American College of Cardiology

Psoriasis Linked With 6% Higher Cardiovascular Disease Risk

NEW ORLEANS – Patients with severe psoriasis face a 6% higher 10-year risk for a cardiovascular event than do comparable people without psoriasis, according to the findings of a case-control analysis of nearly 18,000 people. [Read more.]

Shorter Antiplatelet Therapy Course After Stenting May Be Acceptable

NEW ORLEANS – Short and standard durations of dual-antiplatelet therapy were equally protective against target vessel failure in drug-eluting stent recipients, Korean researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Specialized Atrial Fib Clinic Reduced Deaths, Hospitalizations

NEW ORLEANS – A specialized clinic that relies on a three-pronged–team approach for the treatment of atrial fibrillation achieved substantial reductions in cardiovascular hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths, compared with usual care, in a randomized, open-label trial. [Read more.]

New Resolute Coronary Stent Shows Good Diabetes and Safety Outcomes

Presuming that the Resolute zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent enters the U.S. market within the next year, interventionalists likely will rely on data from two key studies to weigh how it matches up against its main competition, the Xience V/Promus everolimus-eluting coronary stent. [Read more.]

Transcatheter Valve Replacement Skips Sticker Shock

The cost of transcatheter aortic valve replacement among patients with inoperable severe aortic stenosis is in line with other accepted cardiovascular procedures, according to an economic analysis of the PARTNER trial. [Read more.]

Implanted Baroreflex Activation Device Fails Trial's Goals

A novel way to manage drug-resistant hypertension using an implanted device to deliver a small, continuous electrical current to both carotid sinuses will need more testing as results from a 265-patient pivotal trial failed to clearly prove efficacy. [Read more.]

Video Report: Final Day of ACC Annual Meeting

A wide range of research and studies were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 60th Annual Scientific Session & Expo. Here's a quick wrap-up of the conference's top stories. [View video.]

ARB, CCB Both Help Prevent Events in Hypertensive Diabetes Patients

NEW ORLEANS – Prevention of major cardiovascular events was similar in a comparison of valsartan and amlodipine in patients with hypertension and diabetes or glucose intolerance, according to a Japanese study presented April 5 at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Watch now.]

TARGET: Echo-Guided Placement of Pacemaker Leads Improves Outcomes

NEW ORLEANS – Using speckle tracking echocardiography to guide pacemaker lead placement improved the outcomes of cardiac resynchronization therapy for patients with severe heart failure in TARGET, said to be the first randomized clinical trial to study the feasibility and outcomes of a targeted approach to left ventricular lead placement. [Read more.]

Extended Rivaroxaban Edges Out Enoxaparin in VTE Prevention

The investigational oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban was as effective as injection enoxaparin in preventing venous thromboembolism at 10 days and superior at 35 days among critically ill hospitalized patients in the phase III MAGELLAN study. [Read more.]

PRECOMBAT: For Left Main Disease, PCI Not Inferior to CABG

Select patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis can be effectively treated with percutaneous coronary intervention with sirolimus-eluting stents rather than coronary artery bypass grafting, South Korean investigators reported at a the April 4 late-breaking clinical trials session of the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

New Platinum Stent Found Noninferior to Cobalt Stent

NEW ORLEANS – A yet-to-be approved platinum chromium everolimus-eluting stent was found to be noninferior to the cobalt chromium everolimus-eluting stent – the most widely used stent in the United States, according to results of the large, randomized PLATINUM trial presented April 4 at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Drug-Eluting Stents Superior to Bare Metal Stents in Certain Patients Following CABG

NEW ORLEANS – Drug-eluting stents outperformed bare-metal stents when placed in saphenous vein graft lesions that developed post-coronary artery bypass graft, according to the largest study ever performed to compare these two types of stents in this setting. [Read more.]

Rising U.S. Radial Access for Coronary Cath Predated RIVAL Results

NEW ORLEANS – With broader use of radial-artery access for percutaneous coronary interventions already gaining momentum in the United States, results from the largest study by far to compare radial- and femoral-artery approaches may give an extra boost to the radial camp. [Read more.]

EVEREST II: 2-Year Data Show MitraClip Safety, Durability

The durability and safety of treating mitral regurgitation with a percutaneous device as compared with that of surgical repair or replacement persisted at 2 years, based on an updated analysis of the EVEREST II trial results presented April 4 at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

STICH Data Support CAD Assessment at Heart Failure Presentation

The addition of coronary bypass surgery to aggressive medical care failed to reduce the primary end point of all-cause death in patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure in the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure trial. [Read more.]

Blognosis: Cardiologists Challenged

The opening scientific session at the annual American College of Cardiology meeting kicked off with a glitzy video montage that would have made Hollywood proud. I half expected to see a reminder to visit the concession stand crawl across the big screens. But just as the hype was beginning to overwhelm, Dr. James Orbinski rose to deliver the most scorching presidential lecture in memory. [Read more.]

Video Report: American College of Cardiology Meeting Highlights--Monday, April 4, 2011

Live from the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, Internal Medicine News brings you a video wrap-up and links to the top news from April 2 and 3. Watch the video here.  [View video.]

PARTNER Puts TAVR in Reach of Older, High-Risk Patients

NEW ORLEANS – Transcatheter aortic valve replacement was associated with the same survival rates at 1 year as was conventional surgery in older, high-risk patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis in the PARTNER trial. [Read more.]

Frequent Limb Movement in Restless Legs Syndrome Linked to LVH

NEW ORLEANS – Frequent periodic leg movements during sleep were associated with left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with restless legs syndrome, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Ratio of Triglycerides to HDL Predicts Cardiac Events at 10 Years

NEW ORLEANS  – In the 10-year follow-up of a study in patients with stable coronary artery disease, the ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoproteins was highly predictive of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). [Read more.]

Pulse Pressure May Help Distinguish White Coat From True Hypertension

NEW ORLEANS – Pulse pressure measured by a physician may help discriminate between patients with "white coat" hypertension and true hypertension, according to a study presented April 4 at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Mipomersen Cut LDL Cholesterol Levels in Statin-Resistant Patients

NEW ORLEANS – In patients with hypercholesterolemia and high cardiovascular risk, the novel agent mipomersen administered as add-on therapy led to robust reductions in LDL cholesterol, based on the results of a double-blind, phase III study presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Twin Study: Carotid IMT Thicker in Antidepressant Users

NEW ORLEANS - Carotid intima-media thickness was found to be increased in middle-aged men taking antidepressants in a study reported at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology. [Read more.]

Yoga Reduced Arrhythmias in Paroxysmal AF

NEW ORLEANS – Practicing yoga can significantly reduce irregular heart beat episodes and improve symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, according to a study of 49 patients. [Read more.]

Ambulance Transport Speeds Time to Catheterization in Suspected STEMI

NEW ORLEANS - Patients with suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction who called an ambulance received lifesaving care in half the time as patients who got to the hospital by other means, according to a study conducted at two San Francisco hospitals. [Read more.]