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Stanley J. Katz, MD, is chief of cardiology, North Shore University Hospital, Manhassett, New York.
Latest Article

Transcatheter occlusion of the left atrial appendage

Atrial fibrillation commonly affects millions of patients, and often causes the disabling complication of cardioembolic stroke.

Jim Lunney
Dirk van Dijk
Paul Hanks
David M. Shavelle, MD, FACC, FSCAI

David M. Shavelle, MD, is an interventional cardiologist with board certification in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and interventional cardiology. He is an associate professor at the Keck Medical School of USC, director of the LAC USC Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and director of the General Cardiovascular Fellowship at USC.

Marlene Piturro, PhD, MBA
Evelyn Fischer
Materials Provided by Children's Hospital Boston
Sharmistha Sarkar, Allied Market Research
Latest Article

Considering Three Major Developments in the Diabetes Retinopathy Industry

The DR market is expected to accrue a sum of $2,490 million by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 14.4% from 2014-2022.

Sydney Hartman, MD
Latest Article

Rapid Testing for Strep Pharyngitis alone; Culture Not Needed

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the accuracy of rapid antigen diagnostic tests (RADTs) for group A strep (GAS) pharyngitis in children and adults as well as differences between studies already performed.

ROGER TOBIAS, MD
Margaret Cary, MD MBA MPH PCC
Latest Article

In Medicine, The "Soft" Skills Are Essential

Too few physicians have the “soft” communications and interpersonal skills they need to succeed in clinical settings. That’s a big and potentially deadly problem.

Thomas Forst, MD: From the Center for Clinical Studies, GWT-Technical University, Dresden
Latest Article

Anti-inflammatory effects of pioglitazone and/or simvastatin in patients with distinct clinical risk for cardiovascular complications

Statins are the most commonly used pharmacologic intervention in patients with increased cardiovascular risk. In addition to their beneficial effect on the atherogenic lipid profile, they have been shown to exert several pleiotrophic effects, including the reduction of low-grade inflammation. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are a new class of antidiabetic drugs that have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our study is the first to show a complementary effect of TZD and statin treatment on several cardiovascular risk factors in subjects without diabetes. These findings may have important implications for further discussion on cardiovascular risk reduction, especially for patients with metabolic syndrome.

Stefan Verheye, MD, PhD
Latest Article

Late mortality with sirolimus-eluting stents in diseased saphenous vein grafts

In a secondary post-hoc analysis of the Reduction of Restenosis in Saphenous Vein Grafts with Cypher (RRISC) trial, we compared the long-term safety of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) with bare-metal stents (BMS) in diseased saphenous vein grafts

Davy James
Eric G. Tangalos, MD, FACP, AGSF, CMD
Latest Article

First, Do No Harm: The Role of Medication Reconciliation in Reducing Preventable Errors

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations states that medication errors continue to be one of the most frequent causes of preventable harm in healthcare. As Tangalos sees it, electronic and IT solutions hold the greatest promise to eliminate these errors.

Ilya Sabsovich, MD, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst, NY, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Michele Hoh, MD
Latest Article

Is This Teenager a Good Candidate for an IUD?

Although they are underutilized, intrauterine devices are among the safest and most efficacious forms of birth control available for adolescents.

Dave Gilreath
Hans Steiner, MD
Evan Welch, CFP
Todd C. Villines, MD: From the Walter Reed Army Medical Center,Washington, DC
Latest Article

Intensive statin therapy in acute coronary syndrome

We conducted a meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials involving 17 963 subjects to determine the effect of intensive statin therapy instituted within 14 days of hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome. Results showed that early, intensive statin therapy is safe and significantly decreases cardiovascular death and recurrent ischemia following acute coronary syndrome after 6 months of treatment.

Nova Southeastern University College of Medicine, Fort Lauderdale
Latest Article

Assessing risk through "inspired" care

This retrospective subanalysis of the Adenosine Sestamibi SPECT Post-Infarction Evaluation (INSPIRE) trial shows that early adenosine sestamibi stress testing is not only safe early after myocardial infarction (MI), but can also be very useful to identify patients at very low risk for events in the first year after discharge.

Louis Kozloff, MD, is clinical professor of surgery, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC.
Latest Article

High-dose statins and the high-risk vascular surgery patient

In a recently published prior paper, Dr Feringa and his colleagues called attention to the prevalence of postoperative cardiac abnormalities in patients undergoing noncardiac vascular surgery.

Carlo Schweiger, MD
Marilena Romero, MScPharm1
Latest Article

Antithrombotic treatment of high-risk elderly patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation

We assessed the pattern of use and the effectiveness of antithrombotic therapy in a cohort of high-risk elderly patients hospitalized for atrial fibrillation, with data derived from prescription, hospitalization, and mortality databases from 3 linked registries. Results showed that antithrombotic therapy was underused, even in patients with no comorbid conditions. In addition, patients exposed to antithrombotic therapy had a significantly lower mortality rate. The collection of epidemiological data by record linkage represents a flexible and readily available tool for monitoring and improving routine clinical care.

Nathan Skelley, MD
David Lubin
Elizabeth Mills
Latest Article

The Virtual Window: Clinical Trial Reports--March 2007

Successful research into new therapies for cancer requires a ready supply of patients willing to participate in clinical trials, and physicians and other health care professionals who will refer their patients to the appropriate studies. In each issue, we provide up-to-date information on current or recently announced phase I, II, and III clinical trials focused on biotech-related oncology pharmaceutical therapies.

Puja Parikh, MD
Latest Article

Failing with women: How clinical trials fail our largest subgroup

The current guidelines for the management of heart failure in women are based upon data collected from studies predominantly enrolling men. However, because important differences exist in the sex-based pathogenesis of and prognosis for heart failure, the current risk-benefit analyses that guide the evidence-based management of heart failure in women demands prospective assessment.