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In the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT) the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) valsartan (V) was evaluated in 14,703 high-risk acute MI patients to determine its efficacy and safety
profile compared to the ACE inhibitor captopril (C).
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Dr. Joseph Ornato presented the Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) study, which evaluated the efficacy of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treatment by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) alone vs CPR plus
use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) performed by trained laypersons.
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Studies of selected patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy have shown improved survival with the use of prophylactic implantable cardioverter
defibrillators (ICD). Thus, DEFibrillators in Non-Ischemic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Evaluation (DEFINITE) was designed to test the survival benefit of ICDs in patients with heart failure but without coronary artery disease.
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The efficacy and safety study of oral direct thrombin Inhibitor Ximelagatran Compared with Dose-Adjusted Warfarin in the Prevention of Stroke and Systemic Embolic Events in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (SPORTIF V) was presented by Dr. Jonathan Halperin.
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In this study, Blackshear and colleagues report on their experience with thoracoscopic surgical techniques to close the left atrial appendage as prophylaxis against stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.
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In this report, Higgins and colleagues report on a multicenter trial on the efficacy of cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with an indication for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
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The FDA has approved Pfizer's eplerenone (Inspra) for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients who have sustained a myocardial infarction.
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Pneumococcal vaccine protects older adults from developing pneumococcal bacteremia but does not prevent community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), according to a new study from Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
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It is possible to use pacemakers to detect symptomatic and asymptomatic nonsustained atrial high-rate episodes, and detection of these atrial high-rate episodes identifies patients at higher risk for death, stroke, and atrial fibrillation.
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Waiting for symptom development before recommending valve replacement surgery in young patients with severe aortic regurgitation due to rheumatic disease resulted in an overall 91% survival, free of symptoms over 10 years.