Clinical Cardiology Alert – January 1, 2018
January 1, 2018
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ARNI Therapy Associated With Reduction in Ventricular Arrhythmias
In patients with congestive heart failure due to reduced ejection fraction who underwent remote arrhythmia monitoring via an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), both ventricular arrhythmias and appropriate ICD shocks were reduced while on sacubitril-valsartan compared to an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker alone.
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Cardiac MRI Most Valuable Test for Diagnosis and Prognosis in Cardiac Sarcoidosis
Among patients with extracardiac sarcoidosis, cardiac MRI was the best test for diagnosing cardiac involvement and the strongest independent predictor of adverse outcomes.
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Patent Foramen Ovale Closure Falls Short in Treatment of Migraines
This randomized trial of patent foramen ovale closure in severe refractory migraine showed no significant difference in responder rate compared to sham control.
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CT Calcium Score vs. Stress Testing
A subgroup analysis of the PROMISE trial showed that CT coronary calcium scores in symptomatic patients at low to intermediate risk for coronary artery disease are more sensitive but less specific for major adverse cardiac events over a two-year follow-up period than stress testing. Consequently, both approaches exhibited similar but modest discriminatory ability.
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Accuracy of Right Atrial Pressure Estimates by Echocardiography
Researchers compared echocardiographically determined right atrial pressure and characteristics of the inferior vena cava to right heart catheterization-measured values. They concluded that echo estimates reached through this technique should not be used clinically to estimate pulmonary artery pressure.