Catheter News and Research

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In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters . In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube ("soft" catheter), though in some uses, it is a larger, solid ("hard") catheter. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an indwelling catheter. A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a permcath.

Catheter angiography may be an unnecessary follow-up to CT angiography

Even in challenging cases, CT angiography (CTA) offers an accurate and rapid diagnosis for blunt trauma victims who may have aortic or great vessel injury negating the need for more invasive procedures, according to a recent study conducted by radiologists at the University of Washington and the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle, WA.

21 Sep 2007

Cryoablation for treating arrhythmias

When out-of-control nerve impulses cause the heart to beat irregularly, cardiologists often use heat during a minimally invasive outpatient procedure to destroy the defective signaling pathways and restore the rhythm to order.

17 Sep 2007

Vibrating catheters break through clogged arteries

A new vibrating catheter breaks through clogged arteries like a jackhammer, obliterating total blockages in patients with dangerous chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

13 Sep 2007

Community superbug a growing menace

A strain of the superbug MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is causing concern across the U.S. because it is becoming more common in the wider community.

11 Sep 2007

New minimally-invasive coated vascular stent graft in use at Methodist DeBakey Heart Center

Surgeons at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center in Houston were among the first in the U.S. to implant a new, less-invasive stent graft designed to reduce the risk of blood clots in patients treated for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which affects as many as 12 million Americans over the age of 50.

11 Sep 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

Two drugs equally effective for heart patients undergoing angioplasty

In lifesaving procedures to open blocked heart arteries a key question has persisted for years: Is use of the more expensive drug, abciximab, justified over use of the less-expensive eptifibatide

11 Sep 2007

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defect (ASD) closure

A PFO and an ASD are congenital structural heart diseases characterized by a communication between heart chambers at the level of the wall (septum) separating them. These chambers are the left and right atrium as shown on the picture below. The right atrium receives (dark) oxygen-depleted blood from the great veins, while the left atrium receives (red) oxygen-rich blood from the lungs.

3 Sep 2007

The burden of diabetes in heart disease in Europe

Diabetes is becoming one of the major health problems in the European and US populations. It is frequently associated with overweight, hypertension and high serum cholesterol levels, representing a dangerous combination of risk factors for the development of heart and vascular diseases.

2 Sep 2007

Australian researchers discover a 'novel molecular dictator with a conscience'

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have uncovered an important naturally occurring mechanism in the body where "bad" cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while "good" cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected.

27 Aug 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

Study helps predict anesthesia-linked risks for children with chest tumors

Children with mediastinal masses - tumors in their chest outside the lungs - are at special risk for developing breathing problems when they undergo anesthesia. These young patients are of special concern to clinicians who must anesthetize them as part of their medical treatment.

23 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

PET MPI provides a more accurate "picture" of coronary obstruction

Physicians need to know how badly heart vessels are blocked before they can decide how to treat patients at risk of having a heart attack.

17 Aug 2007

New device to treat chronic congestive heart failure

As part of a 40-site national trial, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are studying a new medical device designed to treat patients with chronic congestive heart failure.

3 Aug 2007

New hope for aortic dissection survivors

Each year, 10,000 Americans suffer a sudden tear in the lining of their body's largest blood vessel, the aorta.

26 Jul 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

Discovery of novel 'molecular dictator with a conscience'

23 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

Real-time 3-D ultrasound in nerve blockade speeds patient recovery

Mayo Clinic physicians have adapted real-time 3-D ultrasound imaging devices -- including one designed to look at an infant's heart -- so that they can watch as they use a needle filled with anesthetic to numb individual nerves located inches under the skin.

16 Jul 2007