admin | December 31, 2008
Abstract Background In patients with stable coronary artery disease, it remains unclear whether an initial management strategy of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with intensive pharmacologic therapy and lifestyle intervention (optimal medical therapy) is superior to optimal medical therapy alone in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. Methods We conducted a randomized trial involving 2287 patients who had objective evidence of myocardial ischemia and significant coronary artery disease at 50 U.S. and Canadian centers. Between 1999 and 2004, we assigned 1149 patients to undergo PCI with optimal medical therapy (PCI group) and 1138 to receive optimal medical therapy alone (medical-therapy group). The primary outcome was death from any cause and nonfatal myocardial infarction during a follow-up period of 2.5 to 7.0 years (median, 4.6).
Category: Angio/Stent, Medicine, Studies |
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admin | December 29, 2008
Here is a listing of some Noninvasice Diagnostic Tests that you may encounter during your medical care, or request as an alternative to invasive testing.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Coronary heart disease causes nearly half of deaths and disability in Americans between the ages of 35 and 64. Now Positron Emission Tomography (PET) diagnoses heart disease non-invasively with 96-98% accuracy in individuals with or without symptoms of heart disease, permitting treatment even before symptoms appear. Since its diagnostic accuracy is much higher than standard tests at comparable cost per study, PET reduces expense and risk by avoiding unnecessary tests and procedures, thereby providing more efficient diagnoses.
Category: Diagnostic Tests |
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admin | December 29, 2008
This post is from a similar blog that explains a person’s personal story with Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery from Blogger News Network….
It’s really difficult to get this message to people who already have had a coronary artery bypass. They are convinced their cardiologist is a saint and if it were not for him, they would have been dead a long time ago. Right, and the tooth fairy takes dentures. I am tired of pussy footing around the subject. If you did not get a second opinion from a noninvasive cardiologist when your interventional cardiologist told you you would have a heart attack or die if you didn’t immediately have a bypass, you are a fool.
Category: Bypass Surgery |
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admin | December 29, 2008
“Nine months is not life-long!” according to Dr. Virmani, who argued that all this euphoria over DES is premature and that the potential for grave biological consequences remains. The first concern raised by Dr. Virmani was about the polymer that coats the stent and houses the drug. Histologic studies show that while initially the polymer stays intact and does not evoke any form of neointimal hyperplasia, as time passes, the polymer begins to degrade and leads to delayed intimal hyperplasia.
Category: Angio/Stent |
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admin | December 29, 2008
A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that helps the heart beat regularly and at an appropriate rate.
Information
A pacemaker generally has two parts:
- Generator — contains the battery and the information to control the heartbeat
- Leads — wires used to connect the heart to the generator and send the electrical impulses to the heart to tell it to beat
Two kinds of pacemakers — transcutaneous and transvenous pacemakers — are only used in emergency situations. They are not considered permanent pacemakers.
Category: Buffalo Heart Health |
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admin | December 26, 2008
The statin drugs can indeed play a role in a program of coronary plaque control and regression. However, thanks to the overwhelming marketing (and lobbying and legislative) clout of the drug manufacturing industry, they play an undeserved, oversized role. I get reminded of this whenever I’m pressed to answer the question: “Which statin drug is best?”
In trying to answer this question, we encounter several difficulties:
Category: Medicine |
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admin | December 23, 2008
Calgary, AB - New registry data from Alberta suggest that drug-eluting stents (DES) offer a slight mortality advantage over bare-metal stents within the first year postimplantation but that this benefit diminishes over time, such that the two stent types were associated with equal survival rates at three years [1].
“Drug-eluting stents are safe and effective in the first year following insertion,” the authors, led by Dr Andrew C Philpott (University of Calgary, AB), write in a report published online December 18 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “Thereafter, the possibility of longer-term adverse events cannot be ruled out.”
Category: Angio/Stent |
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admin | December 18, 2008
“All deaths are sudden, one moment you are alive and the next you are death”
With this quote, Dr. Holmes initiated his talk that discussed the effect of drug-eluting stents on mortality. The issue whether percutaneous coronary revascularization might have an impact on mortality has been a subject of controversy between interventional cardiologists and the more conservative noninvasive cardiologists.
How can revascularization actually affect mortality?
Mortality can be potentially diminished by reducing sudden cardiac death, decreasing congestive heart failure, and by preventing reinfarction. Data from the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) trial[1] showed that, of the 3610 patients included in the trial and the registry who underwent revascularization, 621 patients died (17.2%), including 284 (45.7%) patients from cardiac causes.
Category: Angio/Stent, Bypass Surgery |
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admin | December 17, 2008
External Counterpulsation (ECP) is an ingenious method for treating angina that doesn’t use drugs, is non-invasive, inexpensive and safe — unlike conventional surgical procedures such as angioplasty and bypass surgery. Physicians should inform patients of all the treatment options available for ischemic heart disease, including FDA-approved ECP, says physician Dr. Grossman.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to CDC statistics.1 Conventional treatment options typically include lifestyle modification, prescription drugs and surgery. While often effective at relieving symptoms such as chest pain or angina, these therapies have several drawbacks. They are frequently ineffective at extending life, are associated with numerous side effects and complications, and are expensive. Heart surgery carries a significant risk of death, and often leads to other morbid events.
Category: Angio/Stent, Bypass Surgery, External Counterpulsation, Medicine |
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admin | December 17, 2008
Patients with refractory angina and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction exert an enormous burden on health care resources primarily because of the number of recurrent emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) therapy has emerged as a treatment option for patients with angina and LV dysfunction and has been shown to improve clinical outcomes and LV function.
Category: External Counterpulsation |
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