Oct 26, 2012

The Particulars: Research does not clearly indicate whether stroke risk is lower for patients who undergo PCI or for those who undergo CABG. Data Breakdown: A meta-analysis of 83 trials involving n...

Oct 26, 2012

The Particulars: Previous research indicates that favorable results can be achieved with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in high-risk patients use either the transfemoral or transapical ...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Treatment options are limited for patients with refractory high blood pressure (BP). Renal nerve ablation represents a potentially beneficial, minimally invasive option for this patie...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Few studies have compared primary stenting approaches with balloon angioplasty in patients with atherosclerotic popliteal artery stenosis. Balloon angioplasty is the current gold stan...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a P2Y12 platelet inhibitor has been beneficial in patients with unstable angina or non-STEMI. However, the optimal dual antiplatelet therapy...

Oct 25, 2012

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly being viewed by clinicians as a modern-day epidemic, affecting more than 2.2 million adults in the United States. AF is strongly age-dependent, affecting 4% of...

Oct 25, 2012

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most common genetic heart diseases in the United States, affecting approximately 600,000 to 700,000 people. In many cases, patients remain unidentified....

Oct 25, 2012

The FDA has approved a torqueable percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty balloon catheter (Glider PTCA Catheter, TriReme Medical, Inc.) for treating the stenotic portion of coronary arteries o...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Treatment options are limited for men with suboptimal responses to drugs for erectile dysfunction. Identifying men with these health issues early may improve erectile function. Studie...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Current guidelines recommend continuing dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI for 30 days for recipients of bare-metal stents, 1 year for those receiving drug-eluting stents, and 1 year...

Oct 25, 2012

The Particulars: Research has shown that pulmonary vein ablation can be used successfully to treat atrial fibrillation. Catheter-based pulmonary artery denervation is an experimental procedure similar...

Oct 22, 2012

Fainting after recent air travel could be a sign of pulmonary embolism (PE), a potentially fatal blockage in the lungs. Syncope or fainting is an uncommon symptom of pulmonary embolism; however, new r...

Oct 22, 2012

New research was presented at TCT 2012—the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics annual meeting—from October 22-26 in Miami. The features below highlight just some of the studies that emerged ...

Oct 19, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved indication for the Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) to include patients with aortic valve stenosis who are eligible for surgery,...

Oct 17, 2012

German research suggests that physical exercise appears to decrease blood pressure (BP) even among patients considered to have resistant hypertension. The study, which initiated an intervention of 8 t...

Oct 17, 2012

Although stroke risk during pregnancy appears to be low, morbidity and mortality rates are high among pregnant women who do have strokes. A population-based study estimated that there are just 1.5 cas...

Oct 17, 2012

The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) appears to be higher than previously reported, according to a retrospective study. The overall OHCA incidence was 2.28 cases per 100,000 person-y...

Oct 12, 2012

Vascular Specialists From the International Community Will Meet to Discuss Advances in Vascular Disease. International specialists in vascular disease, including vascular surgeons, interventional...

Oct 11, 2012

Telestroke appears to be a widespread and growing practice model in the United States. ED consultation, patient triage, and inpatient teleconsultation were the top three clinical needs met by telestro...

Oct 11, 2012

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk-factor counseling of patients with indications for statin therapy for primary or secondary prevention of CVD appears to improve lipid profiles when compared with rout...