News
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012
American Heart Association: November 6, 2012 Background—Epidemiological studies have shown mixed findings on the association between hypertension and stroke in the oldest old. Heterogeneity of the populations under study may underlie variation in outcomes. We examined whether the level of physical and cognitive function moderates the association between blood pressure and stroke. Methods—We included 513 subjects […]
Atrial Fibrillation
Friday, November 9th, 2012
PRNewswire: LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Twelve-month data from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD (GARFIELD) show that poor management of stroke prevention therapy is widespread in everyday clinical practice, which may lead to elevated rates of mortality, stroke and bleeding among individuals with newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF). Data from the GARFIELD […]
Atrial Fibrillation
Friday, November 9th, 2012
JAMA: 11/7/12 The emergence of new anticoagulation medications to treat nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and reduce stroke risk has been mostly welcomed by the medical community. But identifying patients who will receive the most benefit from a particular drug remains a challenge, and wider use may be limited until bleeding risks and other concerns associated with the […]
Atrial Fibrillation
Friday, November 9th, 2012
FDA: 11/5/12 [11-02-2012] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has evaluated new information about the risk of serious bleeding associated with use of the anticoagulants (blood thinners) dabigatran (Pradaxa) and warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven, and generics). Following the approval of Pradaxa, FDA received a large number of post-marketing reports of bleeding among Pradaxa users. As a result, […]
Atrial Fibrillation
Friday, November 9th, 2012
AHA: 11/2/12 Background—Stroke is a debilitating condition with an increased risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). While data from clinical trials suggest that both rate and rhythm control are acceptable approaches with comparable rates of mortality in the short term, it is unclear whether stroke rates differ between patients who filled prescriptions for rhythm or […]
Atrial Fibrillation
Friday, November 9th, 2012
JACC: 11/1/12 Noninvasive Evaluation and Relationships With Aging and Systolic Dysfunction Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate diffuse myocardial fibrosis of the left ventricle (LV) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Background Diffuse myocardial fibrosis is a hallmark of cardiomyopathy. Unlike replacement fibrosis, it is not visualized on delayed-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, but […]
Clinical Trials
Friday, November 9th, 2012
The Physicians’ Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial JAMA: 11/7/12 Although multivitamins are used to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiency, there is a perception that multivitamins may prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Observational studies have shown inconsistent associations between regular multivitamin use and CVD, with no long-term clinical trials of multivitamin use. Objective To determine whether long-term […]
Clinical Trials
Friday, November 9th, 2012
Wiley: 11/6/12 Of 14 randomized controlled trials included in the recent Cochrane review of the evidence relating to information provision after stroke, only one included people with aphasia with the remainder either excluding this patient sub-group (10/14 trials) or failing to report any exclusion criteria. A third of people that experience a stroke will also experience […]
Clinical Trials
Friday, November 9th, 2012
Context Postoperative atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF) is one of the most common complications of cardiac surgery and significantly increases morbidity and health care utilization. A few small trials have evaluated whether long-chain n-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce postoperative AF, with mixed results. Objective To determine whether perioperative n-3-PUFA supplementation reduces postoperative AF. Design, Setting, […]
Clinical Trials
Friday, November 9th, 2012
NEJM: 11/4/12 We randomly assigned 822 patients who had completed initial anticoagulant therapy after a first episode of unprovoked venous thromboembolism to receive aspirin, at a dose of 100 mg daily, or placebo for up to 4 years. The primary outcome was a recurrence of venous thromboembolism. RESULTS: During a median follow-up period of 37.2 months, venous […]
