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Using a radial raft, as opposed to a vein graft as the second bypass in patients receiving a LITA to the LAD, resulted in less late mortality without a lot of quality data to support it.
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Tight glycemic control during surgery and 12 hours after CABG in diabetic patients improves perioperative outcomes and survival, and decreases wound infections and episodes of recurrent ischemia.
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Breast Cancer and the Use of Statins; Warnings Issued for IBS Drugs; FDA Actions
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An important publication by Zile and colleagues that have been long interested in diastolic properties of the heart, confirms that diastolic heart failure (DHF) is a real entity and is associated with significant abnormalities of active relaxation and passive stiffness in the left ventricle (LV).
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Ernst and colleagues from St. George Hospital in Hamburg, Germany describe a new technique for positioning and manipulating ablation catheters during electrophysiologic studies. The system is a remote magnetic navigation system, which uses 2 permanent magnets to move a specially designed catheter.
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The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) remains a challenge. Thus, these investigators from Basel, Switzerland hypothesized that a marker of systemic bacterial infection such as procalcitonin may help. In 67 consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of IE, a multidisciplinary team applied the Duke criteria to make the diagnosis of IE in 21 patients.
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Annual, or less frequent, surveillance intervals are effective for aneurysms < 45 mm in diameter.
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The benefit of ICD therapy, compared to amiodarone therapy in patients with life-threatening arrhythmia, continues to increase over time, and long-term data support the use of an ICD as first line therapy for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death.
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The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), a product of a collaboration of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, has updated its clinical practice guideline on cholesterol management.