Stroke june 1, 2013 This session of the Princeton Conference highlighted the goals and progress of the Stroke Progress Review Group. The Stroke Progress Review Group was formed in 2001 to focus research efforts in (1) stroke treatment, (2) stroke prevention, and (3) stroke recovery. In the area of preclinical stroke research, the need for […]
Stroke: June 1, 2013 The presentations and accompanying papers during this session of the Princeton Conference highlight that although we have seen favorable trends in stroke burden in the United States (eg, declining incidence and mortality rates), stroke continues to represent a major challenge to public health. As described by Kim et al,1 stroke will take […]
STROKEAHA: May 23, 2013 Background and Purpose—Cholesterol levels are inconsistently associated with the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. The purpose of this study is to assess their relationships using a meta-analytic approach. Methods—We searched PubMed and Embase for pertinent articles published in English. Only prospective studies that reported effect estimates with 95% confidential intervals (CIs) of hemorrhagic […]
Stroke: May 16, 2013 Background and Purpose—Depression is known to increase stroke risk. Although limited, there is some evidence for age differences, with a suggestion for a stronger association in younger groups. We investigated the effect of depression on stroke incidence in a large cohort of midaged women. Methods—We included 10 547 women without a history […]
CIRCULATIONAHA: May 22, 2013 Background—Percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and novel pharmacological therapies are now available to manage stroke risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). However, the cost effectiveness of LAA occlusion compared to dabigatran and warfarin in patients with NVAF is unknown. Methods and Results—Cost-utility analysis using a patient level Markov micro-simulation […]
CIRCEP: May 16, 2013 Background—Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), the first-line of therapy for preventing sudden cardiac death in high-risk patients, deliver “appropriate” shocks for termination of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF). A common shortcoming of ICDs is imperfect rhythm discrimination, resulting in the delivery of “inappropriate” shocks for atrial fibrillation (AF). An underexplored area for rhythm discrimination is the […]
Chest Journal: May 9, 2013 Background When oral anticoagulation (OAC) with adjusted dose Vitamin K antagonist (VKA,) is used, the quality of anticoagulation control (as reflected by time in therapeutic range (TTR) of the International Normalised Ratio, INR) is an important determinant of thromboembolism and bleeding. Our objective was to derive a validated scheme using patient-related […]
Circulation Journal: May 9, 2013 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for stroke and the prevalence increases with age. Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are effective, but underused in elderly patients, primarily because of concerns about bleeding. Clinical study data on the efficacy (stroke/systemic embolism) and safety (bleeding events) of OACs in elderly patients with […]
JACC: May 28, 2013 Post-operative atrial fibrillation (PoAF) is among the most common complications of cardiac surgery and substantially increases morbidity and healthcare costs. Despite decades of surgical, anesthetic, and medical advances, rates of PoAF remain largely unchanged. Experiments and animal models suggest that perioperative fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) may reduce PoAF (1). We […]
International Journal of Stroke: May 22, 2013 Background It remains controversial whether dual antiplatelet therapy reduces stroke more than aspirin alone. Aim We aimed to assess the effects of adding clopidogrel to aspirin on the occurrence of stroke and major haemorrhage in patients with vascular disease. Methods Meta-analysis of published randomized trials comparing the combination […]
