Evidence-based decision support programs may be able to reduce the number of unnecessary CT pulmonary angiographic exams used to evaluate pulmonary emboli in the emergency department, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Radiology.

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.

To optimize outcomes for PCI procedures, new technologies have emerged to assist interventionalists with patient selection, clinical decision making and post-stent assessment.

New for Heart Rhythm 2011, the Networked EP Lab will prepare electrophysiologists for the future of health information technology (HIT). Visitors will discover new processes and technologies to integrate into the EP Lab to optimize patient safety, outcomes and improve procedural management and outcomes.

According to research presented during the 21st annual scientific sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) in San Diego this week, cardiac troponin plasma concentrations and longitudinal strain can predict the development of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab chemotherapies.

Martyn Thomas, MD, director of cardiothoracic services, Guys and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, reported Tuesday on the one-year mortality rates with transcatheter heart valve implantations with the Sapien valve (Edwards Lifesciences) using either a transfemoral or transapical approach, based on results of 1,038 high-risk patients assessed in the SOURCE Registry at EuroPCR in Paris. Slides

Medtronics Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent was found to be as safe and effective as Abbott Vasculars Xience V everolimus-eluting stent in a predominantly off-label population, based on the results of the RESOLUTE all-comers trial, presented Tuesday by Patrick W. Serruys MD, PhD, at EuroPCR in Paris. Slides

Inducing hypothermia by a combo infusion of cold saline and use of an endovascular cooling catheter is an effective adjuctive therapy for acute MI patients, according to a study presented Thursday by researchers from Lund University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, at EuroPCR in Paris.