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Cardiology
Your essential source for clinically relevant perspectives – from physician opinion leaders – on the most important research and guidelines in cardiovascular medicine
Featured Article

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Darbepoetin
in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, Chronic Kidney Disease, and Anemia
- November 3, 2009
- Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP
- General Medicine
The drug provides little benefit and might cause harm.
- Reviewing:
- Pfeffer MA et al. N Engl J Med 2009 Oct 30
Recent Cardiology Articles
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: On Pump or Off Pump?
- November 4, 2009
- Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM
On-pump surgery bested off-pump surgery in a randomized trial, but important questions remain unaddressed.
- Reviewing:
- Shroyer AL et al. for the Veterans Affairs Randomized On/Off Bypass (ROOBY) Study Group. N Engl J Med 2009 Nov 5; 361:1827
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation: Is Repair Better Than Replacement?
- November 4, 2009
- Howard C. Herrmann, MD
Findings from a retrospective study suggest not.
- Reviewing:
- Magne J et al. Circulation 2009 Sep 15; 120:S104
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
B-Type Natriuretic Peptide to Rule out Heart Failure: Different Cutoffs for Different Patients?
- November 4, 2009
- Joel M. Gore, MD
Adjusting BNP thresholds for clinical covariates improved the test's ability to differentiate between cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea.
- Reviewing:
- Rogers RK et al. Am J Cardiol 2009 Sep 1; 104:689
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Chest Compression Fraction and Survival from Cardiac ArrestFree
- October 30, 2009
- Aaron E. Bair, MD, MSc, FAAEM, FACEP
- Emergency Medicine
Minimizing interruption of chest compressions is associated with improved survival.
- Reviewing:
- Christenson J et al. Circulation 2009 Sep 29; 120:1241
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Pregnancy and Anticoagulation: What Is a Clinician to Do?
- October 28, 2009
- Joel M. Gore, MD
In a case series of women with prosthetic heart valves, enoxaparin appeared to be effective when used as directed and carefully monitored.
- Reviewing:
- McLintock C et al. BJOG 2009 Nov; 116:1585
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Internal Mammary Artery Use in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Room for Improvement
- October 28, 2009
- JoAnne M. Foody, MD
A large database study shows regional, sex, and ethnic disparities in the use of this gold-standard conduit.
- Reviewing:
- Tabata M et al. Circulation 2009 Sep 15; 120:935
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Compress the Chest: Better CPR Improves Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac ArrestFree
- October 23, 2009
- Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP
- Emergency Medicine
Implementation of the 2005 AHA CPR guidelines that focus on uninterrupted chest compressions nearly doubled the odds of survival among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
- Reviewing:
- Sayre MR et al. Prehosp Emerg Care 2009 Oct-Dec; 13:469
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Treating Depressed Cardiac Patients? Omega-3s Don't Help the Depression
- October 26, 2009
- Peter Roy-Byrne, MD
- Psychiatry
Omega-3 fatty acids do not appear to augment the effects of sertraline in depressed patients with cardiac disease.
- Reviewing:
- Carney RM et al. JAMA 2009 Oct 21; 302:1651
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Do ICDs Work Better for Men Than for Women?
- October 22, 2009
- JoAnne M. Foody, MD
- Women's Health
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for preventing sudden cardiac death had no effect on all-cause mortality in women with advanced heart failure.
- Reviewing:
- Ghanbari H et al. Arch Intern Med 2009 Sep 14; 169:1500
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Aldosterone Antagonists and Heart Failure
- October 21, 2009
- Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH
Potholes remain in the road toward adoption of evidence-based guideline recommendations.
- Reviewing:
- Albert NM et al. JAMA 2009 Oct 21; 302:1658
Editor's Picks from across Journal Watch
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Is Venous Thromboembolism a Risk Factor for Arterial Events?
- September 22, 2009
- By David Green, MD, PhD
- Oncology and Hematology
Myocardial infarction and stroke were observed in patients with unprovoked pulmonary embolisms.
- Reviewing:
- Blood 2009 Aug 20; 114:1484
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Immobilization and VTE: Are Long Trips Really Dangerous?Free
- September 11, 2009
- By Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM
- Emergency Medicine
Travel for more than 8 hours did not significantly increase the risk for venous thromboembolism.
- Reviewing:
- Ann Emerg Med 2009 Aug; 54:147
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Are Developing Hearts Harmed by SSRIs?
- October 1, 2009
- By Wendy S. Biggs, MD
- Women's Health
First-trimester fetal exposure to SSRIs more than doubled risk for septal heart defects; absolute differences in incidence were small.
- Reviewing:
- BMJ 2009 Sep 23; 339:b3569
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Effect of Statins on Responses to Interferon Beta-1a
- October 6, 2009
- By Hillel Panitch, MD
- Neurology
A retrospective study suggests that statins do not interfere with the therapeutic effects of IFNβ-1a in multiple sclerosis, but methodologic problems render the issue unresolved.
- Reviewing:
- Neurology 2009 Jun 9; 72:1989
Journal Watch Cardiology summarizes important medical journal articles about a wide variety of cardiovascular subjects including angina, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stents, stroke and ventricular fibrillation.
