Administering prophylactic antibiotics up to two hours before cardiac surgery may significantly decrease surgical site infection rates, according to a study published in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 

Patients with atrial fibrillation who initiate warfarin therapy may have a two-fold risk of ischemic stroke in the first 30 days of use compared with nonusers, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in the European Heart Journal.

Depression is fairly common after cardiac surgery, and a group of Canadian researchers identified several preoperative factors that may predict depression postoperatively, including a low left ventricular ejection fraction, physical inactivity and being either depressed or at-risk for depression prior to surgery.

Novartis is recalling physician samples of medications used to treat hypertension and cholesterol because of contamination from a chemical used in packaging.

Results for a pilot registry on the management and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in Europe were presented yesterday by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). AF is the commonest cardiac rhythm disorder and each of us have a one-in-four lifetime risk of developing it. Statistics show that oral anticoagulant use has increased, but new oral anticoagulant (NOAC) use is still low. Authors also concluded that compliance with treatment guidelines for patients with the lowest and higher stroke risk scores remains suboptimal.

While the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease declined over the past decade, the financial and quality of life burdens of heart disease and strokes remain significant, according to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update 2014 published online Dec. 18 in Circulation.

Individuals with impaired glucose tolerance and other risk factors for heart disease who exercise more can help walk off their chances of having a cardiovascular event, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in The Lancet.

In what might appear as nominal itself, a study on nominative determinism found that people with the surname Brady may be prone to bradycardia.