February 2nd, 2010
Tuesday February 2 News Roundup: Salt Defended, Laser Lead Extractions, AF Ablation Live on TV
Larry Husten, PHD
A Different View on Salt: In the face of popular proposals to cut dietary salt, Michael Alderman, in a JAMA Commentary, points to the paucity of randomized trials proving the benefits of sodium reductions. “Rarely, smoking excepted, do observational studies by repeated, robust, and consistently positive findings justify a public health recommendation.” Alderman proposes “a more cautious approach” of first performing randomized trials.
Laser Lead Extraction: A large consecutive series of laser-assisted lead extractions produced few complications and a high success rate, though centers with low volume had higher complication rates. Bruce Wilkoff led the study that was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
AF Ablation on The Today Show: Mauricio Arruda performed a live AF catheter ablation procedure on The Today Show. Click here to view the segment.
NEJM — Recent Cardiology Articles- Seeing the Left Main Coronary Artery Clearly — Is IVUS Always Necessary? June 11, 2026Treatment of the left main coronary artery with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the absence of previous surgical revascularization, also referred to as an unprotected left main coronary artery PCI, is one of the riskier tasks that interventional cardiologists are asked to perform. Stent implantation in the left main coronary...
- IVUS — A Zigzag Path to Success June 11, 2026The use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging for assessment of the coronary arteries has an almost 40-year history. In an editorial comment on an early ex vivo assessment of the accuracy of IVUS in evaluating human coronary arteries, Yock and Linker1 posed three questions that remain relevant today:...
- Prescription without Precision — Dangers of Dosing on the Basis of Race as Biology June 11, 2026Despite recognition that racial and ethnic categories are poor proxies for genetic diversity, race is still used to guide pharmaceutical use, posing risks of ineffectively low or dangerously high dosing.
- Case 16-2026: A 14-Year-Old Girl with Hypertension June 11, 2026A 14-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital because of hypertension and headache. She had hypokalemia, an elevated blood level of C-reactive protein, and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. A diagnosis was made.
- Antidotes for Anticoagulation Reversal June 11, 2026The authors review current strategies for anticoagulation reversal in major bleeding events or urgent surgery as well as specific antidotes, limits of available evidence, thrombotic risks, unmet therapeutic needs, and ongoing research.
- Seeing the Left Main Coronary Artery Clearly — Is IVUS Always Necessary? June 11, 2026