Cardiology Topics
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Does One Negative Troponin Measurement Rule Out Acute Coronary Syndrome?
Using a common clinical chest pain algorithm plus a point-of-care troponin measurement for low-risk patients, researchers reported significantly lower healthcare costs. Also, this approach did not seem to result in more major adverse cardiovascular events.
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When the Aortic Annulus Is Small, Does TAVR Valve Type Matter?
In this propensity-matched analysis of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) registry patients with small aortic annuli, the hemodynamic advantage of self-expanding TAVR valves was not associated with better clinical outcomes compared with balloon-expandable valves up to five years.
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More Daily Steps Lowers Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Older Adults
Researchers reported that for every additional 500 steps per day, the risk for heart disease, heart failure, and stroke declined by 14% among adults age 70 years and older.
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Controlling Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Could Lower Dementia Risk
Investigators found an association between high blood pressure during pregnancy and a higher likelihood of developing dementia later in life.
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Complications of Permanent Pacemakers in the Emergency Department Setting
Given the prevalence of cardiac implantable electronic devices in emergency department populations, it is critical to be aware of the relative risk and variety of complications related to these devices so that proper workup and treatment can be initiated.
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Asymptomatic with Inverted T Waves
The ECG in the figure is from a healthy young adult without symptoms. Clinicians recorded this tracing as part of the patient’s employment physical exam. Is the T wave inversion likely to be a normal variant?
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Ablation vs. Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation, Revisited
A three-year follow-up of EARLY-AF, a study of relatively young and healthy patients with recent atrial fibrillation, showed cryoablation remains superior to drug therapy for preventing the development of persistent atrial fibrillation.
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An Easy Measure of Potentially Harmful Salt Intake
Those who rarely or never added salt to their food and strongly adhered to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet exhibited the lowest incidence of subsequent cardiovascular disease.
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Effectiveness of Dietary Supplements on Lipid and Inflammatory Biomarkers
In a comparison of rosuvastatin 5 mg/day, six common dietary supplements marketed for improving heart health, and placebo, none reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels. Only rosuvastatin significantly reduced LDL cholesterol levels compared to placebo.
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Long-Term Maintenance Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
An extended six-year follow-up of the HOST-EXAM study revealed the consistent benefit of the primary endpoint of fewer major cardiovascular events and less bleeding with clopidogrel vs. low-dose aspirin monotherapy in post-percutaneous coronary intervention patients who were on dual antiplatelet therapy for one year.