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heartbriefs

Feb 7, 2010 19:01 EST

UPDATED WITH COMMENTARY // A link between gout and AMI has been previously documented in men: now a new cohort study suggests gout may be even more important as a comorbidity in women.

Vancouver, BC - A new population-based cohort study has found that women with gout but no history of ischemic heart disease had a 40% increased risk of acute MI over a seven-year follow-up period, compared with matched controls with no gout [1]. Authors of the study say their paper fills a knowledge gap linking gout and AMI in women; previous studies have focused on the independent impact of gout in men. Read full article »

Clinical cardiology

From the heart: Call for better African CV research

Feb 8, 2010 17:00 EST

Two doctors from Mozambique are calling for concerted efforts to foster multidisciplinary research into neglected cardiovascular diseases that predominantly occur in Africa. These include newly emerging cardiac manifestations of infectious diseases, say the authors.

Arrhythmia/EP

A good report card for laser-assisted pacemaker/ICD lead extraction

Feb 5, 2010 09:30 EST

Non-procedure-related clinical issues, such as diabetes or device-related infection, are a major cause of poor procedural and clinical outcomes; still, the overall success rate is high, and complication rate is very low, suggests a multicenter experience of >1400 cases.

News

Procedure volume is a close proxy for popular hospital quality rankings

1 COMMENT - Feb 3, 2010 14:30 EST

A study comparing cardiovascular outcomes at the "best hospitals," according to two popular hospital ranking systems, shows that the systems do identify high-quality hospitals, but not all of them.

News

Opportunity lost: 400 000 US CHD deaths predicted for 2010, as risk-reduction goals fall short

Feb 2, 2010 16:15 EST

The number of deaths predicted would be half as high, if the US population met goals set out 10 years ago in the Healthy People 2010 report, researchers say. Obesity and diabetes have proved to be the major obstacles.

Hypertension

Déjà vu? Experts debate new data on diuretic/CCB combo and MI risk

5 COMMENTS - Feb 2, 2010 14:00 EST

Low-risk hypertensive patients taking a combination of diuretics and calcium-channel blockers had a higher risk of MI than users of other common two-drug BP-lowering regimens in a new case-control study. The authors say a large clinical trial is needed to examine the best options for second-line therapy; others disagree.

Clinical cardiology

Herbal heartache: New review reminds cardiologists to query supplement use

Feb 1, 2010 17:00 EST

More than 15 million people in the US alone take herbal remedies and/or vitamins at doses that may be interacting with their cardiovascular medications, potentially putting them at risk.

Features

Ripe for change: US ponders populationwide salt-reduction policies

19 COMMENTS - Jan 29, 2010 14:15 EST

Most experts agree that reducing salt intake will cut blood pressure and in turn reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes. But messages to limit the amount of salt added to food have had little impact on sodium intake in the West, as more than 75% of salt in the diet there is contained in readily prepared foods. The UK has recently gotten tough with the food industry and cut salt intake by 10%; is it time the US and others took a similar stance? heartwire examines the issues.

Imaging

OCT finds additional at-risk lesions in AMI patients

4 COMMENTS - Jan 29, 2010 13:45 EST

The study is one of the first to compare rates of thin-cap, or vulnerable, plaques in AMI survivors and stable-angina patients, identifying important differences.

Thrombosis

The atrial septal pouch—a new source of thrombus?

11 COMMENTS - Jan 29, 2010 11:30 EST

This structure could be a source of thrombi and could explain the occurrence of many ischemic strokes, particularly in younger patients, researchers believe.

Hypertension

Beta blockers: Less effect on pulse pressure than diuretics

1 COMMENT - Jan 28, 2010 13:30 EST

A new review of the use of beta blockers as second-line therapy for primary hypertension has shown that they appear to lower BP differently from thiazide diuretics, with less of an effect on pulse pressure.

Hypertension

ARBs, ACE inhibitors, and Alzheimer's

Jan 28, 2010 09:30 EST

Although ARBs bested ACE inhibitors in this observational cohort, the data suggest that the lowest risks for Alzheimer's disease and nursing-home admission were seen in those taking both agents.

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Editorial Programs

Editorial series

Technology and the future of cardiovascular care

Feb 4, 2010 15:00 EST

Dr Eric Topol talks to heartwire's Shelley Wood about remote monitoring, individualized medicine, and the changing face of cardiovascular care.

Editorial series

Perspectives from AHA 2009: Wrapping up the Scientific Sessions with Clyde Yancy and Nancy Brown

Dec 2, 2009 11:15 EST

AHA president Dr Clyde Yancy and CEO Nancy Brown share insights from the recent sessions and discuss ongoing initiatives with heartwire's Shelley Wood.

The Cardiology Show

The AHA 2009 Roundup: ARBITER 6-HALTS, PLATO, the two CHAMPIONs, and CASCADE

3 COMMENTS - Nov 18, 2009 16:30 EST

Join Drs Valentin Fuster, Roger Blumenthal, Bob Harrington, Judith Hochman, Sanjay Kaul, Suzanne Oparil, Gregg Stone, Lynne Warner Stevenson, and Bruce Wilkoff as they discuss important news from the Scientific Sessions and tackle the issue of too little, too soon in clinical trials today.