Atrial Fibrillation

MINNEAPOLIS -- Presence of just a single risk factor for sudden death may justify implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in high-risk patients with hypertophic cardiomyopathy, researchers here found.

CHICAGO -- Medicare patients who couldn't read a physician's instructions, or who didn't understand what they read had a higher mortality rate than patients with adequate reading skills.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation have about a 33% lower risk of stroke and major vascular events when treated with oral anticoagulants rather than antiplatelet therapy, findings from a systematic review of clinical trials suggest.

BOSTON -- If hospitals consistently meet quality targets, mortality rates for three common conditions are 7% to 15% lower than in less rigorous institutions, health analysts here reported.

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Antiplatelet therapy alone is as effective in peripheral arterial disease as adding an oral anticoagulant, and it's safer, researchers reported.

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Diabetes complicates hospital trauma care much as it does for in-patient acute care, researchers here reported.

DALLAS -- For cardiac patients, weight training twice a week may be a good adjunct to aerobic conditioning, according to an updated scientific statement from the American Heart Association.

BALTIMORE -- Older and cheaper oral drugs for type 2 diabetes may be just as effective at controlling glycemia and improving lipid profiles as newer agents, suggested a systematic literature review.

SAN ANTONIO -- Drugs that lower angiotensin II may increase the risk of stroke, contrary to conventional wisdom, an investigator asserted here.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Hispanic women with coronary artery disease and hypertension achieved better blood pressure control than non-Hispanic white counterparts who were treated with the same antihypertensive drugs.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) drugs, such as sildenafil (Viagra), may improve right ventricular contractility in hearts with right ventricular hypertrophy, an unexpected benefit that looks promising for treatment of right ventricular heart failure.

LORENSKOG, Norway -- B-type natriuretic peptides have earned a new vote of confidence as a prognostic biomarker for low-risk patients with stable coronary disease.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- When patients have to pay more for their prescriptions, spending on drugs goes down, but so does adherence, a new study shows.

GENEVA -- Airline travel that lasts four hours or longer is associated with a one in 6,000 absolute risk of developing venous thromboembolism, according to the World Health Organization.

* Vena caval interruption has been used in the treatment of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) to prevent PE since the early 1970s. Filter placement has been increasing in the past decade. We estimate that filters are placed in more than 0.2% of all Medicare recipients annually.

Heart failure is prevalent in both primary care and cardiology practices. It develops in about 1 in 5 persons during their lifetime and in about 1 in 8 of those who have not sustained a myocardial infarction (MI). Heart failure is also the leading cause of hospitalization in the elderly.

Your Observations About the Man With the Tripod Sign

A 67-year-old woman arrived via ambulance in ventricular tachycardia. She had been experiencing crushing substernal chest pain and shortness of breath that had worsened over the past several hours. She received oxygen (by mask) and lidocaine (100 mg intravenously) en route to the emergency department (ED), but there was no change in the rhythm.

CHICAGO -- Metabolic syndrome and its components helped predict mortality for diabetic and non-diabetic patients alike, independently of Framingham cardiovascular risk, researchers found.

CHICAGO -- When the spotlight here focused on rosiglitazone (Avandia) and its harshest critic, Steven E. Nissen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic, the cardiologist offered a mild apology to a room full of diabetologists for complicating their lives.

SEATTLE -- Severe diastolic dysfunction tops all other echocardiograhic measures as a post-MI prognostic marker, investigators reported here.

BALTIMORE -- Most of the 5,000 hospitals that care for Medicare patients meet the national average for 30-day mortality from MI or heart failure, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data show.

SEATTLE -- A hand-held echocardiography device can bring cardiac imaging to the outpatient setting, said investigators here.

TORONTO -- An investigational oil-and-water adjuvant for flu vaccines -- tested in conjunction with a vaccine against avian flu -- is safe, a researcher said here.

SEATTLE -- Appropriately trained nurses can supervise stress echocardiograms with no more risk than in physician-supervised tests, a review of 15,404 nurse-monitored tests suggests.

HOUSTON -- Myocardial infarction and other acute cardiac events closely track pneumococcal pneumonia, which suggests a need for multiple admitting diagnoses.

SEATTLE -- Stress echocardiography can help spot women suspected to be at a high risk for coronary artery disease, investigators reported here.

SALT LAKE CITY-- Amputations of frostbite-damaged fingers and toes can be prevented in some patients with the use of thrombolytic therapy within 24 hours of exposure, researchers here found.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- For patients with stable heart failure, cardiac rehabilitation that focuses on aerobic training can reverse left-ventricular remodeling and improve ejection fraction

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands -- Before heart disease even develops among patients with heart disease, the effects on life expectancy have already begun, found researchers here.