Cardiology

On a daily basis cardiologists face patients with a wide variety of conditions. A review of recent studies show just how far the treatment of many of these conditions have come.

Left atrial appendage obliteration reduces stroke risk in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, but a new study suggests that the procedure does not reduce stroke risk in atrial fibrillation patients after bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement.

California researchers report good results in a phase II study of a gene therapy for congestive heart failure. The news comes five months after Celladon's Mydicar gene therapy for CHF failed to meet its trial's endpoints.

Cardiovascular patients are the focus of the recent drug approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Branded under the name Durlaza, the 24-hour extended-release aspirin is the first of its kind and is expected to become available before the end of the year.

A study published in Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders indicates that sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2 inhibitors, which affect both supply and demand pathways in the heart) may be the preferred treatment for diabetics with heart failure.

If a patient requires bypass surgery one of the factors doctors will look at when considering the operation is the person's blood pressure. A recent study looked at whether it could be safe to operate when the patient's pressure is higher or lower than previously accepted.

A general practitioner can gain a better understanding of a patient’s underlying cardiac ailments by focusing on the fundamentals of pacemakers and automated implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICDs).In the first part of this 3-part article (“Pacemakers and AICDs: The ABCs”), we discussed distinguishing between pacemakers and AICDs. The second part (“Pacemakers and AICDs: Nomenclature and Malfunction”) addressed pacemaker nomenclature and device function, malfunction, and pseudomalfunction. Here we cover interrogation reports and interpretation of EKGs.

Secondhand smoke exposure in utero and in childhood puts people at higher risk of having atrial fibrillation later in life, San Francisco researchers found.

When a patient checks into the emergency room, whether on their own or in an ambulance, time is of the essence to make the correct diagnosis. As technology improves so does the ability to make diagnoses in medicine that much faster. This way doctors can treat the patients that need the help the most while the others can be safely discharged and sent home.

Several large groups combined data to look at results of a study on heart failure patients to see whether age and gender affected treatment options prescribed by patients.

The first study of its kind examined joint replacement surgery in patients with osteoarthritis and confirmed an increased risk of cardiovascular complications.

While digoxin has been a popular medication in the past, particularly for patients with atrial fibrillation, a recent study looked at whether the medication was indeed beneficial for treatment when compared to placebo or no pharmaceutical therapy at all. Digoxin may be a popular treatment for some patients, but often doctors cannot look at just one condition when treating and have to consider multiple factors and issues.

Treating one patient for an illness can answer some questions for doctors. However, in many cases looking at the larger patient population can answer not only why the patients got sick, but what can be done to keep them healthy in the long run.

With clinical trials becoming more expensive and difficult to arrange in the current medical environment researchers are looking at new ways to test ideas without putting added stress and strain on clinicians.

As value based care becomes a buzz word in the medical industry doctors are learning what it means for their practice and how they can utilize it while still applying the same level of attention to their patients as they did in the past.

A lot has changed in cardiology over time and there is even more change ahead. How doctors handle that change can determine how successful they are in their practice.

As technology improves telemedicine is becoming a more viable option to treat a wide variety of conditions. While the idea of telemedicine can be easily implemented into practice there are still concerns that need to be addressed for the field to progress. These issues can include liability and governance over doctors and where their patients are located.

Couch potatoes, beware. According to a recent study presented at the European Society of Cardiology 2015 Congress (ESC) in London, UK, watching television for longer than five hours each day doubles the likelihood of suffering a fatal pulmonary embolism.

New research suggests that cold weather may be an underappreciated hazard for patients with atrial fibrillation.

Even as many as seven years following a stroke, the spouses of stroke survivors experience a reduced health-related quality of life

Clinicians are urged not to treat central sleep apnea in heart failure patients with adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) therapy, which was reported to increase mortality in heart failure patients.

New York City-based researchers reported that a leadless cardiac pacemaker (Nanostim/St. Jude Medical) implanted non-surgically via a catheter through the femoral vein had a better safety record than conventional devices. But it has other limitations.

The stress of working long hours is more likely to lead to a stroke than a heart attack, UK researchers report.

The first real-world study of its kind revealed that rivaroxaban, marketed as Xarelto, can reduce the risk of stroke and major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) – a group that is five times more likely to suffer a stroke compared to the general population.

Barry Greenberg, MD, UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, La Jolla, California, USA, presented results from the Calcium Up-Regulation by Percutaneous Administration of Gene Therapy in Cardiac Disease Phase 2b (CUPID 2) gene transfer study at the European Society of Cardiology 2015 Congress.

Researchers who assessed patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reported that extending the use of a particular anti-clotting medication following the procedure did not lead to additional benefits.

The Sanofi/Regeneron PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab (Praluent)- approved in July in the US - lowered cholesterol in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia to levels "unreachable with statins" researchers said at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in London, UK.

The EXAMINATION trial showed a second generation drug-eluting stent did better than a bare-metal stent, researachers reported at ESC 2015 in London, UK.

In the time since Florence Nightingale first developed the profession of nursing as it is known today a lot has changed for the men and women in the field. Even still the work they do has been a key part of the medical world as training has increased and improved as well.

There are many challenges to heart health no matter where you live but there are small steps that can make a big difference in the long run.