35 cardiovascular events (1.8% of roughly 2000 adverse events) in cannabis users reported to the French Addictovigilance Network from 2006 to 2010. Nearly half the patients reported using […]
April 24th, 2014
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 24th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include trials of aspirin and clonidine in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery, changes in diabetes-related complications in the U.S., and more.
April 23rd, 2014
The Challenges of Early Career Cardiologists in Academic Medicine
John Ryan, MD and Andrew M. Kates, MD
In a recent JACC paper co-authored by CardioExchange Editors John Ryan and Andy Kates, the challenges facing early career cardiologists in academic medicine are discussed. Ryan and Kates delve further into what these issues are and why addressing them is important. John Ryan: The physician-scientist serves an important role by bringing advances in research into the clinical arena. […]
April 22nd, 2014
Large French Registry Lends Support To Pharmaco-Invasive Strategy For STEMI
Larry Husten, PHD
It is generally agreed that the best treatment for STEMI patients is immediate reperfusion with PCI. But for many patients primary PCI is not available within the time frame leading to the greatest benefit. Previous studies have found good short-term outcomes in patients who receive a pharmaco-invasive strategy, in which patients first receive fibrinolytic therapy and […]