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The appropriate treatment of infective endocarditis (IE), to avoid embolic stroke, is unclear. Thus, Dickerman and colleagues explored the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Prospective Cohort Study (ICE-CPS) database to define the temporal occurrence of stroke in relation to antibiotic therapy.
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Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) has been associated with cryptogenic stroke in young individuals, but the association is less clear in older individuals where other causes of stroke predominate.
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Rosiglitazone (Avandia) implicated in yet another study; Prilosec and Nexium not associated with cardiac events; Anastrozole (Arimidex) shown more effective than tamoxifen for treatment of early-stage breast cancer; antibiotics show no effect on sinusitis; FDA actions.
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Many efforts are underway to develop reliable and effective antiplatelet agents that have a minimal risk for bleeding.
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The atrial fibrillation clopidogrel trial with Irbesartan for Prevention of Vascular Events (ACTIVE W) is a noninferiority trial comparing anticoagulation with warfarin to therapy with aspirin plus clopidogrel for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.
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The triggers of ventricular arrhythmia (tova Study) was a multicenter, prospective, cohort study that examined lifestyle and psychological triggers that might result in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks for ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF).
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Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is an exceedingly common manifestation of atherosclerosis. Its presence heralds an increased risk for death from coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, yet it continues to go unrecognized in a large proportion of patients.
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The management of patients with significant carotid artery disease, who need coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), especially if the carotid disease is asymptomatic, is controversial. In the absence of randomized trials, this report of carotid artery stenting followed by CABG in 356 patients with severe asymptomatic carotid disease is of interest.
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FDA warnings for existing drugs dominate pharmaceutical news this month.
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