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These investigators from Australia present a case of isolated left ventricular (LV) apical hypoplasia with fatty infiltration confirmed by CT and MRI. The left anterior descending artery was small and truncated early on angiography. Echocardiography showed a large banana-shaped right ventricle (RV) that wrapped around the apex of the hypocontractile truncated LV. Also there was apical papillary muscle insertion.
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In this paper, the authors performed a pharmacoepidemiologic study on the relationship between azithromycin, a frequently used broad-spectrum macrolide antibiotic, and cardiovascular death. The authors analyzed data from the Tennessee Medicaid program. This database provides information on medical care encounters and dates and causes of death and is linked to death certificates and hospital discharge data.
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Azithromycin and cardiac risk; warfarin and heart failure; aspirin and VTE; effectiveness of long-acting contraceptives; and FDA actions.
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This interesting study examined a new technique for exploring the mechanism(s) for atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients scheduled for catheter ablation of paroxysmal or persistent AF were recruited for the study. Antiarrhythmic drugs were stopped before the study was performed.
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More than 200,000 Riata family implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads from St. Jude Medical were implanted worldwide. Recently, the FDA issued a Class I recall on this lead because of the appearance of defects in the lead insulation that may lead to externalization of the conductor wires.
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Patients who present with acute myocardial infarction (MI) complicated by cardiogenic shock represent a group at high risk for early mortality.
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Side effects of statins; effects of cannabis use; antihypertensives and lip cancer; and FDA actions.
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The risk of interrupting prophylactic warfarin for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients is unclear. Thus, these investigators from Denmark evaluated their national health registry and found 102,591 patients > age 30 with a first-time hospitalization for AF between 1997 and 2008.