Having a systolic blood pressure (SBP) difference of 15 mm Hg or more could be a good indicator of risk for vascular disease and death, according to a study published online Jan. 30 on the Lancet. During the meta-analysis, researchers from the U.K. assessed whether there was linkage between differences in SBP and peripheral vascular disease, as previous studies have shown that these types of differences show a poorer prognosis.

Florida cardiologist Zannos G. Grekos, MD, is under under legal scrutiny due to his patient's death after receiving a stem cell treatment. Investigators are looking into whether the stem cell treatment played a role in the patients death and the Florida Department of Health also is questioning whether the patient signed off on the investigative treatment.

Administering pharmalogic prophylaxis with enoxaparin in addition to elastic stockings and graduated compression to acutely ill patients did not reduce the rate of mortality, according to a study published Dec. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, the authors did determine that pharmalogic thromboprophylaxis showed benefit in preventing venous thromboembolism.

While much is being done to curb heart disease and improve patient well being with preventive care, a statistical brief released by the American Heart Association (AHA) Dec. 15 got to the heart of the matter, outlining that U.S. heart health needs some strategic reworking.

Stenting stenosis in the internal pudendal artery as a treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) appears to be safe and effective, but more needs to be understood about disease prevalence and pelvic vasculature, cardiologists say. More immediate is leveraging ED to reduce cardiovascular risk factors.

While cardiothoracic surgery continues to have improved patient outcomes, practice management considerations, such as EMRs and hospital employment, often receive less attention. But, those tides may be turning.

Approximately 30 percent of patients with an aortic aneurysm are considered too high risk for surgery yet unsuitable for existing endograft devices. Physicians are turning to extreme endovascular aneurysm repair and thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair to create solutions for these otherwise out-of-luck patients.

Treating stroke patients with timely acute care decreases the level of disability in stroke survivors and the need for long-term care, in turn trimming costs, according to an economic analysis of the total costs of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in Ireland published Dec. 1 in Age and Aging.