Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

Treating younger patients with TAVR increases risk of death
Treating patients younger than 65 with TAVR is associated with certain risks for heart teams to consider. Fortunately, researchers found, care teams appear to be choosing patients wisely.
Cardiologist demand is on the rise—can hospitals keep up?
Demand for inpatient and outpatient cardiology services is expected to increase significantly in the next decade, putting hospitals and health systems in a position where they need to plan ahead or risk falling behind.
Self-expanding vs. balloon-expandable TAVR valves: How they compare after 5 years
SOLVE-TAVI focused on the long-term impact of selecting different second-generation transcatheter heart valves and anesthesia strategies for transfemoral TAVR procedures.
New data put a spotlight on troubling TAVR trends
Philippe Genereux, MD, principal investigator of the EARLY TAVR trial, noted that many patients with severe AS still go untreated.
How robotic-assisted mitral valve repair compares to conventional surgery
Costs remain a concern, especially for low-volume centers, but robotic-assisted MV repair is associated with short-term outcomes comparable to more conventional techniques.

FDA cautions that stolen Novo Nordisk diabetes insulin may be distributed

The FDA has notified patients and healthcare professionals that some stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir, made by Novo Nordisk, and being sold in the U.S. market, may not have been stored and handled properly and may be dangerous for patients.

June 14, 2009

JACC: Avandia, Altace do not improve outcomes in pre-diabetics without CV disease

In people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and/or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) without cardiovascular disease and diabetes, treatment with ramipril had a neutral effect on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), whereas rosiglitazone modestly reduced CIMT progression, according to the STARR trial results released June 2 issue in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

June 2, 2009

Lancet: Aspirin reduces heart attacks, but increases bleeds

The use of aspirin in people with no history of relevant disease can reduce non-fatal MIs by approximately one-fifth, but it also can increase the risk of internal bleeding by about one-third. Thus, its long-term use for primary prevention is uncertain since its risks and benefits could potentially cancel each other out, according to a study in the May 29 issue of the Lancet.

June 2, 2009

Circulation: P4P may benefit docs who care for very sick

Physicians who treat patients with multiple,co-existing, chronic health problems will fare well under pay-for-performance (P4P) initiatives, according to a report in the June 2 issue of Circulation.

June 2, 2009

Bristol-Myers sees downturn in earnings, despite sales uptick

Bristol-Myers Squibb has reported its 2009 first quarter net earnings from continuing operations attributable to the shareholders of $638 million, compared to $647 million for the same period in 2008.

May 28, 2009

Patient death halts Aastrom heart failure stem cell trial

Aastrom Biosciences, a developer of autologous adult stem cell treatments for cardiovascular diseases, has temporarily suspended enrollment and patient treatment in its U.S. Phase II IMPACT-DCM clinical trial, following a report that a trial participant who received the recommended treatment died at home after being released from the hospital.

May 28, 2009

AstraZeneca to disclose compensation to U.S. doctors

AstraZeneca has announced that it plans to divulge compensation to healthcare professionals who speak on behalf of its company and products in the U.S. starting in 2010.

May 28, 2009

Gilead shuffles CV execs as part of CV Therapeutics integration

Biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, as part of the ongoing integration of CV Therapeutics, has announced changes to its cardiovascular research and development organization leadership.

May 27, 2009

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Health Imaging

Use of AI opportunistic screening in CT for cardiovascular disease

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Health Imaging

New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Structural Heart Disease

Treating younger patients with TAVR increases risk of death

Cardiologist demand is on the rise—can hospitals keep up?

Self-expanding vs. balloon-expandable TAVR valves: How they compare after 5 years

New data put a spotlight on troubling TAVR trends

How robotic-assisted mitral valve repair compares to conventional surgery

Around the web