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This report from the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) portion of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry focuses on the relationships of gender to in-hospital, ICD-associated adverse events.
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Dual anti-platelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel reduces cardiac events in patients who have acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and in patients who have percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Recently, the phenomenon of "clopidogrel resistance" has received much attention because of the clinical problems of stent thrombosis and recurrent ACS. However, a precise definition of this clinical entity is lacking.
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The introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) was met with enthusiasm from the interventional cardiology community because of the dramatic reduction in rates of in-stent restenosis (ISR). However, it came to be recognized that this clinical benefit, due to reduced proliferation of smooth muscle cells, came at a price.
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Dr. George Dourgas presented the results of the Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction (HORIZONS AMI) analysis of predictors of stent thrombosis in more than 3,600 patients, and showed that higher doses of clopidogrel (600 mg) pharmacologic therapy, lesion characteristics, and the length of stents were predictors of early-stent thrombosis.
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Individualization of therapy with pharmacogenetics; the rate vs rhythm debate; the FDA's Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy; FDA actions.
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The clinical utility of microvolt T-wave alternans (MWTA) testing to detect subtle beat-to-beat oscillations in the electrocardiogram's T-wave amplitude as a non-invasive method for predicting sudden cardiac death remains undetermined.
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Dronedarone is a new antiarrhythmic drug with structural similarities to amiodarone.
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The optimal timing of surgery for asymptomatic severe mitral valve regurgitation (MR) is unclear. Thus, Kang et al from South Korea studied the outcomes of patients treated with early surgery to those treated more conservatively in a prospective observational study.