CLINICAL EVENTS CALENDAR
- StartMar 07,2010EndMar 12,2010Interventional Cardiology 2010: 25th Annual International Symposium: The Silvertree Hotel, Snowmass Village, COtinyurl.com/mg5olq
- StartMar 14,2010EndMar 16,2010American College of Cardiology Scientific Session and i2 Summit 2010: Atlanta, GAacc.org
- StartMar 22,2010EndMar 26,2010Baylor University and Hankamer School of Business present: The 4th annual Global Business Forumhttp://www.baylor.edu/business/international/
- StartMar 25,2010EndMar 26,2010Balancing Your Own Health While Caring for Patients: Cocoa, FL (accredited)www.thegoldenlights.com
Cath Lab Digest News Wire
New Cardiovascular Horizons Targets Multidisciplinary Approach To Limb Salvage and Much More in New Orleans
New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH), a multidisciplinary meeting focused on PAD (peripheral artery disease) and peripheral interventions, will take place June 2 - 5, 2010. Entering its 11th year, NCVH is the longest running “head-to-toe” cardiovascular meeting to concentrate on limb salvage and amputation prevention techniques.
Originally established in 2000 as a fall meeting, organizers moved the meeting ahead of hurricane season in 2009 to try and prevent any further weather-related disruptions. NCVH annually draws thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibiting industry sponsors, with Course Director Craig M. Walker, MD, optimistic that the meeting will continue to grow in both size and scope in future years.
Regular Exercise Reduces Patient Anxiety by 20 Percent, Study Finds
The anxiety that often accompanies a chronic illness can chip away at quality of life and make patients less likely to follow their treatment plan. But regular exercise can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety, a new University of Georgia study shows.
In a study appearing in the Feb. 22 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed the results of 40 randomized clinical trials involving nearly 3,000 patients with a variety of medical conditions. They found that, on average, patients who exercised regularly reported a 20 percent reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to those who did not exercise.
“Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that physical activities such as walking or weight lifting may turn out to be the best medicine that physicians can prescribe to help their patients feel less anxious,” said lead author Matthew Herring, a doctoral student in the department of kinesiology, part of the UGA College of Education.
Making a Better Medical Safety Checklist: Interest in Checklists Grows, But They're No Magic Wand
In the wake of Johns Hopkins’ success in virtually eliminating intensive-care unit bloodstream infections via a simple five-step checklist, the safety scientist who developed and popularized the tool warns medical colleagues that they are no panacea.
“Checklists are useful, but they’re not Harry Potter’s wand,” says Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a patient safety expert. “The science needed to best develop focused, unambiguous and succinct checklists for medicine’s thousands of diagnoses and procedures is in its infancy, and there can be unintended consequences of reliance on simple tools.”
FDA Unveils Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging
Initiative to focus on 3 types of procedures with high radiation doses
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an initiative to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of medical imaging procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopy. These procedures are the greatest contributors to total radiation exposure within the U.S. population and use much higher radiation doses than other radiographic procedures, such as standard X-rays, dental X-rays, and mammography.
CT, nuclear medicine, and fluoroscopic imaging have led to early diagnosis of disease, improved treatment planning, and image-guided therapies that help save lives every day. The FDA continues to support a strong dialogue between patients and physicians over the medical necessity and risk associated with these types of imaging studies.
Transradial Compression Bracelet Aids Hemostasis
February 2, 2010 - A second-generation transradial compression bracelet, the Zoom 2010, was released by Zoom Co Medic. This bracelet is designed to obtain a stable compression of the radial artery, a length sufficient to maintain an uninterrupted flow of blood, and to decrease the delay of hemostasis.
The Zoom 2010 is fitted with a pressure relief system on the upper part of the bracelet. This device allows decompression or compression a notch at a time.
The device was developed in collaboration with the University of Quebec at the Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology (Laval Hospital).
For more information: www.zoomco-medic.com
As Use of Herbal Remedies Soars, Patients Taking These and Cardiovascular Medications May be at Heightened Risk
Authors call for greater awareness and scientific scrutiny, especially among elderly patients
More and more Americans are turning to herbal remedies to help manage chronic conditions or promote general health and wellness. But many of today’s popular herbal supplements, including St. John’s wort, gingko biloba, garlic and even grapefruit juice can pose serious risks to people who are taking medications for heart disease, according to a review article published in the February, 9, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The use of these products is especially concerning among elderly patients who typically have co-morbidities, take multiple medications and are already at greater risk of bleeding, according to authors.
New Software Provides 3-D Views of Arteries in Catheterization Lab
New technology that allows doctors to see three-dimensional images of heart arteries in the catheterization lab passed its first major testing hurdle — moving doctors closer to understanding its impact on clinical practice, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, an American Heart Association journal.
Still in the early stages of testing, the 3-D images may allow cardiologists to more accurately and quickly assess the length, branching pattern, and angles of heart arteries and any blockages.
“Coronary interventions may be improved by having a realistic, 3-D image of the coronary artery tree,” said John. D. Carroll, MD, an investigator for the study and professor of medicine and director of interventional cardiology in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado in Aurora, Colo.
SCAI WIN Issues New Report and Survey Findings Highlighting Why More Women Die From Heart Disease Than Men
Interventional Cardiologists Emphasize Gap in CVD Treatment and Research for Women
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has launched “WINHeart – Score a WIN for Women,” an initiative that raises awareness surrounding gender-based disparities in the diagnosis, treatment and survival of women with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Simultaneously, Women In Innovations (WIN), a group of interventional cardiologists within SCAI, today released a new report and survey that illustrate why cardiovascular disease is under-recognized and under-treated in women despite the near split in prevalence of heart disease between men and women.
Study Prompts Calls for Europe-Wide Salt Legislation
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) welcomes new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (online January 20) (1) which quantifies, for the first time, the annual number of new cases of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) that could be prevented by populations reducing daily intakes of salt. The data, says the ESC, underlines the urgent need for European Union public health measures to substantially reduce the population’s salt intake across Europe.
“This study provides excellent ammunition both to convince patients about the benefits of reducing their individual salt intakes and also to persuade the EU of the urgent need to introduce legislation to restrict the salt content of processed foods,” said ESC spokesman Professor Frank Ruschitzka, a cardiologist and hypertension specialist from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
BSI Unveils "Passport to Europe" Program: Program Educates Medical Device Manufacturers on CE Marking Regulatory Process
BSI, providing regulatory and quality management reviews for medical devices, has kicked off its “Passport to Europe” Program. As part of the program, BSI will be conducting a series of complimentary educational webinars for emerging, new and small medical device manufacturers interested in selling their products in Europe.
Obtaining CE Marking gives medical device manufacturers access to the 27 countries with nearly 500 million people that make up the European Union (EU), opening up a wealth of revenue and business development opportunities. The regulatory process, however, can be complex and time consuming, making it critical for companies looking to break into Europe to clearly understand the process, potential challenges and best practices for ensuring product safety and speed to market.
Boston Scientific Announces Enrollment of First Patient in Post-Approval Study for Taxus Liberte Stent
Boston Scientific Corporation announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its TAXUS Liberte post-approval study. The study is designed to evaluate real-world clinical outcomes data for the Taxus® Liberte® Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in combination with a dual antiplatelet therapy drug regimen that includes aspirin and Effient®, a new antiplatelet medication. Co-sponsors of the study include Eli Lilly and Company and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., manufacturers of Effient, which was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The first patient was enrolled by Joel Cohn, MD, FACC, at the Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, Michigan.
Pediatric Cancer Survivors at Risk for Diseases that Predispose Them to Heart Disease
Survivors of pediatric cancer are at greater risk for high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure, all of which predispose them to heart disease. These risk factors for heart disease are being found at an earlier age than in the general population, according to research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Lillian R. Meacham, MD, medical director of the Cancer Survivor Program and professor of pediatrics at Emory University, extracted data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, which included 8,599 cancer survivors and 2,936 of their siblings.
EKOS Corporation Announces Clinical Study for the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism Using the EKOS EkoSonic® Endovascular Device
EKOS Corporation announced today that they are in the final planning and approval stages of a randomized clinical study for the treatment of pulmonary embolism, known as the ULTrasound Accelerated ThrombolysIs of PulMonAry Embolism (ULTIMA) Study.
President/CEO Robert W. Hubert said, “We are pleased to announce that Dr. Nils Kucher, an internationally known expert on pulmonary embolism, University Hospital (Bern, Switzerland), will be the principal investigator for the study. Dr. Kucher will be joined by colleagues from the University Hospitals in Dresden, Munich and Greifswald, Germany and several other sites.”
Regional Systems, Specialized Centers May Increase Survival From Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
DALLAS, Jan. 14, 2010 — Many more people could survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) if regional systems of cardiac resuscitation care were established, according to a policy statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
View the full statement - Regional Systems of Care for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest at http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/CIR.0b013e3181cdb7db
In addition, the statement proposes establishing specialized cardiac resuscitation centers in hospitals similar to the regional stroke, heart attack and trauma centers that already exist.
About 295,000 people in the United States are treated for OOHCA each year. If deaths due to OOHCA were separated from deaths due to other cardiovascular causes, it would be the third-leading cause of death, according to the statement.
LUMEN 2010 Analyzes Why Women Miss Out on Urgent Cardiac Care
Miami, FL (January 11, 2010) – Miami, Florida has become the epicenter of STEMI research and education with the nation’s premier STEMI conference – LUMEN. This year’s program begins on Thursday, February 25th, and runs for two days at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The annual meeting brings together some of the world’s most respected interventional cardiologists, nurses, cath lab technologists and emergency medical professionals to debate and learn new techniques and procedures for saving lives and effecting challenges associated with primary PCI. This year’s program analyzes the top 10 advances in STEMI interventions and strategies for reducing door-to-balloon (D2B) times. Faculty will also debate the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Statement suggesting a lack of consistency in the use of PCI for men and women.
Endothelial Dysfunction: Simple, Non-invasive Test Marketed to Predict Heart Attack, Stroke
Tucson, Ariz. [Jan. 11, 2010] – According to the American Heart Association, 50 percent of coronary deaths take place in people with no previous symptoms, including elevated cholesterol levels. However, a new seven-year study by the Mayo Clinic, released in 2009, suggests measuring blood vessel health, or endothelial function, can aide in diagnosis of a wide variety of medical conditions including coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke, sleep apnea, pre-eclamptic toxemia and even erectile dysfunction.
Physicians now have a new non-invasive test to measure endothelial function and Tucson, Arizona-based medical technology company Medvica International is marketing the device in North America. The Endo-PAT2000, developed by Israeli company Itamar-Medical, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003 and is already used in 40 other countries.
New Study Published in NEJM Shows Superiority of ChloraPrep® Compared to Povidone-Iodine as a Surgical Skin Prep
Prospective, Randomized Trial Shows Significantly Better Patient Outcomes in Selected Surgical Procedures within 30 Days When ChloraPrep is Used Preoperatively, Compared to Povidone-iodine
January 6, 2010 – Data published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that use of CareFusion’s patient preoperative skin preparation ChloraPrep® (2 percent chlorhexidine gluconate and 70 percent isopropyl alcohol) reduced total surgical site infections (SSIs) by 41 percent, from 16.1 percent to 9.5 percent, compared to use of povidone-iodine solution, the most commonly used preoperative skin preparation.
In this prospective, randomized and well-controlled outcomes trial designed to compare the efficacy of skin antiseptics in reducing the risk of SSIs, ChloraPrep proved superior in clean-contaminated abdominal, urologic, gynecologic and thoracic surgery.
ACC Takes Legal Action Against Medicare
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) announced that it filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in United States District Court. The complaint alleges that Secretary Sebelius, in her capacity as the HHS Secretary, unlawfully adopted the payment rates for cardiology services in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) by using an invalid Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS) in a manner that threatens access to care for patients and precipitously increases medical care costs.
Chinese drug-eluting stent market to reach more than $900 million by 2014
According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), focusing on medical technology market intelligence, health care reforms in China supported rapid expansion of the Chinese drug-eluting stent market in 2009, and will continue to fuel growth in the coming years. MRG's new Asia Pacific Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices 2010 report finds that initiatives undertaken by the Chinese government will allow the Chinese drug-eluting stent market to reach a value of more than $900 million by 2014.
Cath Lab Surveys
Center for Education & Practice Development - Learning Module Femoral Artery Sheath Management(PDF) This learning module is designed for the Registered Nurse Division 1 working in areas where
patients are undergoing percutaneous cardiac catheterisation and interventions.
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