With full membership, watch our educational and editorial videos, search the site, receive our newsletters, join discussions, download slides and much more.
The latest evidence for the treatment of STEMI and PCI has been incorporated into a fast-track update of US guidelines. But questions remain about the quality of some of the evidence informing the guidelines and about the composition of the writing committees.
Orlando, FL - The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) have issued fast-track updates to the guidance for treatment of ST-elevation MI (STEMI) and for PCI incorporating the latest evidence in these fields [1]. An overview of the guideline updates was presented today at the American Heart Association 2009 Scientific Sessions.
Read full article »
Inside: Acute Coronary Syndromes
Accredited educational programs,
supported by industry, developed by theheart.org
PLATO, CURRENT-OASIS 7, and further analyses of PPIs and thienopyridines; read Dr Prasad's review of recent data presented at ESC; and watch presentations by Drs Mehran, O'Donoghue, Storey, and Wiviott.
PLATO, CURRENT-OASIS 7, COGENT, recent meetings have seen some blockbuster presentations in the area of antiplatelet/antithrombotic therapy. What is your response to these data? Answer our 4 short polling questions and learn your peers' responses.
Patients presenting with STEMI represent a high-risk population. Thrombotic and bleeding complications contribute to mortality in these patients. Join Drs. Steg, Hamm, Hill, and Mehran as they discuss best practices for the treatment of STEMI patients with a focus on preventing bleeding complications.
In the US, each year over 1.4 million people will be hospitalized for unstable angina (UA) and non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Multiple antiplatelet agents have been developed to interfere with or inhibit the specific pathways of platelet activation and aggregation that lead to the development of UA and NSTEMI. Join Drs Newby, Popma, and Wiviot as they discuss.
Management of long-term anticoagulation therapy in STEMI patients is challenging. Please join our expert panel, Drs. Elaine Hylek, Ander Cohen, Greg Lip, and Jack Ansell, as they discuss current challenges and strategies to optimize the benefit of and provide insights to the future of anticoagulation therapy.
The treatment options for oral anticoagulation therapy are constantly evolving. Join our expert panel, Drs. Graham Turpie, Jessica L. Mega, Jeffrey Weitz, as they discuss the new data and clinical implications of new anticoagulant medications for patients with ACS
As innovative research expands and unfolds, management of the patient with acute coronary syndrome continually takes on new dimensions. Join Dr. Eugene Braunwald and other experts as they delve into current and future pharmacotherapeutic strategies and issues surrounding the best practices for ACS patients.
Recently published data suggest that prior polyvascular disease increases the risk for inhospital adverse events in patients with ACS. Join Drs. Deepak Bhatt, Jean-Pierre Bassand, and José R. Gonzalez-Juanatey for a discussion of the current data on identification and management of patients with polyvascular disease.
As part of his mission to see more financial transparency in medicine, Sen Grassley has asked eight top US medical schools about their policies on ghostwriting.
A dose-finding study saw what were characterized as low bleeding rates associated with triple-drug antithrombotic therapy that included the oral anticoagulant dabigatran in patients with a recent ACS event and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Publicly released report cards based on hospital performance did not result in a measurably greater systemwide improvement in two composite AMI or CHF process-of-care indicators in a Canadian study. But they did appear to stimulate some important changes in delivery of care that could have led to some better outcomes.
The use of coronary CT angiography in the emergency room can successfully triage at-risk chest-pain patients and can do so faster and less expensively than standard diagnostic testing.
Discussion is abounding on why cangrelor did not show benefit over clopidogrel despite the fact that it did inhibit platelet activity more effectively.
Ticagrelor, an investigational antiplatelet agent, may become a new standard of care for the management of patients with STEMI heading for primary PCI, said the lead investigator of the STEMI subset of the PLATO trial. Reporting the new findings here today, he said they were consistent with the overall PLATO results.
None of the eight platelet assays studied were able to predict bleeding, but four of the eight, based on ADP-induced platelet aggregation, produced results that correlated with adverse CV outcomes. By contrast, four tests that use shear-stress-induced adhesion-based methods were not predictive.
Inflation of the paclitaxel-delivering balloon followed by a bare-metal stent failed a randomized noninferiority test against the Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent in previously untreated coronary lesions.
Although neither CHAMPION-PCI nor CHAMPION-PLATFORM showed significant reductions in the primary end point with this new IV antiplatelet agent, some positive effects were seen, suggesting that the drug may yet have a future.
Now that the US House of Representatives has passed a healthcare reform bill, organized medicine anticipates another vote—possibly next week—on a second bill that would rewrite Medicare's controversial sustainable-growth-rate formula for physician reimbursement.
The role of lipids in women for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is a challenging issue for all providers. Join Drs. Foody, Mora, and Welty as they discuss limitations to current risk stratification models, recent clinical trial data, and the changing paradigm in the management of lipids in women.
We know there are sex and biological differences in the manifestation of CVD. How do these pathophysiological differences affect the diagnosis and treatment of our female patients? Drs. Hayes, Johnson, Manson, and Piña provide their insight.
Despite increased awareness of CVD in women, contemporary studies demonstrate gender differences in outcomes. Differences in age and comorbidities account for some, but not all of these disparities. Join Dr. Foody as she discusses these issues with Drs. Mieres and Redberg.
Join Drs Valentin Fuster, Roger Blumenthal, Bob Harrington, Judith Hochman, Sanjay Kaul, Suzanne Oparil, Gregg Stone, Lynne Warner Stevenson, and Bruce Wilkoff as they discuss the results of ARBITER 6-HALTS, the PLATO STEMI subanalysis, the two CHAMPIONs, and CASCADE and tackle the issue of too little, too soon in clinical trials today.
Raised in a blue-collar neighborhood of Somerville, MA, Dr Bob Harrington was blessed to have a strong family and the Jesuits on his side as he traveled from "Yankee" Boston to Duke University. Join him as he tells his story to Dr Rob Califf.
How do regulatory pathways differ in the US and UK? Drs Harrington, Bhatt, and Cleland share their experiences and offer insight on how to support innovative research.
Drs. Hayes and Foody and a committee of experts address the gaps and correct the misconception that CVD is more common in men than women.