Heart failure
FAIR-HF: Symptom improvement, functional gains follow correction of iron deficiency in heart failure
2 COMMENTS - Nov 17, 2009 08:00 EST
UPDATED WITH COMMENTARY // The randomized, placebo-controlled study's intriguing wrinkle: the benefits after 24 weeks of treatment with an injectable form of iron were independent of whether the patients were anemic.

Orlando, FL (updated) - Patients with systolic heart failure and iron deficiency who were treated with the injectable iron preparation ferric carboxymaltose (Ferinject, Vifor Pharma) responded over 24 weeks with significantly improved symptoms, NYHA functional class, six-minute-walk distance, and quality of life, whether or not they also had anemia, in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted primarily in Europe [1]. The treatment seemed well tolerated and didn't have a significant effect in either direction on clinical events. Read full article »

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heartbriefs
Sen Grassley questions top medical schools about ghostwriting
Nov 20, 2009 13:15 EST
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.
News
EFFECT: Public reporting of hospital performance improves quality of care?
Nov 19, 2009 10:00 EST
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.
Interventional/Surgery
Baseline function data from STICH no help in pinpointing patients who benefit from SVR
Nov 18, 2009 10:45 EST
Measures of left ventricular dysfunction or wall motion identified by different imaging modalities at baseline offer no clues as to whether a subset of patients treated with surgical ventricular reconstruction might benefit from the procedure.
Heart failure
JCHF: Are low doses of carvedilol effective in heart failure?
3 COMMENTS - Nov 18, 2009 09:00 EST
Doses of carvedilol as low as 2.5 mg daily may be effective in Japanese patients with heart failure, according to this study. But experts said the trial was far too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.
Heart failure
HEAAL: High-dose trumps low-dose ARB for heart failure in the ACE-inhibitor intolerant
1 COMMENT - Nov 17, 2009 08:15 EST
UPDATED WITH COMMENTARY // The randomized trial, which compared losartan dosages of 150 mg/day and 50 mg/day, "makes a strong case for the value of incremental inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system," its authors say.
Heart failure
HeartMate II continuous-flow VAD sets new benchmark in destination-therapy trial
Nov 17, 2009 08:00 EST
UPDATED WITH COMMENTARY // Thoratec's HeartMate II continuous-flow VAD keeps about half of patients alive and stroke- or reintervention-free after two years in pivotal destination therapy trial.
Arrhythmia/EP
RECORD AF: Better success with rhythm control, but no difference in outcomes
Nov 16, 2009 17:00 EST
New registry data presented this week showed that cardiologists are more likely to select rhythm control over rate control for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, and this strategy is more likely to lead to successful treatment of AF than the rate-control-based approach. Both strategies are equivalent in terms of their effect on clinical outcomes.
Clinical cardiology
Plasma renin activity associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in HOPE
1 COMMENT - Nov 16, 2009 14:45 EST
Patients with elevated baseline plasma renin activity levels had a twofold increased risk of total or cardiovascular mortality compared with those with low levels, and the strength of the association persisted after multiple adjustments, including the HOPE score, CRP, and BNP.
Arrhythmia/EP
REPLACE registry finds 15.3% six-month complication rate with pacer and ICD lead replacements
Nov 16, 2009 09:30 EST
The REPLACE registry finds "sobering" comprehensive risk rates with pacemaker and ICD upgrades.
Arrhythmia/EP
PACE: BiV pacing protects against RV pacing's adverse ventricular effects in randomized trial
Nov 15, 2009 16:30 EST
In patients with conventional indications for pacing and normal systolic function, preservation of synchrony with biventricular pacing prevented the adverse remodeling effects of right-ventricular-only pacing. But some question the trial's methods.
Interventional/Surgery
FRANCE: Transcatheter-valve registry permits "observation" of CoreValve, Sapien differences
Nov 15, 2009 09:45 EST
Results from one of the first registries to evaluate contemporary use of both the Edwards Sapien transcatheter valve and the CoreValve bioprosthesis show that complication rates are low and similar, following a short training period, and that mortality, at least out to six months, is "acceptable" for both types of devices.
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Editorial Programs
The Cardiology Show
The AHA 2009 Roundup: ARBITER 6-HALTS, PLATO, the two CHAMPIONs, and CASCADE
1 COMMENT - Nov 18, 2009 16:30 EST
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.
Editorial series
New directions for management of patients with atrial fibrillation
Nov 11, 2009 09:50 EST
New agents and interventions are paving the way for revised modalities in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. Join Drs Alpert and Delascio Lopes for a review of the latest findings and options.
Editorial series
Clinical research: Comparing regulatory pathways in US and UK
Oct 30, 2009 12:35 EDT
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.
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