Ohio Hospital Pauses Cardiac Surgery Program in Wake of Criticism
Adena Health is responding to the pause of its cardiac surgery program after two alleged deaths during cardiac procedures and several alleged instances of sexual misconduct. These allegations have been levied in media reports and social media posts, as well as in a defamation and wrongful termination lawsuit brought by James Manazer, MD, former chief […]
Recreational Drug Use More Common in Intensive Cardiac Care Than Many Admit
Many recreational drug users suffering acute cardiovascular events ended up in cardiac intensive care units (ICUs) without disclosing their drug use, according to the ADDICT-ICCU study conducted across France. The incidence of a positive drug screen was 11% among 1,499 consecutive patients admitted for acute cardiovascular events, with systematic urine testing revealing use of cannabis […]
No Increase in Major Cardiac Events With Testosterone-Replacement Therapy
CHICAGO — Testosterone-replacement therapy was noninferior to placebo in the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events among men with hypogonadism and established or high risk for cardiovascular disease, the randomized TRAVERSE trial showed. At a mean follow-up of 33 months, the primary cardiovascular endpoint — first occurrence of any component of a composite of death […]
Full-On Reversal of Cardiac Amyloidosis Possible With Antibodies
It is possible for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM, also called cardiac ATTR amyloidosis) to be reversed with antibody treatment, as suggested by rare cases of patients who had their ATTR-related heart failure resolve spontaneously, with cardiac structure and function restored to almost normal. In a small case series, three men (ages 68, 82, and 76) […]
Multimodal Evaluations May Flag Cardiac Allograft Problems Earlier
Coronary anatomy and physiology both predicted early cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) progression, according to a study that strengthens the case for advanced multimodal testing to improve early detection of a major contributor to allograft failure. Among heart transplant recipients at two Canadian centers, early progression of percent intimal volume (PIV) on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) between […]
Scoliosis Cramps Heart Function in Adulthood
Scoliosis was associated with altered cardiac function and an increase in cardiac events among adults in the U.K. Biobank, researchers found. Compared with peers without scoliosis, those with such sideways spinal curvature exhibited a greater lifetime risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; HR 1.45, P<0.001), driven by heart failure (HR 1.58, P<0.001) and atrial […]
Cardiac Arrest Growing More Common in the Delivery Room?
Cardiac arrest during labor and delivery appeared more common than previously seen — particularly for older, Black, and low-income pregnant patients — but with better survival rates, according to a national study. Among women admitted for delivery in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2017 to 2019, cardiac arrest occurred in about one in 9,000 […]
Routine Stress Testing Didn’t Offer Benefits to High-Risk Patients Post-PCI
BARCELONA – Routine functional testing after percutaneous cardiac interventions (PCI) did not boost clinical outcomes at 2 years in high-risk patients, according to the POST-PCI trial. The composite endpoint of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina was experienced by 5.5% of patients who got routine functional testing versus 6.6% in […]
Menstrual Cycles Point to Link Between Sex Hormones and Long QT
SAN FRANCISCO — Cardiac repolarization dynamics seemed to cycle in sync with the menstrual cycle of some people with congenital and drug-induced long QT syndrome (LQTS), a small prospective study showed. Women with LQTS type 2 were found to have their QT interval — corrected with the Bazett formula (QTcB) and Fridericia’s method (QTcF) — […]
Second-Gen Drug for HCM Emerges, Nipping at Mavacamten’s Heels
A second-generation cardiac myosin inhibitor showed promise for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in the phase II REDWOOD-HCM trial. In the dose-finding study, 10 weeks of treatment with aficamten brought resting left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradients down significantly compared with placebo before a 2-week washout period returned gradients to baseline, reported Martin […]