Clinical Cardiology Alert – September 1, 2003
September 1, 2003
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Low Gradient Aortic Stenosis
Since patients with low gradient aortic stenosis are at higher risk for surgical replacement, more information concerning whom to select for surgery is desirable. Monin and colleagues from 6 centers in France studied 136 symptomatic patients with aortic valve area < 1.0 cm2, low cardiac index and a mean aortic pressure gradient < 40 mm Hg. -
Grading Valve Regurgitation By Echo/Doppler
The Task Force on Valvular Regurgitation of the American Society of Echocardiography, in conjunction with the ACC, AHA, and ESC, has published recommendations for evaluating the severity of native valvular regurgitation by echocardiography. Unfortunately, the task force did not come up with a simple foolproof system. -
Mitral Valve Repair vs Replacement
Although mitral valve repair for mitral regurgitation is gaining in popularity, there are little comparative data with mitral valve replacement. Thus, Thourani and colleagues performed a case-controlled observational study of the Emory University Hospitals surgical database, matching 625 patients undergoing mitral valve repair with 625 undergoing mitral valve replacement from 1984 to 1997. -
Are Lipid-Lowering Drugs Also Antiarrhythmic Drugs?
Mitchell and colleagues examined the association between therapy with lipid-lowering drugs and recurrent arrhythmias in the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators trial. -
Pulmonary Vein Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
Pappone and colleagues present an observational study evaluating the efficacy of their laboratorys technique for pulmonary vein isolation. -
New Aspects of Atherosclerotic Plaque Biology
In the Dechend study, German investigators examined the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the atherosclerotic inflammatory process, based on previous studies indicating that this organism can be cultured from coronary atheromata. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care Supplement
Prognostic Value of ABPMs in patients with Treated Hypertension; Tazarotene Cream in the Treatment of Psoriasis; Antihyperglycemic Effect of Oolong Tea in Type 2 Diabetes; Metformin and Thiazolidinedione Use in Medicare Patients with Heart Failure; Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Biologic Markers of Glycemic Control; Azelaic Acid Gel as a New Treatment for Papulopustular Rosacea -
Pharmacology Watch: Study Shows Oral IIb/IIIa Receptors Increase Mortality
Another study has shown an increase in mortality associated with the use of an oral IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist.