In MR angiography (MRA) of peripheral arteries, injecting contrast medium at a slow, balanced rate can alleviate contamination of veins in the calves while maintaining image quality, according to a multinational team of researchers from China and the United States. Their study, published this month in the American Journal of Roentgenology, suggests that it is possible to increase arterial visibility in the calf while signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios at higher levels are maintained.

Art Bell was specifically referring to the effect that Sept. 11 had on the American public, but nearly a decade later, the current economic crisis might serve to be an equally motivating force across the U.S., especially as the fiscal turbulence begins to affect healthcare providers and cardiovascular vendors.

The evolution of electrophysiology technology and treatment has exploded over the last few years. Andrea Natale, MD, executive medical director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in St. Davids Medical Center in Austin, Texas, provided an overview of the field to Cardiovascular Business News.

In 1996, physicians told Pat Gibbs, a 67-year-old cardiac patient from Alabama with severe angina, that nothing could be done for her. Refusing to give up, Gibbs underwent transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) therapy and today, lives pain-free. Some cardiologists say TMRs benefit is merely a placebo effect, others say it is real. A growing market for the procedure, however, could muzzle the naysayers.

If Europe is any indication of where mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is heading, interventional cardiologists in the U.S. should get ready to welcome the devices into their cath labs. European researchers have begun to validate the technique in arrested patients undergoing PCI.

Within the past year, endocrinologists and federal regulators have become much more conscientious about the risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease with type 2 diabetes patients, due to their natural propensity for CV events, along with the potential adverse events associated with particular medications, such as Avandia.

Multidetector CT (MDCT) scans are highly accurate in detecting airway stent complications according to a recent study performed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston and published this month in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

As the financial market speculates about the impact of president-elect Barack Obamas proposed economic initiatives, Moodys Investors Services issued a report late last week forecasting that his election will provide a boon to United States hospitals.