Patients admitted to the hospital during the weekend hours are more likely to experience delays in major procedures, be emergency and critical cases and have a higher mortality rate compared to patients admitted during weekday hours, according to a statistical brief conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Written by Louis G. Lange, MD, PhD
Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, our understanding of the role played by genes in the development of disease has rapidly evolved from that of a single gene associated with relatively rare genetic conditions to multiple genes working in concert with environmental factors.
SAN FRANCISCO—Two-year follow-up of the FAME study confirmed the durability of improved outcomes at one-year for patients undergoing fractional flow reserve (FFR) prior to PCI, according to a presentation at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting.
Researchers may have uncovered the reason why beta blockers are less effective at preventing stroke in older people with high blood pressure, when compared to other drugs for high blood pressure.
Stenting unprotected left main coronary artery disease (CAD) is feasible, offering a good long-term outcome, and using drug-eluting stents (DES) improves outcomes, according to the LE MANS Registry in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In a real-world clinical setting, the negative predictive value of 64-slice coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is very high and helpful in predicting freedom from events for up to three years, according to a study in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. The researchers also found cost-savings benefits associated with CCTA.
Clopidogrel (Plavix) can be compromised by common drugs for the treatment of heartburn and ulcers resulting in a roughly 50 percent increase in the combined risk of hospitalization for MI, stroke and other serious cardiovascular illnesses, according to a study presented May 6 at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 32nd annual scientific sessions in Las Vegas.
"Evidence-based reimbursement," or structuring physician payment incentives around empirical evidence of clinical benefit, would improve the quality and reduce the cost of healthcare, according to a commentary by two cardiologists published in the March issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Gilead Sciences will acquire CV Therapeutics for approximately $1.4 billion in cash through a tender offer second-step merger, after repeated attempts from Astellas Pharma to take over CV Therapeutics for $1 billion.
There is potential diagnostic utility of SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for ischemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in new-onset heart failure (HF), according to a non-randomized observational cohort published in the January/February issue of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology.
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A state-based survey that assessed health-risk behaviors, chronic conditions and preventive health in the 54 states and territories, showed that these factors significantly vary on a state-by-state basis and that 2010 health improvement objectives have mostly not been met, according to a report conducted by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
A meta-analysis of nearly 80,000 patients published in the Nov. 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology adds to a growing body of research seeking to evaluate and understand possible sex differences associated with antiplatelet therapies. This analysis found it to be effective in reducing cardiovascular events in both men and women with no statistically significant sex differences in terms of expected clinical benefit or increased harm.
Despite many medicines and other treatments for patients with vascular disease, an international study presented Monday at the 2009 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain, shows that these patients have a surprisingly high rate of recurring events such as strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations, as well as mortality.
In a real-world, clinical setting, the negative predictive value of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in low-risk patients is very high and "exceptionally helpful" in predicting freedom from events for up to three years, according to a study in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology .
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has subpoenaed documents from Gilead Sciences regarding the development, marketing and sales of its angina drug Ranexa (ranolazine).
In patients with isolated proximal left anterior descending (LAD) disease, PCI with Cordis' Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent is not inferior to minimally invasive direct CABG at one-year follow up with respect to major adverse cardiac events (MACE), according to a randomized trial published in the June 23 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology.
Using cardiac CT in the emergency department to diagnose low-risk patients with chest pain is 44 percent less expensive than the standard of care and can decrease the length of stay up to 20 hours, according to a study presented today in Boston at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.
Although the Plavix and Lipitor patents expire in 2012, new drug launches will drive an increase of $4.6 billion in the overall coronary heart disease market by 2017, according to the pharmaceutical and healthcare research firm Decision Resources.
Although black patients with MI have worse outcomes than white patients, the differences did not persist after adjustment for patient factors and site of care, according to a cohort study in the March 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Written by C.P. Kaiser
In 1996, physicians told Pat Gibbs, a 67-year-old cardiac patient from Alabama with severe angina, that nothing could be done for her. Refusing to give up, Gibbs underwent transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) therapy and today, lives pain-free. Some cardiologists say TMR’s benefit is merely a placebo effect, others say it is real. A growing market for the procedure, however, could muzzle the naysayers.
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Middle age introduces itself in many ways; one is atrial fibrillation (AF). My onset of AF seems to have coincided with a mountain bike accident in the woods of North Carolina that resulted in some cracked ribs.
The use of health IT to reduce rehospitalizations will be welcome but also disruptive, said Stephen Jencks, an independent consultant in healthcare safety during a Feb. 24 webinar on the potential use of health IT to mitigate rehospitalizations, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).