Cardiology Topics
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Bleeding Risk with Combination Amiodarone and Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants
Among patients with atrial fibrillation who were taking a direct-acting oral anticoagulant, there was a significant association between major bleeding and amiodarone use within 60 days, but no association with amiodarone use longer than 60 days before the bleed.
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Unexpected Low Voltage on an ECG
A registry study of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients and elite athletes in Italy revealed low voltage on ECG is not uncommon in HCM and may be a marker for more left ventricular scarring on cardiac imaging — and a poor prognosis.
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The Role of Influenza Vaccination in Cardiovascular Event Prevention
Researchers studied English patients with an acute cardiovascular event who received an influenza vaccine in the same 12-month period and compared that to the 120-day period after vaccination and the rest of the year. They observed those vaccinated were less likely to experience an acute cardiovascular event for 120 days after vaccine vs. the rest of the year.
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More Daily Steps Lowers Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Older Adults
Researchers reported that for every additional 500 steps per day, the risk for heart disease, heart failure, and stroke declined by 14% among adults age 70 years and older.
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Controlling Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Could Lower Dementia Risk
Investigators found an association between high blood pressure during pregnancy and a higher likelihood of developing dementia later in life.
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Complications of Permanent Pacemakers in the Emergency Department Setting
Given the prevalence of cardiac implantable electronic devices in emergency department populations, it is critical to be aware of the relative risk and variety of complications related to these devices so that proper workup and treatment can be initiated.
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Asymptomatic with Inverted T Waves
The ECG in the figure is from a healthy young adult without symptoms. Clinicians recorded this tracing as part of the patient’s employment physical exam. Is the T wave inversion likely to be a normal variant?
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Ablation vs. Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation, Revisited
A three-year follow-up of EARLY-AF, a study of relatively young and healthy patients with recent atrial fibrillation, showed cryoablation remains superior to drug therapy for preventing the development of persistent atrial fibrillation.
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An Easy Measure of Potentially Harmful Salt Intake
Those who rarely or never added salt to their food and strongly adhered to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet exhibited the lowest incidence of subsequent cardiovascular disease.
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Surgical Risk of Mitral Valve Repair, Updated
A contemporary update of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk calculator for operative mortality and morbidity in nonemergent primary mitral valve repair for regurgitation shows an operative mortality rate of 1.2%, with a conversion to replacement of 6%, in more than 53,000 patients.