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The UK Department of Health has launched a consultation on a new chapter of the National Service Framework (NSF) on Coronary Heart Disease. The new area will cover heart arrhythmias, which will form an important part of the heart disease agenda. Cardiac arrhythmia covers a range of conditions from a transient loss of consciousness and reflex anoxic seizures to cardiomyopathy and sudden adult death syndrome (SADS).
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SAN FRANCISCO, California The field of electrophysiology has changed dramatically over the past three decades, as the management of arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms, has evolved from simple pacemakers in the early 1970s to highly sophisticated implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) that can swiftly halt a sudden cardiac death episode, to biventricular pacers that provide significant relief from congestive heart failure.
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Headache is a common chief complaint encountered by emergency physicians (EPs). It may be a symptom of benign diseases such as migraine headaches or a common virus. Unfortunately, it also may represent other, more life-threatening illnesses, including subarachnoid hemorrhage. Delineating which patients need radiologic imaging, spinal fluid testing, and even angiography is part of the challenge encountered by the EP. This issue will outline strategies for reducing risk in the headache patient. Specifically, diagnosis and management of subarachniod hemorrhage will be detailed.
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Antihypertensive Treatment and Measurement at Home or in the Physicians Office; Inactivated Intranasal Influenza Vaccine and the Risk of Bells Palsy; Topiramate for Migraine Prevention; Computed Tomographic Colonography (Virtual Colonoscopy); Ejaculation Frequency and Subsequent Risk of Prostate Cancer;Different Combinations of Bupropion SR dose and Behavioral Treatment for Smoking Cessation.
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Hypothyroidism and Pregnancy; Anti-Depressants and the Risk of Suicide; FDA Actions; Brief Notes.
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It is hard to believe, but whom, how, and when to screen for thyroid disease is a highly controversial topic. The controversy is fueled by uncertainty about which populations are at risk, short-term cost vs benefit considerations, lack of consensus about when to initiate treatment, whether to use a mix of thyroxine and thyronine, and debate about the long-term risks of treating vs not treating asymptomatic individuals.