Cardiac cath labs operate in an increasingly challenging environment, contending with a variety of clinical, demographic, regulatory and competitive factors.

The utilization of drug-eluting stents may be poised for a comeback based on recent clinical studies that found they have value despite some risks. Industry analysts, however, suggest that there their usage has plateaued and they can not maintain their initial groundbreaking sales. 

Recent trial results, multidetector CT and new and more uses for the services and equipment of the traditional cardiac catheterization lab are impacting the bottom line of facilities across the country. These and more factors may have temporarily decreased cath lab procedures, but experts in the field predict recovery—albeit a changing face for the cath lab.

Calcium supplementation in healthy postmenopausal women is associatedwith upward trends in cardiovascular event rates, according to a studypublished online Jan. 15 in BMJ.

  Despite catchy TV commercials claiming Vytorin's positives of reducingcholesterol levels in patients predisposed to high cholesterol levels,a just-released study found Vytorin is no more effective in treatingpatients who were genetically predisposed to having dangerously highlevels of cholesterol than Merck's drug Zocor (Vytorin contains Zocor)because it did not slow the growth of artery blockages.

A simpler version of bystander-delivered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that skips mouth-to-mouth resuscitation may be just as effective for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims as standard CPR, according to two studies published online on Dec. 18 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Cardiologists need to weigh the benefits of the more efficacious branded statins in comparison to the less expensive generics.

Door-to-balloon time (D2B) is a critical cardiac quality indicator. As a whole, U.S. hospitals are doing fairly well with other quality indicators, says Betsy Bradley, PhD, professor of public health at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., but D2B time is a challenge for many sites. Here are some prescriptions to break the 90-minute barrier.