ATLANTA—A novel F18-labeled PET perfusion imaging agent has shown higher specificity for detecting right coronary artery disease compared to SPECT imaging with technetium-99m. In addition, the PET agent detected more severe and extensive stress perfusion abnormalities in the territories of diseased coronary arteries, according to an oral presentation Tuesday at the American College of Cardiology Meeting (ACC).
Written by Justine Cadet
ATLANTA--Ablative intervention was more effective than drug therapy for preventing recurrent symptomatic atrial fibrillation, according to the CABANA trial results presented Monday during a late-breaking clinical trial session at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 59th annual conference. Slides»
A telebriefing by American College of Cardiology officials emphasized several aspects of ACC.10, including thought-provoking keynote addresses, late-breaking clinical trials that could hold important significance and a potentially robust discussion of healthcare reform straight from Capitol Hill.
The reversible anti-clotting medication ticagrelor can overcome a patient's nonresponsiveness to clopidogrel, according to results of the RESPOND trial published online March 1 in Circulation.
Tuesday, March 09 2010
Rcadia Medical Imaging has been issued a CE Mark for its computer-aided detection software--the COR Analyzer system--that helps identify patients with significant coronary artery disease by an analysis of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) studies.
Positron, a molecular imaging solutions company focused on nuclear cardiology, has sold its Attrius PET scanner to Ochsner Health System of Louisiana.
Written by Manjula Puthenedam
U.S. cardiologists are experiencing a 36 percent cut in SPECT imaging reimbursement as part of the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). As a result, cardiology practices nationwide are trying to survive, while hoping that cardiology advocacy groups can persuade CMS that the dramatic cuts will potentially hurt patient care and increase healthcare costs in the long term.
The FDA has granted clearance for the marketing of the Eagle Eye Platinum digital intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter in the U.S. by intravascular systems developer, Volcano.
The FDA has authorized perindopril erbumine in 2 mg, 4 mg, and 8 mg tablets from generic pharmaceutical maker Lupin Pharmaceuticals for use in patients with essential hypertension and as a conventional treatment for the management of coronary artery disease.
For ruling out coronary artery disease (CAD), multidetector CT (16-slice or more) is more accurate than MRI, according to a retrospective study in today’s Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Written by Justine Cadet
ATLANTA—The Endeavor stent was found to be inferior to the Cypher stent in routine clinical care patients at 18-month follow-up, according to the all comers SORT OUT III trial presented Monday at the late breaking clinical trials session during the 59 th American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference. Slides»
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
Inter- and intra-observer reliabilities show disparities when SYNTAX scores are calculated by individual operators no matter their training and background. Researchers reported that multidisciplinary approaches should be considered when deciphering between CABG and PCI for patients with multivessil or left main coronary artery disease, according to a poster presentation featured during the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session yesterday in Atlanta.
While the rates of hospitalization for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with acute MI (AMI) have dropped significantly between 2002 and 2007, researchers found that these rates varied based on demographics, particularly race and gender, according to a study published online March 8 in Circulation.
A coronary CT angiography-only approach -- when factoring in a $20,000 threshold level for cost per correct diagnosis and $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year -- is the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy for the evaluation of patients presenting with stable chest pain without known coronary artery disease (CAD) with intermediate CAD prevalence, according to a decision analysis study published in the March issue of Radiology.
Sunday, March 14, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Three concurrent sessions—“Advances in Echocardiography,” “Hot Topics in Cardiology: Multimodality Imaging for Assessment of Right Ventricle Morphology and Function,” and “Challenging Patient Populations -- How to Apply Cardiac Imaging Effectively”—present just about everything a diagnostic cardiologist wants to know.
Written by Justine Cadet
As clinical trial data have shifted toward favoring second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES), the market has trended in a similar direction. In addition, the overall positive results with most DES have emboldened physicians to use them for more complex disease states, including left main disease—to the dismay and excitement of many.
A majority of patients (61 percent) evaluated for chest pain of uncertain cardiac cause have a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero, which predicts both a normal SPECT result and an excellent short-term outcome, according to a single-center study published online Feb. 8 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The absence of coronary calcification does not exclude obstructive stenosis or the need for revascularizations in patients suspected to have coronary artery disease (CAD), based on results of a substudy of the CORE 64 registry data published in the Feb. 16 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
An international study on CT perfusion imaging at 15 medical centers in eight countries, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, have enrolled the first dozen patients to figure out how well various imaging tests can measure the degree of blockage or narrowing in any particular artery and their use in predicting patients who need catheterization or angioplasty, or bypass surgery.
As cardiologists have done in the past with new technologies, they will have to find ways to use CT and MRI complementarily, rather than in a competitive manner.
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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).