Cardiology

Brief summaries of research results and other articles on the clinical characteristics, evaluation, and management of patients with hyponatremia.

Use this online calculator to compute infusion rates for hypertonic and normal saline solutions, and estimated body water compartment volumes, for mild to severe hyponatremia.

Results from the RELAX-AHF show serelaxin reduces cardiovascular deaths and improves symptoms in patients with heart failure.

Results from a substudy of the PLATO trial show that patients with extensive CAD and high rates of recurrent cardiovascular events, death, and bleeding may benefit from treatment with ticagrelor.

Results from a sub-study of the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) that focused on quality of life issues in patients who had previously suffered a heart attack and were treated with chelation therapy reveal no improvements in these patients' quality of life.

Results from the TEMPO trial presented at Kidney Week 2012 show that treatment with tolvaptan slowed the increase in total kidney volume and the decline in kidney function in patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD).

Increasing numbers of people are on kidney transplant waiting lists. However, the number of potential living donors may shrink as more Americans qualify as pre-diabetic, making them less than ideal donor candidates.

Experts at Kidney Week 2012 discuss several treatment options for hyponatremia, including fluid restriction, loop diuretics, and the use of selective vasopressin V2-receptor antagonists.

A diet rich in highly alkaline fruits and vegetables helps reduce a marker of kidney injury and preserve kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Use of peritoneal dialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease is declining due to lack of physician training and awareness, financial disincentives, and other factors. However, with proper patient and provider education, it is possible to grow a successful peritoneal dialysis program.

Mark F. Mehler, MD, discussed how brain and behavior are becoming better understood through the emerging discipline of epigenetics.

The FDA mandated a new safety warning for the heart rhythm drug Multaq after studies showed that it doubled the risk of heart-related complications in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation.

According to a nationwide review of data from the in-patient register, 31 of the 33 autoimmune diseases studied were associated with an increased risk of pulmonary embolism (a blood clot on the lung), including type 1 diabetes.

Tolvaptan appears to have both clinical and economic benefits for heart failure patients with hyponatremia, reports a new study.

If you didn't know it already, you do now: stress kills. That's according to the results of a new study that concludes that men who experience persistently moderate or high levels of stressful life events over a number of years have a 50% higher mortality rate.

A cutting-edge procedure that involves freezing part of the heart in order to cure atrial fibrillation was successful.

The FDA today approved Juvisync, the first combination drug developed to treat type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol.

The FDA has approved Soliris (eculizumab) to treat pediatric and adult patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Autophagy may provide an entirely new target to reverse atherosclerosis.

Researchers have found that inserting intra-aortic balloon pumps before angioplasty in patients with AMI does not reduce heart muscle damage.

Patients in a happy marriage were three times more likely to be alive15 years following coronary bypass surgery than patients who were single.

A common virus may be the root of the most frequently occurring type of hypertension.