Clinical Cardiology Alert – February 1, 2018
February 1, 2018
View Issues
-
Research Provides More Support for Antiplatelet Therapy De-escalation
The authors of a single-center study randomized post-acute coronary syndrome patients either to remain on higher-potency antiplatelet agents or to change to clopidogrel after one month. The results showed a benefit to de-escalation in terms of both bleeding and ischemic events, regardless of initial platelet reactivity.
-
Assessing Device-assisted CPR Safety
A randomized, prospective, noninferiority study of the safety of two automated CPR devices (LUCAS and AutoPulse) against the standard manual chest compressions in cardiac arrest victims showed that in cases of severe or life-threatening complications, the LUCAS device was noninferior to standard CPR, but more organ damage with the AutoPulse cannot be excluded.
-
A Closer Look at the Effects of NSAIDs on Blood Pressure
An ambulatory blood pressure monitoring substudy of the PRECISION trial showed that ibuprofen use significantly increased mean 24-hour systolic blood pressure compared to celecoxib. Further, naproxen produced intermediate results despite equivalent pain relief in patients with arthritis.
-
Searching for a Connection Between Silent Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure
In a large community-based cohort, the development of silent myocardial infarction on ECG was associated with increased risk of future heart failure.
-
Noninvasive Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia: A Paradigm Shift?
In five patients with recurrent ventricular tachycardia refractory to conventional therapies, relatively short treatments with electrophysiology-guided stereotactic body radiation therapy were highly effective at reducing arrhythmia burden.