General Cardiovascular
- Diagnosis, Imaging, Screening
- General Information
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- Internet Sites
- Risk Factors
- Risk Reduction
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Visit InfoMedSearch's Home Page for all InfoMedLinks Cardiovascular Topics: Atherosclerosis, Atrial Fibrillation, Coronary Artery Disease, Cholesterol - Lipids, General Cardiovascular, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack), Peripheral Artery Disease, and Stroke.
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Cardiovascular - General
Daily Treatment Report
Cognitive Therapy-CBT-Psychotherapy
Device Therapy
Drug-eluting Stents Found Safe, Superior To Bare Metal Stents, Study Suggests
Long-term outcomes of patients receiving drug-eluting stents. ( CMAJ. 2009)
The Dark Side of the Drug-eluting Stent: Stent Thrombosis With Cessation of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (Br J Cardiol. 2008)
Fewer Clogged Arteries May Need Stent Treatment "A new study gives fresh evidence that many people with clogged heart arteries are being overtreated with stents, and that a simple blood-flow test might help prevent unnecessary care. Fewer deaths, heart attacks and repeat procedures occurred when doctors implanted fewer of these tiny artery props, using the blood-flow test to decide when they were truly needed, the study found. Results were published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Several reports in recent years have suggested that stents and artery-opening angioplasty procedures were being overused in non-emergency cases, often without giving medicine alone a chance to work. Concern about stent complications also has made doctors more cautious about elective angioplasty. "
Drug Side-Effects and Interactions
Effects of amiodarone therapy on thyroid function. (Medscape.Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2009)
Data From 1.23 Million Patients Confirms Warfarin Increases Mortality in Trauma Patients
Warfarin use and the risk of valvular calcification. (J Thromb Haemost. 2009) “Summary Background: Warfarin affects the synthesis and function of the matrix Gla protein, a vitamin K-dependent protein, which is a potent inhibitor of tissue calcification. Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of mitral valve calcium (MVC), mitral annular calcium (MAC), and aortic valve calcium (AVC) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with warfarin versus no warfarin. … Conclusions: Use of warfarin in patients with AF is associated with an increased prevalence of MVC, MAC, or AVC.”
Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma: An urgent complication of adding clopidogrel to aspirin therapy. (J Neurol Sci. 2009)
Drugs
Dabigatran versus Warfarin in the Treatment of Acute Venous Thromboembolism (NEJM 2009)
Use of Low-Dose Aspirin in Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events Not Recommended
Clopidogrel optimal loading dose Usage to Reduce Recurrent EveNTs-Organization to Assess Strategies in Ischemic Syndromes (CURRENT OASIS 7 – Presented at ESC 2009) “Among patients with ST or non–ST-segment elevation ACS, treatment with high dose aspirin was not associated with a difference in the composite endpoint of CV death, MI, or stroke at 30 days compared with low dose aspirin. Likewise, a double dose of clopidogrel was also not associated with a reduction in the primary endpoint compared with standard dose clopidogrel.”
Number Needed to Treat to Benefit and to Harm for Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator Therapy in the 3- to 4.5-Hour Window. Joint Outcome Table Analysis of the ECASS 3 Trial (Stroke 2009) “Conclusions—Treatment with tissue plasminogen activator in the 3- to 4.5-hour window confers benefit on approximately half as many patients as treatment <3 hours, with no increase in the conferral of harm. Approximately 1 in 6 patients has a better and 1 in 35 has a worse outcome as a result of therapy.”
Exercise
Tai Chi Exercise for Patients With Cardiovascular Conditions and Risk Factors: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. (J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence suggests that tai chi exercise may be a beneficial adjunctive therapy for some patients with CVD and CVDRF.”
Physical activity and mortality in men and women with diagnosed cardiovascular disease. (Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2009) “CONCLUSION: Men and women with existing CVD who participate in moderate-to-vigorous activity for at least 20 min/week showed the lowest risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. These findings support emerging data from controlled exercise training studies.”
General Information
The Pharmacology and Management of the Vitamin K Antagonists (CHEST 2004)
During CPR, more chest compressions mean more saved lives ““There was roughly a 10 percent increase in the chance of survival for every 10 percent increase in the chest compression fraction,” Christenson said. “
Combining antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies. (J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009)
Is Vitamin K Helpful for People Who Have Taken Too Much Warfarin?
Guidelines
Cardiologists Issue Guidelines for Stent Use
Immunotherapy
Internet Sites
Treatment Information
Drug-Food-Supplement Information
DrugDigest (drug interactions)
FDA - Drug Interactions: What You Should Know
NIH - Botanical Dietary Supplements: Background Information
NIH - Drug, Supplements, and Herbal Information
NIH - Herbal Supplements: Consider Safety, Too
NIH - Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets
Nutrition
Other
Other Treatments
Experimental
Radiotherapy
Supplements-Vitamins-CAM
Vitamin D and cardiovascular risk. (Int Urol Nephrol. 2009) “Further activities of vitamin D relate to defence of microbial infections, e.g. tuberculosis, prevention of cancer, contractility of muscle cells and counteraction of congestive heart failure. Given early reports in the 1960s on deleterious effects of vitamin D supplementation in rodents, that is ectopic media ossification of arterial vessels, a pro-atherogenic function had been anticipated for humans as well. However, cross-sectional studies reveal that vitamin D deficiency in humans is associated with elevated blood pressure and propagation of atherogenesis. These contradictory findings on the progression of atherosclerosis may be reconciled by dissecting the activation mechanism(s) of vitamin D in rodents versus humans. Notably, novel findings convincingly indicate that vitamin D exerts anti-inflammatory effects. In conclusion, vitamin D supplementation in adults may be regarded as simple means with few potential side effects to prevent atherogenesis or halt its progression and combat arterial hypertension. Adjustment of vitamin D dosing regimens is required in patients with chronic kidney disease …”
Fish Oil May Protect Against Stroke From Ruptured Carotid Artery Plaques “Our bodies produce only a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids, so most of what we need has to come from eating omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods like fish (salmon, tuna, trout, herring, etc.) or from supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attack and sudden cardiac death. Dr. Bazan’s team wanted to determine what the association might be with plaques in the carotid arteries, a common cause of strokes. Vulnerable plaques which can rupture in the carotid arteries may lead to transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), strokes, or vision loss by affecting the artery to the retina. The mechanisms leading to plaque rupture are still not fully understood but inflammation within the plaque is beginning to be recognized as an important cause of plaque rupture. … The plaques of asymptomatic patients contained more than twice as much DHA as the symptomatic patients, and about one and a half times as much EPA. Significantly less inflammation was also seen in the carotid atherosclerotic plaques from asymptomatic patients. “In the future, a study to address whether supplementation with dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents carotid-related events in patients with moderate or high-grade carotid stenosis will help answer whether this is a formidable therapeutic target for the prevention of stroke,” says Dr. Bazan.”
How Much Omega-3 Fatty Acid Do We Need To Prevent Cardiovascular Disease? “A team of French scientists have found the dose of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that is "just right" for preventing cardiovascular disease in healthy men. In a research report appearing in the September 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, the scientists show that a 200 mg dose of DHA per day is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. This study is the first to identify how much DHA is necessary to promote optimal heart health.”
Role of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in Cardiac disease, Hypertension and Meniere- like syndrome. (Pharmacol Ther. 2009) “Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) is a mitochondrial coenzyme which is essential for the production of ATP. Being at the core of cellular energy processes it assumes importance in cells with high energy requirements like the cardiac cells which are extremely sensitive to CoQ10 deficiency produced by cardiac diseases. CoQ10 has thus a potential role for prevention and treatment of heart ailments by improving cellular bioenergetics. In addition it has an antioxidant, a free radical scavenging and a vasodilator effect which may be helpful in these conditions. It inhibits LDL oxidation and thus the progression of atherosclerosis. It decreases proinflammatory cytokines and decreases blood viscosity which is helpful in patients of heart failure and coronary artery disease. It also improves ischemia and reperfusion injury of coronary revascularisation. Significant improvement has been observed in clinical and hemodynamic parameters and in exercise tolerance in patients given adjunctive CoQ10 in doses from 60-200mg daily in the various trials conducted in patients of heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease and other cardiac illnesses.”
Surgery
Transplantation
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