Cardiology news: award winning coverage by heartwire

Arrhythmia/EP

Fidelis failures climb: "Strongly consider" replacement at ICD change-out

Feb 10, 2012 17:00 EST

It may be a good time to replace patients' Medtronic Sprint Fidelis leads, which were recalled due to an increased fracture risk, if they are getting new ICD generators anyway—even if the Fidelis hasn't shown signs of trouble, a group recommends.

Heart failure

New mitral-repair therapies face obstacles

Feb 10, 2012 16:30 EST

Why has the development of less invasive mitral-valve repair therapies lagged so far behind comparable strategies to treat the aortic valve? Experts from FDA, industry, and academic medical centers offered some possible answers in a roundtable discussion.

Features

The doctor will see you now (from the other side of the world)

5 COMMENTS - Feb 10, 2012 12:30 EST

A unique "medical mission" using handheld echo in a remote rural population in India is being hailed as a success after cardiologists around the globe logged on over a two-day period to read the echocardiograms of unseen patients half a world away.

Arrhythmia/EP

Referring MDs fall short on ICD-indication guidelines

Feb 9, 2012 12:15 EST

A lot of generalists and some cardiologists apparently don't know some of the fundamental criteria for indication of a primary-prevention device and so may not be referring all patients who might benefit, a survey suggests.

Heart failure

Generalists need education on HF treatment

3 COMMENTS - Feb 7, 2012 14:00 EST

A unique study trying to drill down into why cardiologists seem to gain better outcomes than generalists when treating heart failure has identified a number of reasons that this is the case. But generalists—who treat the majority of HF—have to deal with older and sicker patients, confounding the issue. The authors hope the work will act as a catalyst to improve HF care.

Arrhythmia/EP

ICDs charged with sex discrimination: Women get fewer shocks

Feb 6, 2012 17:00 EST

Differences in appropriate-therapy and device-related complication rates in a prospective study question (once again) whether women and men should have the same ICD-eligibility criteria.

Heart failure

Heart failure linked to loss of brain gray matter

Feb 3, 2012 16:15 EST

Heart failure is associated with a decline in mental function and loss of gray matter in the brain, which may make it more difficult for patients to follow instructions regarding their medication, a new Australian study has found.

Medscape Medical News

Aspirin as effective as warfarin in heart failure: WARCEF

3 COMMENTS - Feb 3, 2012 14:55 EST

Although there was an edge for warfarin for those treated for four or more years, there is "no compelling" reason to anticoagulate these patients, researchers say.

Heart failure

"Tetherless" power-transmission technology could radically change LVAD therapy

2 COMMENTS - Feb 3, 2012 11:00 EST

New wireless technology used to power implantable ventricular assist devices has the potential to make them far safer than ever before and bring the therapy to patients at earlier stages of heart failure than are currently recommended.

Interventional/Surgery

CMS draft of proposed coverage for TAVI

Feb 3, 2012 09:30 EST

The CMS has issued a draft of the conditions under which it will provide coverage for transcatheter aortic-valve replacements, as the technology begins to be rolled out in the US.

Features

The flap over flavonoids

7 COMMENTS - Feb 2, 2012 15:15 EST

The field of flavonoids and polyphenols continues to attract a massive amount of interest, from researchers and the public alike. But can health really be improved by eating chocolate and drinking red wine?

Murmurs

Dr Mandeep Mehra leaves Baltimore for post at the Brigham

Feb 1, 2012 17:15 EST

The accomplished specialist in advanced heart failure is taking on new challenges at the head of the Boston institution's Advanced Heart Disease Center.

Interventional/Surgery

US "roadmap" for TAVI rollout published

1 COMMENT - Feb 1, 2012 15:00 EST

A new US expert-consensus document on transcatheter aortic-valve implantation aims to smooth the rollout of this new technology stateside.

Heart failure

Shifty and dangerous: Worsening diastolic dysfunction ups mortality

Jan 31, 2012 16:45 EST

Actually, it was just as strong a mortality predictor as worsening systolic function in a retrospective series of patients followed with echocardiography.

Heart failure

3B or not 3B? Should patients get an LVAD before reaching end-stage HF?

2 COMMENTS - Jan 30, 2012 10:00 EST

Experts debated the evidence supporting the expansion of LVAD therapy to patients whose heart failure has not yet progressed to the so-called end stage.

Heart failure

Don't routinely replace spent ICDs: Proposal

1 COMMENT - Jan 27, 2012 17:00 EST

It may have little to offer and it might not be what the patient wants, argues a perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Arrhythmia/EP

Riata Summit insights: Vigilance key to following functional but "recalled" ICD leads

Jan 27, 2012 10:00 EST

UPDATED // Most attending the recent Riata ICD lead summit felt that fluoroscopic screening of Riata recipients was a reasonable thing to do, at odds with some recommendations; remote monitoring has its limits here, say VA data.

Murmurs

Cardiologists flagging woeful patient care say they paid with their jobs

8 COMMENTS - Jan 25, 2012 15:30 EST

An echocardiographer and cardiac surgeon who say their jobs were axed in retaliation after they lodged numerous complaints of substandard patient care at a county hospital in Santa Clara are suing some of their former bosses, including two other cardiologists. The plaintiffs also claim they suffered severe harassment as a result of expressing their concerns. The defendants' attorney says the case "is hotly disputed."

Medscape Medical News

Pay for SGR repeal with war savings, say medical groups

3 COMMENTS - Jan 24, 2012 15:45 EST

A letter to Rep Dave Camp from 110 medical societies admits that war savings from military pullbacks are a "budget gimmick" but says they could retire SGR debt, another budget gimmick.

Acute Coronary Syndromes

Pillow talk: First AHA advice on sex and CVD

Jan 19, 2012 16:00 EST

The first-ever guidance on sexual activity and cardiovascular disease from the AHA encourages doctors, patients, and their partners to discuss the subject during consultations. The majority of those with heart disease can safely engage in sex, which is important to quality of life, it concludes.

Heart failure

Mortality climbs with rising PA pressure in heart failure: Community-based study

Jan 18, 2012 09:45 EST

The finding in a broad community-based HF population confirms and extends what is recognized in the hospital setting.

News

Resveratrol scientists react to Das fraud scandal: "Research will continue"

4 COMMENTS - Jan 13, 2012 17:20 EST

As the controversy over the research fraud allegations against Dr Dipak Das enters its third day, researchers told heartwire what the news means for the field of resveratrol research and, more pressingly, an upcoming scientific meeting.

Imaging

FDA: CardioGen-82 problems site-specific

Jan 13, 2012 10:15 EST

The generators, used in cardiac nuclear scans, were recalled by the manufacturer last summer, and the FDA previously found fault with manufacturing processes. Now the FDA says the excessive radiation cases appear to have occurred only at specific clinical sites and were unrelated to any manufacturing deficiencies.

Medscape Medical News

Red-wine researcher charged with photo-editing fraud

6 COMMENTS - Jan 13, 2012 09:30 EST

A University of Connecticut investigation found Dr Dipak K Das guilty of falsifying and fabricating images that appeared in published research.

Acute Coronary Syndromes

Serum potassium targets in acute MI need rethink, analysis suggests

7 COMMENTS - Jan 10, 2012 16:00 EST

Recommendations to routinely raise serum potassium levels when ventricular arrhythmias are a concern may be based on outmoded data, according to authors of one of the largest analyses of its kind.