American College of Cardiology

In patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, those who had catheter ablation had better results than those who took the anti-arrhythmic medication amiodarone, reported researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Coronary interventionalists face a wide variety of challenges on a daily basis and as patients post greater problems it is up to the doctors to come up with new ways to treat them.

When patients have chest pain, a CT scan can rule out disease or find it, the SCOT-HEART study found. That led to some patients learning they did not need treatment and others getting interventions that saved lives.

The use of targeted temperature management in patients who have suffered cardiac arrest remains a highly debated topic, especially in terms of whether there is an optimal target temperature for maximum benefit in reducing mortality and preserving cognitive function.

Paul Spittle, vice president, Cardiovascular and Respiratory, AstraZeneca US, discusses results from the PEGASUS trial and explains what they may mean for heart attack and stroke risk in patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction.

Sunil Agarwal, MD, from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, discussed the results of his research on the use of continuous cardiac monitoring to monitor elderly patients for atrial fibrillation and sub-clinical arrhythmia and help reduce their risk of stroke and other health complications.

Jason Katz, MD, MHS, from the University of North Carolina, discusses recent improvements in the field of coronary intensive care and identifies promising research that could lead to additional positive outcomes for patients.

Only 1 in 5 patients who might benefit from an implantable defibrillator after being hospitalized for heart failure gets counselling on that option, a Duke study found.

The TriGuard filter, an investigational device designed to protect the brain from hazardous debris released during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and other procedures was found to improve in-hospital safety outcomes and cognitive scores at discharge.

A recent study comparing outcomes from ablation to treatment with medication showed the procedure provided greater benefit for atrial fibrillation patients with congestive heart failure.

A trial of an anti-clotting therapy that might have given physicians a way to turn on and turn off the blood's tendency to clot had to be halted because some patients had severe allergic reactions, researchers reported. Now they are focusing on why that happened in hopes of reviving the work.

Compared with earlier generation devices, the SAPIEN 3 heart valve exhibited lower death, stroke, and paravalvular leak rates in high-risk surgery patients and demonstrated encouraging results in intermediate-risk patients.

Researchers had high hopes for the potential tissue-damage mediation capabilities of Bendavia, an experimental drug that targets the mitochondria. But a trial of Bendavia in patients undergoing angioplasty failed to show any significant benefit.

Self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in high-risk aortic stenosis patients produces a more consistent survival rate compared with standard surgery, according to 2-year data presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in San Diego, CA.

A new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs is emerging, known as PCSK9 inhibitors. Reporting on results of a safety and efficacy trial of Amgen's entry in this race, evolocumab, showed it did better than standard therapy when it came to adverse events and cholesterol lowering, and showed promise for reducing cardiac events.

AstraZeneca researchers report that a new drug call MED12452 is being developed as an antidote for patients who need to reverse the effects of ticagrelor (Brilinta/AstraZeneca) on an emergency basis. That could be important for patients taking ticagrelor who need emergency surgery or are bleeding from an accident.

With the recent addition of new drugs to help prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation doctors now have more choices to help patients. While there are more choices, there are also potential issues with the new drugs.

Nutritional experts have consistently recommended a Mediterranean dietary pattern to aid in preventing chronic disease.

While many doctors have long believed diet to be the key component in preventing and managing cardiovascular disease, significant gaps in their knowledge often hindering proper education about heart healthy diets

The time and money involved in screening echocardiography of stress testing in asymptomatic individuals with no cardiac risk factors is likely not worth it, an analysis of the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine's database found

In previous studies, interleukin-6 has been cited as a predictor of mortality in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. But a study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic challenges that finding.

Previous studies have revealed Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) retards multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, platelet aggregation, and adhesion, while triggering nitric oxide generation within endothelial cells.

The PROMISE Trial (PROspective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of chest pain) showed no improvement in clinical outcomes when using Anatomic CT over functional testing for screening for coronary artery disease, however it did find an overall increase in radiation exposure.

Medicine is far more than a science. Physicians should never forget that their patients are more than collections of data and that care is not measured in mouse clicks, physician-author, educator and bedside manner expert extraordinaire Abraham Verghese, MD, told a standing room crowd. His talk "I Carry Your Heart" kicked off the American College of Cardiology's meeting in San Diego, CA.

Full results from PEGASUS-TMI 54, the large-scale trial investigating AstraZeneca's Brilinta (ticagrelor) tablets were presented Saturday, March 14 at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in San Diego, CA.

Electrically stabilizing the myocardial border zone with vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) may offer a new mechanism for reducing arrhythmia.

Physicians could help heart failure patients suffering from reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) by using pulmonary artery pressure management.

The protein-coding gene FOXO may play a crucial role in defending the heart from coxsackie virus B3, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.

Wavefront pacing affects accuracy in voltage mapping scars in the heart, UCLA researchers report.

Time is important in getting patients with advanced heart failure (HF) to appropriate care. In a new study, a Utah research team reports on a new electronic approach.