Cardiology

An Italian team looked at using novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) as an alternative to warfarin. The NOAC drugs are safer, they reported.

Trans Aortic Valve Replacement, a less invasive procedure than open heart surgery, offers about the same benefits but slightly different risks, researchers reported today.

Stress directly impacts the arteries. Imaging studies enable physicians to actually see the proof, a Boston, MA team reports.

Despite demographic shifts that are steadily increasing how long people are living,most medical research lumps everyone over 65 (or even over 60) into the same group. That's about to change, say's NYU's John A. Dodson, MD, MPH.

The MD Magazine editors rounded up the 10 best stories from the past month – did you read them all?

In findings that shocked the Cleveland Clinic researchers who compiled them, heart attack patients are getting younger and have more comorbidities than expected.

A retrospective analysis of transesophageal echocardiography from 388 patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has found no significant evidence that novel oral anticoagulants reduce the incidence of left atrial thrombus or eliminate the need for transesophageal echocardiography before ablation.

Most patients with coronary artery disease receive aspirin for primary or secondary prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death.

Anticoagulants have been used for many years in the medical community, and now with the development of new agents patients can see better results without the risk of as many adverse events.

Heart disease is already the number one cause of death in women in the United States, and now a recent study has found that endometriosis is linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.

For patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation the prospects of treatment can be scary and intimidating. With a team based approach that care can help them live normal lives while safely managing their condition.

There have been promising results in a Phase II trial showing that gene transfer treatment of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction was safe and successful in over 90% of patients.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy, a dangerous heart condition that can present in the last month of pregnancy, can lead to major cardiac events. Researchers have found a way to evaluate risk using a biomarker, galectin-3.

Although antiviral medications help control the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), treatment can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study identifies a strategy to reduce that risk.

Conduction abnormalities in patients who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement and then need a pacemaker can be worrisome. A Pittsburghm PA team looked at how these patients fared.

In systolic heart failure, a fixed dose combinatin of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine is more effective in black patients. Building on that information, researchers in Pittsburgh looked at ways to use a genomic score to predict which patients would benefit most.

In hospitalized patients with left main acute coronary symptom (LM-ACS), electrocardiographic characteristics can predict prognosis.

What do you see on the CXR that makes you hesitate to initiate heparin?

Treating diabetes in the frail elderly may require different treatment goals.

Microcalcifications that can show up on mammograms can also predict a woman's risk of heart disease. MD Magazine spoke to Khurram Nasir, MD, co-author of an editorial urging physicians and their specialty societies to put this finding into practice.

ECG Challenge: Dyspnea is painless, but progressive; lungs are clear, heart sounds normal, peripheral pulses strong. What does the tracing show?

In a potentially practice-changing finding, New York researchers found mammograms can predict coronary arterial calcifications and heart disease risk.

A Swedish trial found that weekly yoga was associated with higher quality of life, lower blood pressure and slower heart rates in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Researchers have identified several factors (including dementia, anemia, depression, and anticonvulsant use) that increase the risk of traumatic intracranial bleeding in older patients with AFib who are also on warfarin therapy.

New device recommended for patients who can't tolerate blood thinners.

Analysis of cardiovascular registry data comparing components of the CHA2DS2-VASc score and oral anticoagulant use also found that women and patients with vascular disease were less likely than other patients with atrial fibrillation to be prescribed anticoagulation that is now indicated by standard guidelines.

Compared to current guidelines for atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection in patients with ischemic stroke, 10-day Holter-ECG monitoring is superior for a-fib detection.

With the announcement of a new medical school thanks to a partnership between Seton Hall University and Hackensack University Health Network the two New Jersey institutions are working to address a growing shortage of physicians in a number of specialties across the country.

Hackensack University Medical Center can trace its roots back to a blizzard back in the late 1800's when residents in northern New Jersey could not get across the Hudson River to get the care they needed. Since that time it has grown into the flagship of one of the largest health networks in the metropolitan area.