Is Deactivating Defibrillators Assisted Suicide?
Amid the ongoing debate about whether patients are getting the best end-of-life care, a University of Pennsylvania team today presented survey results on a potential ethics question: How would patients feel if doctors turned off their defibrillators against the wishes of patient or family?
Mom's Pre-pregnancy Weight Impacts Risk of Dying Decades Later
Adults whose mothers were overweight prior to pregnancy have a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014.
UK Mystery: Why More Endocarditis?
The United Kingdom has a medical mystery on its hands: what is causing a recent increase in infective endocarditis? One theory is that the uptick is due to a change in dental care. The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence amended the rules on dental procedures, so patients no longer routinely get prophylactic antibiotics before invasive oral procedures.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Drug Treatment Disappoints
The most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young people is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited condition that can lead to heart failure, angina, arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. There is no medical treatment shown to halt or reverse the progression of the disease-just palliative care or surgery.
Losartan Trial for Marfan Syndrome Has Negative Results
Cardiologists treating pediatric patients with Marfan syndrome were hopeful that positive results from animal studies using losartan would be replicated in humans. But in a comparison of losartan with atenolol, researchers found no difference in the drugs' performance.
ODYSSEY Alternative Trials Show Promise for Hypercholesterolemia Patients
For patients with a statin intolerance, getting the treatment they need to manage their cholesterol levels can be difficult. A recent study has shown that a new class of drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors could help effectively manage cholesterol levels in this patient population.
Fighting the Hollywood Heart Attack
In the Hollywood version of the heart attack, patients clutch their chests, gasp for air, and often keel over. Real life isn't usually like that. But the problem for cardiologists and other physicians whose patients have cardiac events, is that the patient may not realize he or she has had one.
Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: 6 Months as Good as 12?
During a question-and-answer session at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014, Stefania Schüpke, MD discussed the results of her ISAR-SAFE study of the dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation is still unknown.
Pulse Oximetry Law Finds Newborns' Heart Problems
Undetected neonatal heart defects can cause a variety of serious problems, including an increased risk of death. A recently enacted New Jersey law mandating screening for congenital heart defects has uncovered cases of congenital heart problems and likely saved lives.
LCZ696 Changing the Course of Heart Failure One Patient at a Time
Heart failure is highly debilitating and life threatening – nearly half the patients who die from cardiovascular causes do so suddenly when their heart simply stops pumping, well before medical intervention is even possible.
LCZ696 Could Set New 'Gold Standard' for Heart Failure Treatment
With heart failure increasing in prevalence as the US population ages, early detection and more effective treatments are important. Now, data from clinical studies show that treatment with the experimental angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 can significantly reduce patients' risk of sudden death and hospitalization.
Increased Risk of Ischemic Events Upon Discontinuation of Prasugrel
Kirk Garratt, MD, presenting at the 2014 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, said "The TAXUS Liberte Post-approval Study (TL-PAS) was designed to provide long-term safety and efficacy information about the clinical outcomes for the TL stent combined with the use of prasugrel and aspirin."
VP Cheney's Other Role: Heart Patient
Former VP Dick Cheney spoke at AHA 2014 about his experiences as a model heart patient. Speaking with his cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner, MD, of George Washington University, Cheney recounted his 5 heart attacks, a CABG procedure, defibrillator implantation, getting a left-ventricular assistive device, and at age 71, a heart from an anonymous donor.
Left Heart Remodeling in Patients with Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
"Left heart remodeling after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is poorly characterized," according to Marco Magalhaes, MD, who presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2014.
Stressing the Importance of Physical Activity to Patients of All Ages
The days of children playing outside from sunrise to sunset are long gone, and many children also do not get enough exercise at school during gym or recess. Knowing this, it is important for physicians to educated parents and children on the beneficial effect physical exercise can have on children's health now and later in life.
Do Men and Women Really Handle Stress Differently?
Living in the 21st century is stressful for just about everyone. What can change the way it affects a person's life is how they handle it. A recent study looked at whether women handle stress differently and what it can mean to a person's overall health.
High-caffeine energy drinks can cause serious cardiac and neurological symptoms in children. At the 2014 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago, IL, Steven Lipshultz, MD, called for new labeling on the drinks that would spell out risks, particularly for the adolescent consumers manufacturers target for marketing.
Are Hospitals a Bad Place to Have a Heart Attack?
Could hospitals be a bad place to have heart attacks? That's the finding of a North Carolina research team that looked at data from 303 California hospitals. Patients who had heart attacks while hospitalized for a non-cardiac ailment had a more than 3-fold greater in-hospital mortality than patients taken to a hospital.
Clot-prevention Therapies: No Clear Answer
Dual antiplatelet blood-thinning therapy (DAPT) immediately after stenting with a drug-eluting device has been shown to prevent major cardiac events and stent thrombosis in most patients. Current American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines recommend 12 months of therapy post-stenting. But out of concern over potential risks of continuing the drugs longer, or even indefinitely, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked device manufacturers to study the longer-term consequences of the therapy.
Study Looks at Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency on Treatment for Hypertension
November 22nd 2013With nearly one-third of US adults suffering from vitamin D deficiency, and studies showing a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension risk, supplementation with vitamin D may increase the effectiveness of hypertension treatments.
Aspirin at Bedtime vs. Aspirin in the Morning: Which Produces Greater Cardiovascular Benefits?
November 22nd 2013Although there appears to be no difference in blood pressure reduction in patients who take aspirin at bedtime compared to those who take it when they awake in the morning, bedtime aspirin may be associated with reduced morning platelet reactivity.
Bioengineered Blood Vessel Offers Potential Improvements for Dialysis Patients
November 21st 2013Initial results from human clinical trials involving the use of bioengineered blood vessels could point the way to cost-effective alternative therapies for hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease.
Assessing the Efficacy of Algisyl-LVR in the Treatment of Advanced Heart Failure
November 21st 2013Patients with heart failure who received left ventricle augmentation with Algisyl-LVR hydrogel implant experienced improved quality of life and functional capacity compared to similar patients treated with optimal medical therapy.