Clinical Cardiology Alert – February 1, 2021
February 1, 2021
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Giving the Cold Shoulder to Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation
In two randomized trials published simultaneously, cryoballoon ablation proved superior to drug therapy for prevention of arrhythmia recurrence in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
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How to Record Reliable Blood Pressure Measurements
A small, community-based study to detect hypertension revealed one week of twice-daily home blood pressure (BP) measurements are more reliable and more accurately predict increased left ventricular mass than clinic or 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring.
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Is There an Ideal Time to Administer Antihypertension Medications?
Taking all antihypertensive agents before bed vs. upon awakening in hypertensive patients showed there was less hypertension during sleep and few cardiovascular events over a six-year follow-up.
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Paclitaxel-Eluting Devices: Is It Time to Stop Worrying?
Paclitaxel-eluting devices vs. bare metal stents in peripheral arterial disease showed no significant difference in all-cause mortality, contradicting the results of a controversial meta-analysis.
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Transitioning Patients from ECLS to Durable MCS
A registry of patients transitioned from extracorporeal life support to durable mechanical circulatory support was used to derive a tool predicting one-year survival.