番茄社区

Cardiology

News, opinions and meeting coverage in cardiology.

FDA OKs Northera for Hypotension

The FDA has approved droxidopa (Northera) for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, a rare disease that results in a drop in blood pressure when patients try to stand up.

ER Briefs: DIY Laptop to AED Kit -- Good Idea?

Inventors aim to resurrect laptops and tablets as AEDs. We asked Clifton Callaway, MD, PhD, an emergency medicine doctor who heads up EM research at the University of Pittsburgh, to weigh in.

Ob/Gyns Uneasy With AHA's Take on Stroke in Pregnancy

NEW ORLEANS -- Recent guidelines from the American Heart Association on the management of stroke risk in pregnant women differ significantly from those issued by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists said here.

New Guideline Lowers eGFR for Dialysis Start

New Canadian guidelines suggest that nephrologists can wait to start dialysis in some chronic kidney disease patients until their estimated glomerular filtration rate drops below the 10 to 12 mL/min now commonly used.

Is There a Flaw in This Large Vitamin D Trial?

A co-principal investigator of the VITAL trial addresses the possibility that out-of-study testing of vitamin D levels and initiation of high-dose supplementation could be a limitation, but not a serious one.

Heart Attack Signal Found for Spiriva in COPD

The TIOSPIR trial was used to support safety of the mist inhaler version of tiotropium (Spiriva) compared with dry powder, but the pooled data actually showed something else -- a heart attack signal, researchers argued.

CardioBuzz: More Money Needed for Heart Research?

The NIH dedicates a lot of money for research into heart disease and stroke, but it still might not be enough, a new study suggested.

11 Endocrinology Apps for Docs' Toolboxes

Even if endocrinologists aren't already suggesting smartphone apps to their patients, they've likely been asked to offer up recommendations. Here's a list of 11 apps you should know about.

Droxidopa for OH Slammed by FDA Reviewers

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Droxidopa (Northera) is getting a second look by an FDA advisory committee for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension stemming from neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, but an agency review doesn't look promising for approval.

10 Questions: John P. Erwin, MD

What's the biggest barrier to practicing medicine today? That's just the first of 10 questions the 番茄社区 staff is asking leading clinicians and researchers to get their personal views on their chosen profession. In this series we share their uncensored responses. Here, answers from John P. Erwin, MD, of Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

Diabetes: TAVI Trumps Heart Surgery

Patients with diabetes who had aortic stenosis fared better in terms of mortality and kidney function during the first year if they underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) rather than surgery, a post-hoc analysis found.

FDA Flags Risk of Nuclear Stress Test Drugs

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Two agents used in cardiac nuclear stress tests may carry a greater risk of heart attack and death than previously believed, the FDA said Wednesday.

Surgery Beats Medical Tx for Diabetes 'Cure'

ATLANTA -- Bariatric surgery's beneficial effects for type 2 diabetes were significantly greater than even the most rigorous medical and lifestyle interventions, a researcher said here.

ACE Inhibitors Linked to Severe Allergic Reactions

BALTIMORE -- Antihypertensive treatment with ACE inhibitors may prime oral allergy syndrome patients for severe reactions, a case-report suggested.

Combo Angiotensin Tx Ups Kidney Risks

ATLANTA -- In yet another trial, dual blockade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAAS) didn't slow progression of kidney disease in diabetic patients and carried a higher risk of serious adverse events compared with monotherapy, researchers reported here.

Gestational Diabetes Tied to Perinatal Stroke

AUSTIN, Texas -- Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke has many possible risk factors, including gestational diabetes, researchers reported here.

TCT: Tablet Experiment Lightens Load at Meeting

SAN FRANCISCO -- Welcome to medical meeting 2.0: where the program is delivered via "App" displayed on Samsung tablets that come with the price of admission -- it's TCT 2013.

TCT: Removing Clot During PCI Fails in NSTEMI

SAN FRANCISCO -- Aspiration thrombectomy during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) did not improve outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), a randomized trial showed.

CardioBuzz: Turn Off the Wireless on an ICD?

Electrophysiologists described how turning off the wireless function on an ICD -- as former vice-president Dick Cheney had done -- might affect patient care. CardioBuzz is a blog by Todd Neale for readers with an interest in cardiology.

Sleep Problems, Poor Angioplasty Outcomes Linked

Disturbed sleep is common in heart patients following coronary angioplasty and is an independent risk factor for poor cardiac outcomes, researchers reported.

Heart Surgery as Infant Hikes Risk for ADHD Later

Children who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease in the first year of life appeared to carry an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) once they reached school age, researchers found.

MoCA Beats MMSE to Assess Dementia

NEW ORLEANS -- The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was better than the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at teasing out subtle differences in cognitive performance among mildly impaired individuals, researchers reported here.

Daytime Snoozing May Tell Risk of Hypoglycemia

Older patients with diabetes who are overly tired during the day may be at a higher risk for hypoglycemia, researchers reported.

New Nerve Tracer Not Ready for Routine Use?

CHICAGO -- The radiotracer iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine may be a new tool for cardiac imaging, but whether it's ready for routine use in most practices was debated by nuclear cardiologists here.

Add 'Shrapnel' to Workup for Lightning Strike

A shrapnel-like injury associated with a lightening strike provided a reminder for emergency physicians not to overlook the unexpected when examining patients.

In Some Patients Metformin Impairs Thinking

The widely acclaimed diabetes drug metformin was linked with impaired brain function in patients who took the drug, although supplementation with vitamin B12 may alleviate metformin-induced deficiencies, according to new research.

Low BP May Be Fatal in CKD

Chronic kidney disease patients, including those with diabetes, who were not on dialysis were more likely to die when blood pressure was too low, even if only on the diastolic measure, a veterans cohort showed.

Lab Notes: Meth May Worsen Fungal Infection

Mice injected with methamphetamine and exposed to Cryptococcus fungi showed more extensive and hard-to-eradicate infections. Also this week: an organic pesticide fights parasitic worms.

Wyeth Settles Rapamune Marketing Charge

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pfizer's Wyeth Pharmaceuticals unit will pay $490.9 million to resolve state and federal allegations that it marketed rapamycin (sirolimus, Rapamune) for unapproved indications.

Randy Travis Gets an LVAD, Future Uncertain

Grammy award-winning country music star Randy Travis has received the Impella pump, a temporary percutaneous left ventricular assist device, to help him as he battles viral cardiomyopathy, according to his publicist.

FDA Adds GI Warning to Benicar Label

WASHINGTON -- The FDA ordered the maker of the blood pressure drug olmesartan (Benicar) to add a warning about risk of the intestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy to the drug's label.

Xarelto Gets a No for Stent Thrombosis

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The FDA has rejected an application for a new indication allowing rivaroxaban (Xarelto) to be used to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Honey, Cola May Disrupt Heart

A detailed history of patients with arrhythmia or syncope might need to include their cola intake or the origin of the honey they consume, two case studies suggest.

Society Seconds Call for Incretin Data

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Endocrine Society has joined its voice to the recent call for incretin drugmakers to release all patient-level data on their products, the group announced at its annual meeting.

Diabetes Experts Divided About 'Lone Wolf' Butler

Top experts in diabetes and endocrinology have offered mixed reactions to a profile of Peter Butler, MD, chair of endocrinology at the University of California Los Angeles, in the New York Times.

Zilver Stent Recalled, System May Break

Cook Medical's Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent for peripheral artery disease has been recalled because of a defect in its associated delivery system, the company and the FDA said.

APA Leaders Defend New Diagnostic Guide

SAN FRANCISCO -- The fifth edition of the "psychiatrist's bible" was officially released here in all its 947-page glory, with its developers offering a spirited rebuttal to their critics.

High-Salt Diet May Boost Cortisol

Eating a diet high in sodium increased levels of cortisol and other metabolites, potentially giving rise to metabolic syndrome, researchers found.

Withdrawal Not a Problem with Phentermine

Patients taking phentermine long-term to treat obesity don't have to worry about withdrawal when they come off it, researchers found.

Is Protein the Key to Fountain of Youth?

The cardiac clocks of aging mice were turned back to a more youthful time when they received a protein taken from the blood of younger mice, researchers found.

鈥�

82

鈥�