Are your patients complaining of fatigue? It might be their statins. A study this week of more than 1,000 patients found that those on statin therapy saw decreased energy and fatigue compared with non-statin users. The research was published online June 11 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The risk of major bleeding in diabetics increased only marginally with the use of low-dose aspirin, according to a population-based cohort study published June 6 is the Journal of the American Medical Association. In nondiabetics, though, the incidence of major bleeding events far outpaced results from controlled randomized clinical trials. Based on those results, the accompanying editorialist encouraged physicians to carefully weigh the cardiovascular (CV) benefits against bleeding risks before prescribing low-dose aspirin.

A longstanding debate within the world of arrhythmias has been whether atrial fibrillation (AF) patients fare better with rate or rhythm control. Now, a study published online June 4 in Archives of Internal Medicine may add fuel to the fire after researchers found little differences in mortality within four years of treatment initiation in AF patients administered rate control or rhythm control. However, rhythm control was found to be superior in long-term follow-up.

The number of pediatric patients who experience sudden cardiac death (SCD) is small; however, previous research has outlined that screening may help prevent SCD. A new study published May 29 in Circulation found that screening these patients for SCD would be costly, especially when compared with the benefits.

Actos is in the news again with a study published in the British Medical Journal that showed a link between the diabetes drug and an increased risk of bladder cancer among type 2 diabetics. These data piggyback on previous trials spawned by the FDA that also found a slight increase in risk. Risk doubled when patients were exposed to pioglitazone for more than two years.

This summer William W. O'Neill, MD, will return home and take the reins as medical director of the new Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He will rejoin old colleaguessome at institutions going head-to-head in the competitive cardiac care market.

Planning for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) involves many specialties, including imaging. In imaging, work-up from diagnosis to post-procedure relies heavily on echocardiography, but CT and fluoroscopy also play a routine role in pre- and intra-TAVR planning.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its national coverage determination for transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures in May, including requirements for reimbursement. But the question remains whether the financial reward is worth the cost of participation.