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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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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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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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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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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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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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Reversing Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering (REVERSAL) is a prospective, randomized, controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of an intensive or aggressive lipid-lowering approach
(atorvastatin 80 mg) to a moderate one (pravastatin 40 mg).
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The lipid-lowering arm of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) was initially reported at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago in March and subsequently in Lancet.
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The durability of mitral valve repair is not constant, and the progressive incidence of more than trivial regurgitation needs to be considered in selecting a strategy for treating chronic mitral regurgitation.
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Since natriuretic peptide levels are elevated in symptomatic patients with moderate-severe aortic stenosis, they may be useful in the management of asymptomatic patients.
