Some like it hot; some like it cold. Whether by radio frequency or cryoballoon, ablation interventions have been edging out medical therapy as an efficacious treatment for atrial fibrillation in some patients. But that doesn’t always translate into success, clinically or financially. Costs, recurrences and lack of proof that the procedures offer a stroke benefit pose challenges.
When Medtronic announced in January that SYMPLICITY HTN-3 failed to meet its efficacy endpoint, it sounded like the beginning of the end for renal denervation as a treatment for uncontrolled hypertension.
The heart team approach is transforming how cardiovascular specialists and staff interact and provide patient care, but it also poses challenges in daily practice.
Echocardiography is a valuable tool for assessing LVADs, both prior to implantation to screen for potential complications and after the procedure to manage patient outcomes.
An increasing emphasis on reducing radiation exposure has prompted a push away from the traditional rest-stress procedure and toward stress-first or stress-only MPI.
Akron General Heart & Vascular Center is a leader in STEMI care in Northeast Ohio, each year besting the national average for STEMI mortality rates.
A need, a vision, a plan, and a team. That’s how the total vein care program for treatment of CVI started at Cardiovascular Associates of East Texas, a private practice of 11 cardiologists in Tyler.
The wireless technology that allows implantable medical devices to assist people with heart disease also is a potential source of some of their greatest security risks.
When making decisions about a patient, do physicians follow clinical guidelines and clinical evidence, or does advertising and news coverage directly or indirectly influence a physician’s decisions?
I shared a cab ride with a cardiologist training in electrophysiology while I was attending the ACC14 in Washington, D.C. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
