Catheterization News and Research

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64-slice CT scans a good test for clogged arteries

A study by an international team of cardiac imaging specialists, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, concludes that sophisticated computed tomography (CT) scans of the heart and its surrounding arteries are almost as reliable and accurate as more invasive procedures to check for blockages.

6 Nov 2007

New review of catheterization after heart attack

In a subset of patients suffering heart attack, adding stents to clot-busting medical therapy after the optimal treatment window ends isn't justified, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center.

6 Nov 2007

Severely mentally ill at high risk for cardiovascular disease

A psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that although mortality from cardiovascular disease has declined in the United States over the past several decades, patients with severe psychiatric illness are not enjoying the benefits of that progress.

17 Oct 2007

Cause and clinical outcome of portal vein thrombosis

Among the 118 patients with portal vein thrombosis, noncirrhotic and nontumoral extrahepatic portal vein obstruction are young and present with well tolerated bleed.

15 Oct 2007

Picking the right stress test for heart disease risk analysis

Stress tests are good front-line tests indicators of heart disease, but just how good depends on ordering the right one, researchers say.

12 Oct 2007

UF researchers test stem cell therapy for heart patients

University of Florida doctors on Wednesday (Oct. 3) treated their first patient enrolled in a new study designed to test whether injecting stem cells into the heart helps restore blood flow to the organ by prompting new blood vessels to grow.

4 Oct 2007

John Cheatham receives prestigious award for work on congenital heart disease

The Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS) & Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium (AICS) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2007 was recently presented to John P. Cheatham, MD, Co-Director of The Heart Center at Columbus Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics & Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

11 Sep 2007

Imaging and percutaneous valve therapy

The scope of percutaneous cardiac therapy has expanded from percutaneous coronary and peripheral intervention to percutaneous valve intervention, first used in the mid- eighties. Today mitral regurgitation represents the second most important native valve disease in Europe (30%) as shown by the Euro Heart Survey.

3 Sep 2007

How to optimally prepare a patient for planned coronary angiography and subsequent angioplasty?

A Czech study compared two anti-clotting treatment regimens, currently used before coronary angiography / angioplasty to find the optimal balance between preventing ischemic versus bleeding complications of these procedures. The study was conducted in five Czech tertiary cardiology centers.

3 Sep 2007

First European guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease

Today valve disease still represents an important health problem; valve patients are getting older and older with more and more comorbities, which contribute to increased operative risk and render the decision-making process more difficult.

3 Sep 2007

Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital performs transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement

A breakthrough new procedure may improve quality of life for children and adults with a common type of congenital heart defect that interferes with the body's ability to oxygenate blood through the lungs.

24 Aug 2007

Call for improved treatments of stroke

A coalition of physicians representing a wide range of medical specialties has issued a call to action to improve the treatment of stroke.

22 Aug 2007

Refusal of medical and surgical interventions common among chronically ill elderly

Chronically ill older persons frequently refuse medical and surgical interventions recommended by their physicians, according to a recent study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

9 Aug 2007

Integrated system, rapid transfer offers lifeline for heart attack victims

Heart attack patients received lifesaving treatment quickly when hospitals and communities used an integrated, rapid transfer system to get patients to a facility equipped to perform artery-opening procedures, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

3 Aug 2007

PA catheterization uses decreases substantially in U.S.

Use of the pulmonary artery catheter decreased by 65 percent in the U.S. between 1993 and 2004, possibly due to growing evidence that this invasive procedure does not reduce the risk of death for hospitalized patients, according to a study in the July 25 issue of JAMA .

25 Jul 2007

Heart patches that stimulate regeneration

When human hearts are injured, as during a heart attack, healthy tissue normally can't regrow.

18 Jul 2007

Swift system for heart attack care improves treatment

Heart attack patients received lifesaving care up to an hour sooner after an Indiana hospital implemented a novel protocol to rapidly activate the cardiac catheterization lab, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Jun 2007

Same-day coronary angiography and surgery safe for many patients

Mayo Clinic researchers discovered it is safe -- and much more convenient and less costly -- for many patients to undergo coronary angiography and elective valve surgery on the same day, it is reported in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

24 May 2007

Bare metal stents provide a safer choice

While drug-eluting stents are effective in keeping open diseased heart arteries, they should not be used for patients who need to have non-cardiac surgery a short time after an interventional heart procedure.

15 May 2007

Mending broken hearts

The causes of "broken heart syndrome" remain a mystery, but doctors will soon have an easier time recognizing and treating this rare, life-threatening condition, thanks to data being reported at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9-12, 2007, in Orlando, FL.

11 May 2007