The HCPLive Cardiology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for heart disease and cardiovascular events, as well as associated diabetes, renal failure, and more...
October 25th 2024
New research indicates semaglutide reduced albuminuria and body weight in CKD patients without diabetes, highlighting its potential renal benefits.
Elevating Care for PAH: Applying Recommended Management Approaches to Maximize Outcomes
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‘REEL’ Time Patient Counseling™: Navigating the Complex Journey of Diagnosing and Managing Fabry Disease
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Expert Illustrations & Commentaries™: Envisioning Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Managing ANCA-associated Vasculitis
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Contemporary cardiac imaging in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
September 10th 2008Features of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) include obstruction at the left ventricular outflow tract (caused by a markedly thickened proximal interventricular septum) and systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve. The case discussed here illustrates several classic features of this disease including clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, and noninvasive and invasive management.
Trends in stroke over the past 50 years: The Framingham Study
September 10th 2008A significant reduction in the age-adjusted incidence of stroke in men and women and 30-day mortality in men was shown in a community-based cohort study with biennial assessment of vascular risk factors and active surveillance for incident stroke over the past 50 years. Lifetime risk, severity of stroke, and 30-day mortality in women were stable. Increased life expectancy results in an increase in lifetime risk. This increased longevity is balanced by improvements in risk factor management, yielding no significant change.
Alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk
We generally assume that having a good time must be bad for you,and no one would deny that irresponsible alcohol consumption takes a tremendous economic, social, and health-related toll on diverse populations all around the globe.
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.
One drug, so many off-target beneficial effects?
The background required for assessing this paper by Hanefeld and Forst is derived from clinical studies using statin and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR)γ agonists.
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.
Primary aldosteronism in hypertensive patients
September 10th 2008We evaluated the prevalence of primary aldosteronism in subjects newly diagnosed with hypertension who were referred to specialized hypertension centers. An aldosterone-producing adenoma was diagnosed in the subjects with lateralized aldosterone secretion, adenoma at surgery and on pathologic evaluation, and a blood pressure fall after adrenalectomy. Evidence of excess autonomous aldosterone secretion without such criteria led to a diagnosis of idiopathic hyperaldosteronism. Aldosterone-producing adenoma and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism were conclusively diagnosed in 4.8% and 6.4% of the subjects, respectively. Thus, with a prevalence of 11.2%, primary aldosteronism is quite common in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension.
Uncorking new evidence in the alcohol-hypertension relationship
Klatsky reports a link between elevated blood pressures and increased risk of hospitalizations for coronary heart disease and stroke that is independent of alcohol intake.
Asystole during sleep in a 46-year-old male athlete
September 10th 2008A number of electrocardiographic abnormalities have been described in athletes.1 Among these are sinus bradycardia and varying degrees of atrioventricular (AV) block. These findings have been attributed to the "athlete's heart," and are felt to be due to enhanced vagal tone seen with excellent physical conditioning. Secondarily it has also been suggested that there are intrinsic changes within the sinoatrial and AV nodes themselves, including prolonged sinus node recovery time and AV nodal Wenckebach, and these abnormalities persist following autonomic blockade.
Radiofrequency ablation vs medical therapy after a first episode of symptomatic atrial flutter
Atrial flutter is an arrhythmia that occurs less commonly than atrial fibrillation and is often resistant to rate control and termination.
Increased risk of major clinical events late after treatment with drug-eluting stents
September 10th 2008We compared the incidence of late clinical events after withdrawal of clopidogrel between subjects treated with drug-eluting stents (DES) and those treated with bare-metal stents. Death and myocardial infarction occurred more frequently among DES-treated subjects during the follow-up period. The results of this study indicate that there may be a penalty for the lower rate of restenosis and reinterventions after DES implantation, in particular, an increased rate of late stent thromboses.
A total of 114 patients with an intermediate pretest likelihood of coronary artery disease were evaluated with both multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Results showed that in the majority of cases, a normal MSCT scan was associated with normal perfusion. However, only half of patients with significant stenoses showed abnormal perfusion. Accordingly, MPI and MSCT are intrinsically different techniques and appear to be complementary rather than overlapping as they provide information on atherosclerosis versus ischemia, respectively.